Aladdin and the King of Thieves

Release Date: August 13, 1996

Watch Date: November 14, 2024

“Everyone’s third wish comes true in Aladdin’s ultimate adventure. As Aladdin and Jasmine are finally about to get married, the ceremony is interrupted by the infamous Forty Thieves who are after a specific wedding gift. The gift turns out to be a mystical oracle that claims Aladdin’s father is alive! Aladdin searches for his father and discovers that Dad is the King of the Forty Thieves who desires the mystic oracle to locate the Hand of Midas – capable of turning anything into gold.”

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   Well Ali Baba may have had them forty thieves, but you know who else did? Aladdin’s dad. Who is definitely not Ali Baba but is apparently his heir.

   This is one of my favorite Disney films. Don’t ask me why, I couldn’t explain it to you. I don’t remember any of the songs until I’m actively listening to them. As I watch it I think it’s predictable and obvious what’s going to happen. I think the climax is kind of boring. I don’t think the Genie gets to be enough of a part of the main action, though he is funny when he shows up.

   But Aladdin and Jasmine are getting married. Finally, a Disney wedding that’s not just a cut scene. And Robin Williams brings back his energy, and you can definitely tell that it’s different from the Genie of the second movie. There’s some heart and soul back in this one. And it wraps up everyone’s stories in a satisfactory way, and actually makes you feel like maybe people did go on to live happily ever after. Plus it solved for Bob the riddle of why I love calla lilies so much.

   (This is a total aside, but let me explain. I loved Ariel, and she sang and had red hair, so for the longest time, I also had red hair and singing is still embedded in my DNA. And I loved Pocahontas, so I wanted to learn all about nature and spirituality. And I loved Belle, and Belle read books so I read voraciously. And I loved Jasmine but…as Bob constantly informs me I cannot own a tiger but Jasmine did have calla lilies, and so I loved calla lilies because I cannot pull of a crop top. Are major parts of my personality just pulled from Disney princesses? Yes, but that makes me unique, does it not? Hah.)

   I want to write to you about how amazing it is, but thinking critically it really isn’t. Beyond Genie’s fourth wall breaking and the real emotional pain you get from Aladdin’s relationship with his father there’s not anything particularly extraordinary about this film at all. Not for a movie, not even for a Disney movie. But I love it. So, if you like Aladdin even a little bit and have skipped the VHS-sequels because of what they are on principal, for my sake, try it. It has a certain charm to it that I’m just not ever going to be able to convey appropriately through this medium. It’s one of those things, as a fan, that you just have to experience.