Headscratchers / Aladdin: The Return of Jafar

• So... the way Iago escapes from the Cave of Wonders with Jafar's lamp. By just comically digging his way out? Regardless of it being played for laughs, it kind of makes Jafar in the original film look silly in retrospect, so he didn't need to go through the whole "diamond in the rough" ordeal to enter the Cave because according to this scene he could... just dig his way in? At least I can buy the Genie taking Aladdin out because he's a powerful magical being that can grant almost any wish, what excuse does a parrot have?
  • Well, it's not unreasonable to assume that it'd be easier to break out of the Cave of Wonders than it is to get in. After all, the entire "diamond in the rough" thing was aimed at people who wanted to enter the cave, not people who wanted to exit it.
  • Also, it would be a lot easier to find your way to the surface — all you have to do is make sure you go up. With how large the desert is, and with how Jafar couldn't know how the cave was laid out OR how deep it was, he couldn't know exactly where he needed to dig or how long he would have to dig... or even if he COULD dig his way in. Iago digging their way out of the cave, though, was an act born of desperation: It was either try to dig their way out, or stay there for ten thousand years. With those options it was a lot more prudent to at least try digging, even if they didn't know for sure if it would work.
    • Well, after Jafar's failed attempt to send Gazeem into the cave, he'd know where to start digging, the same spot where the tiger head entrance emerged. But that still doesn't mean it's possible to excavate into the cave because as far as Jafar knew, he'd probably have to go through solid stone, or he'd fall two hundred feet down a shaft should he loosen the sand too much. Jafar isn't the kind to take such risks when he can trick others to go on a limb for his bidding.

• What exactly was so difficult in explaining the situation with Iago? "He saved my life. I know he was a bastard, and probably still is, but I owe him, so I'm asking you to spare him in return." BAM, done.
  • Aladdin panicking and everyone else's general extreme dislike of Iago probably had something to do with that not being so simple.
  • Also, it was at the point in the series where Aladdin still had the flaw of not being able to trust people and rely more on trickery and deceit. He did spend most of his life as a criminal after all.

• Why is Jafar holding the Villain Ball so tightly? He forces Abis Mal to take him to Agrabah and puts him through all sorts of abuse, but at no point until the very end does he consider bullying him into setting him free- had he done so at the very start, he could have been free to torture and kill Aladdin and his friends at his leisure, but instead he delays his ultimate goal until it was too late. Revenge Before Reason sure, but that was particularly dumb and plot alone prevented it. And heck, even if he couldn't or wouldn't do that, he was still so vastly powerful that he could have made Aladdin suffer or put him out of the picture without resorting either to murder or this convoluted manipulative scheme- just turn them all to living stone or something, or break every bone in their bodies, then set yourself free, if that's what does it for you.
  • Considering what happened to him the last time he seized on the 'easy' option, he may have decided that it would be better to wait and think over what kind of third wish he should make Abis Mal wish to ensure his freedom.

• Is there an official explanation as to why Genie Jafar is stronger than Genie? I've seen a lot of supposition (freed genies have less power than enslaved ones, Jafar stacked his Sorcerer wish onto the Genie one). But has Disney said anything on the subject?
  • Because, in the first movie, Jafar didn't just wish to become a genie, he explicitly wished to become the most powerful genie. Even imprisoned in the lamp, his wish still holds true, especially since the Blue Genie remarks that his own powers appear to have taken a slight dip after becoming free.
    • Jafar's actual words were "I wish to be an all-powerful genie!"
    • True, but the way Aladdin manipulated him into making the wish was by pointing out that the Genie was more powerful than Jafar, so it is logical to assume that Jafar wanted to be a far more powerful genie. And the Genie, being a Benevolent Genie, granted the wish.

• Why does Genie have bracelets? Isn't he free?
  • Because he thinks they're cool. He explains in an episode of the TV series, "The only thing I'm a slave to is fashion." Sometimes a bracelet is just a cigar ... er ...
  • Genie might be free-lancing, in effect he became his own master, (and therefore also his own slave). This lets him still be a proper genie and magically help out Aladdin but on a purely voluntary basis.
  • After wearing them for so long, Genie is uncomfortable without them. Do you wear a watch regularly enough that you don't feel quite right if you're not? Same principle.
    • Or like taping up your wrists before a tennis match. Magic might be more focused by using the bracelets.
  • The animators thought he looked weird without them.
    • He did.
  • For deflecting bullets. Also, as a reminder of his former captivity... genie law stipulated that he'd lose his powers if he allowed a man to bind them.
  • Simply because Genie likes wearing them even though he no longer has to. It's just like how in the series he still lives inside the lamp even though now he's no longer forced to, it's just something that he finds comfortable.
  • A wilder theory is that since his bracelets are what linked him to his lamp in the first place, wearing them anyway but solely on his own accord helps him get more magical powers. Since his powers are now "semi-phenomenal nearly cosmic" and being bound to the lamp makes his powers "phenomenal cosmic", wearing his bracelets helps stay linked to the lamp (I've always questioned where it was in this movie, maybe in his back pocket) to prevent further diminishing powers. He could still take them off and disconnect himself from his lamp if he ever wanted, but that could also downgrade his powers further.

• Near the end, Abis Mal refuses to free Jafar so he could instead spend his third wish on treasure. Jafar ends up conjuring some, which Abis Mal pretty astutely suspects to be illusional, and as villains quarrel heroes get a shot at Jafar's lamp. What buggers me is that how in the world could Abis Mal neglect the fact that he currently resided in THE SULTAN'S PALACE!!! Which just happened to house THE (appropriately) SULTAN'S TREASURY!!! Come on, that must be like a pipe dream of every thief in the world. And he had it right beneath his feet and apparently never even bothered to peep inside. Well, even he did chose that moment to grip the Idiot Ball even tighter than usual, how come Jafar (who used to LIVE in the palace) didn't think of that opportunity?
  • Given that Jafar always wanted to be Sultan, he probably wasn't keen on emptying what was potentially going to be his own treasure chambers (the fact that he could easily get more was beside the point; it was his) — and Abis Mal was just smart enough to realize that stealing from an angry genie probably wasn't the best idea.
    • But as a Genie he then had cosmic powers! Control over matter and energy and the very fibre of existence! Why would he still be preoccupied with such puny down-to-earth affair as gold? Not to say that he only needed to convince Abys-Mal to free him and then he could just take it all away. Perhaps he wanted to astound Abis Mal with the sight of treasures appearing out of thin air?
  • Consider that you just asked how could Abis Mal be that stupid and realise that you have just answered your own question- Abis Mal is an idiot.

• Jafar in general. Isn't there quite a lot for a Genie, that he undertakes on his own accord and powers he uses without even an excuse of his master's wish?
  • Moreover, he spares Aladdin's life in the waterfall, because there are "things much worse then mere death". Indeed, there are, but Jafar's idea of those seems rather confusing and surprisingly not evil. So, Aladdin gets falsely accused of murder by Razoul who hated him anyway. Big deal. Then he gets sentenced to death by "Jasmine" which is a big deal or would be if Jafar didn't blow his cover right before the oncoming execution. And...that's it? Jafar wouldn't torture his friends in front of him, he wouldn't have Aladdin killed in a slow and painful manner, he wouldn't even stay and witness the destruction of his nemesis in person and gloat? Why is he suddenly all Dr. Evil?
    • Finally, wouldn't his actions in the Final Battle classify as a murder attempt? Making a person drown in lava could in no way be get around with his usual "surprised what you can live through" mantra. And since Carpet is sentient didn't Jafar technically murder it?
    • Genies cannot kill, directly. All he did was change Carpet into something very brittle and gravity did the rest. Like Eden said, Genies can't kill anyone but they can make it's ridiculously easy for other things to do it for them.
    • It doesn't seem like Carpet actually died at any point. Genies can't kill, and can't bring the dead back to life, but Carpet is flying around happily as you please after the spell is broken and he's back to normal — so he probably wasn't dead in the first place. It seems to take more to kill a magic carpet than just breaking it into pieces.
    • also, keep in mind he unraveled the carpet in the last film as a sorcerer and not bound to the "no kill" rule, and the carpet still revived after his defeat.
    • There is nothing to suggest that Genies can't bring the dead back to life, at least in some fashion. Genie specifically mentions in the first movie that it's not a pretty picture, he doesn't like doing it. That's not the way you describe something you CAN'T do, that's the way you describe something you WON'T do.
    • To answer the gloating part, I assume it's because Jafar IS just that nasty. If Aladdin had died at the waterfalls, he wouldn't have known it was Jafar. Just sort of a final mocking bit, I guess. Plus, the image of Jafar's face on Jasmine's body is pretty gross.
    • The setup for Aladdin's execution was not just to make him die, but to make him die with a dishonorable image. Think about it.. End of first movie Aladdin thwarts Jafars tyrany over Agrabah and is hailed a hero. Now he's being convicted of murdering the sultan and put to death. Going from hero to trator in just a few weeks/months is Jafars way to screw with Aladdin's reputation.
    • I always thought that the rules were that powerful that they warped reality to keep themselves from being broken.
    • Jafar spends the entire movie bending the genie rules rather than outright breaking them. Ultimately the lava would have worked, otherwise Iago dropping Jafar's lamp into a bunch of lava he conjured up wouldn't have done anything as it would have been tantamount to suicide and thus against the rules. Jafar is using technicalities to try to kill the protagonists and get free of the lamp, the lava and freezing Carpet were just a part of that.
  • And speaking of which, at what point did Jafar kidnap Jasmine and how did he do it? We already saw how he nabbed the Sultan, Genie, and Abu, then how did he do the same for Jasmine in order to take her place?

• This question applies to the first film as well, but there's more content in this one that raises this question. Genies can't kill, but does that only apply to using their MAGIC? Could they theoretically kill someone using physical strength? In the climax for example, Jafar picks up "Aladdin" and tries to squeeze him to death in his bare hands, only to find out it was actually Genie posing as a decoy while the real Aladdin tried to get Jafar's lamp. I shudder to think if that WAS the real Al Jafar tried to squeeze. Also, given Iago's condition after Jafar's defeat, the "no kill" rule also applies to animals. Leaving me to wonder what would happen should Jafar (even in his human form) step on a bug. Would said bug automatically survive even if a weaker blow from a human would kill it?

• Why isn't Abis Mal apprehended in the end?
  • Because he's the villain's goofy sidekick, and the standard contract for them includes a "get away scot-free at the end of the movie" clause. Little-known fact.
    • Also, no one knew he was still in the garden hanging from the tree. I assume he later scampered off, sans pants.
  • They were probably willing to cut him a little slack. After all, cynical thief or not, he surely had his share of abuse from Jafar.

• During the Final Battle Iago sweeps at the lamp, snatches it and then attempts to pass it to Aladdin so he could drop it into lava that...surrounded them all. Uh? Why the hell did Iago go for a precise drop, when he could just topple the lamp into lava right away, exactly like he did later?! Yes, I know, the scene with a near-dead Iago kicking the lamp was intense, alright, but what was the point? Oh, and on the Jafar's part, I know he was an all-powerful and deranged Genie and all, but seriously, leaving his precious lamp lying on a tiny islet in the middle of a lava lake? WTF?! It's not like he couldn't just, you know, pick it up and take it away from danger!!!
  • Actually, it may very well be that he couldn't pick it up and take it away from danger. If you watch the movies, neither Genie nor Jafar ever actually touch their lamps while bound to them. They enter and exit them, but they never actually pick them up and hold them. Only after Genie is freed in the first movie, does he hold the lamp in his hands... and he looks completely overwhelmed; it's very possible that this is the first time he's actually been able to hold the lamp with his own hands instead of relying on his masters to take it to various places.
    • Another thing that backs the above theory up is the revelation that Jafar can't go too far away from his lamp. When he tries to leave it behind, he finds he's physically unable to... which is why he decides to work with/manipulate Abis Mal to take the lamp to where he needs to go. Makes sense considering the lamp is a prison and for all his power and abilities Jafar has no control over it.
    • While the above theory makes sense, the movie actually contradicts it; it's easy to miss, but near the end, when Jafar demands Abis Mal wish him free, for a split second you can see Jafar (in human form, admittedly) holding his lamp, only for Abis Mal to snatch it away.
    • That's probably an animation blunder. One of many in this obviously low-budgeted film. In the first film there is a moment where Genie does pick up the lamp and hand it to Aladdin, but if you look closely, you'll see the lamp is still tucked in Al's turban. So it would be a similar case to stealing a truck full of money without stealing the truck itself.
    • But there are other ways Jafar could have prevented his lamp from falling into the lava without actually touching or casting magic on the lamp itself. Generate platforms at the very top of the stalagmite the lamp is sitting on? Or even a wall high enough to ensure that lamp isn't even EXPOSED to the heat of the lava? Jafar could do SOMETHING to protect the lamp, and therefore himself.
  • Probably a case of "So close yet so far." Jafar was likely overconfident at that point and wanted the lamp dangling right in front of the heroes where they just barely can't get to it. Also, the above reply.
  • This probably goes into Wild Mass Guessing, but how I interpret the whole climax, is that Jafar did something very sneaky here with the lava when he magically split the earth. Notice during the scene, Aladdin comes within a hair's-breadth of getting the lamp, but misses, and he steadily gets closer and closer to dying in the lava himself, with Jafar actively making it worse of course, yet the lamp is still on its pillar of rock with no apparent issue, and never seems to be in any danger of falling until Iago specifically kicks it in? I think Jafar was taking a risk and was overconfident with this, but he stacked the deck, so to speak, when he split the Earth. I think Jafar made it so circumstances would always prevent the lamp from falling into the lava on its own, and keep it from being grabbed so easily, possibly by Aladdin in particular considering Jafar seems much more pissed about Iago's arrival, when with Aladdin he gloated that "there is no one to help you this time!", and went back to smug once he had blasted Iago. Thing is, Jafar probably can't make it so his lamp just can't be destroyed or directly make it so no one could succeed at destroying it, similar to what is suggested above about how genies can't actually affect their own lamps, so if Iago had deliberately sent it into the lava, or Aladdin did, it would've worked, but anything else, like Iago dropping it by accident or Aladdin bumping it off the rock without intending to, would've resulted in a "convenient" rock to surge up from the lava to catch it, or something to that effect. Why Iago didn't just think to drop it, I think speaks to his character, he had just made a Heel–Face Turn, and the whole plan of what everyone else was doing was helping Aladdin get the lamp to destroy it, and the lava option was just made by Jafar, so I think Iago got "caught up in the moment" so to speak, until the very last second. Thinking on this idea, in a way, Jafar was Hoist by His Own Petard with all this in mind, since by blasting Iago, he was preventing Iago from destroying it or giving it to Aladdin, but he also might've made it so Iago survived instead of falling in the lava, and also made it easier for him to destroy the lamp. Why, is because if Jafar's blast had just sent Iago into the lava, that would've also destroyed the lamp (and possibly violated the "no kill" rule by Jafar himself destroying it by accident, or it being an accident triggering something to keep it from falling in), so the enchantment had to prevent that by having them fall into that tiny piece of the edge of the chasm. Problem is, Iago was then right next to the lamp and barely strong enough to move or remain conscious, so likely didn't register as a threat, nor was he trying to get the lamp, since it was right there with him, so the enchantment didn't separate them, enabling Iago to be in the perfect position to dispose of it while Jafar thought he had stopped any threats left to his safety.
    • I personally interpret the climax as Jafar expecting Genie Rules putting brakes on anything he can't do. He opened the lava pit without concern, but the Genie Rules automatically left the characters unaffected and thus created the pillars suspending them above the pit. As Jafar cannot interact with his lamp, Genie Rules created that one too. The idea is that Genie Rules actually leave a genie physically unable to kill a person directly-as in, he cannot deal a lethal blow consciously (murder), but he can create a situation in which someone just so happens to die (manslaughter).

• This is more a general question but since Jafar seems to understand the limits of Geniedom a little better let's put it here. Are the Genie Rules set in stone or are they more a series of guide lines? I ask because there are several points in both movies with both genies that seem to suggest the Genie is free to some extent to interpret the rules as they please. Genie was annoyed that Aladdin didn't actually wish to be out of the Cave of Wonders but clearly he did it and he treated it more like, hey, you got me good! than like some massive law of the universe had been broken. Later though Aladdin is clearly unconscious and about to drown and Genie interprets gravity pulling his head down as I wish AND THAT ONE COUNTED. WTF. When Jafar gets the lamp Genie moves all of Agrabah to a mountain top seemingly for no reason. Jafar spares Aladdin at the waterfalls and at least claims it was because he wanted to not because he was contractually obligated and the entire lava fight sequence makes no sense in that context. If Genies can't kill the worst that could happen to the heroes was maiming (still bad) the worst that could happen to Jafar was death.
  • They are set in stone but they are loosely defined enough that they don't really matter. It could be that Genie is actually hampered by his good, honest nature and can't bring himself to twist the rules too far purely for his own benefit, while a Manipulative Bastard like Jafar is much more willing and eager to exploit Loophole Abuse to the full.
  • In the case of Genie moving Agrabah, Jafar specifically says he wants to rule from on high as Sultan. So moving it was an explicit part of Jafar's first wish.
  • As for Genie interpreting Aladdin's nod as a second wish, it could be that the explicit nature of the situation meant that there was less 'wiggle room' for Genie to act on his own accord; getting Aladdin out of the cave was basically just him showing off, but here he was released from the lamp by his active master who was clearly in the kind of trouble that would require a wish to save him.
    • Not only that, but Genie clearly stated "no more freebies" after finding out that he was tricked into freeing Aladdin from the cave as a non-wish.

• Continued from above. Why did Genie indulge Jafar in a fight he knew he couldn't win instead of engaging him in a fight he potentially could win? There is no reason to believe Genie couldn't destroy Jafar's LAMP. He knows the lamp is the weakness and he instead tries to go toe to toe with a being he knows outclasses him in raw power but may not have learned (as he clearly hadn't by the films end) to be cautious about where his lamp is.
  • Because Abis Mal wasn't there, and Genie couldn't automatically know who had the lamp or where they were.
  • Genie might have assumed that Jafar was already free at this point, since by showing up at all and bragging about having his own plans he's implying that he is the one in charge (which he mostly is, just not in that way). It might only be later that Genie realises learns from Iago or realises on his own that Jafar isn't free yet and this is why he hasn't simply killed all of them already.

• Why didn't the gang try to take control of Jafar's lamp? It would probably be easier than what they went through, (perhaps they could bribe Abis Mal?) and then Jafar would be facing a worse fate than death: a slave to his enemies.
  • Why they didn't keep the lamp in the first place is because the Cave of Wonders was thought to be secure. Controlling the lamp of a genie who doesn't like you is probably tantamount to suicide. The lamp limits a genie but they don't seem to be truly trapped inside them nor does it seem like you can force a genie into the lamp against their will. If an unconscious Aladdin can wish to be saved from drowning and Abis Mal can be wished to the bottom of the ocean (nothing suggests that drowning under those conditions was impossible per the rules) the last thing anybody would want would be a malicious genie hovering about for something that could be interpreted as a fatal or extremely inconvenient wish.
    • In short, they didn't want to become the characters of Wishmaster.
  • Also, Jafar demonstrates in this very movie that he's extremely good at twisting wishes around to his "master's" misfortune. Having him as a slave could potentially be worse than having him as an enemy.

• If destroying Jafar's lamp would destroy him, why did they not just destroy it right at the end of the first movie, rather than bury it and hope no one ever found (which, of course, someone did). Can it only be destroyed when Jafar isn't currently inside it? I guess you could say they thought it would be akin to murder since he can't fight back when he's trapped in it, but that comes across as an epic case of Honor Before Reason.
  • Because they're not the kind of people that will murder someone who's already been beaten.
  • Yes, but if he gets free (which came with in a hair's breadth of happening in the movie.) He could enslave/destroy the entire universe. Really, there's a point where "being nice/merciful" becomes being an idiot.
  • Cultural context not withstanding, these movies are made with modern audiences in mind. Most modern people would find it unjust and cruel to kill someone after they've already been subdued or taken prisoner; that's why we have prison sentences instead of punishing every major crime with the death penalty. At the very least, Genie in the first movie was of the mindset that a few thousand years in the lamp might be what it took to help Jafar chill out a bit and maybe even become a better person, i.e. rehabilitation, which is the central principle of the incarceration system.
  • Would've been nice if there was ANY hint of the Genie or the good guys thinking all this, these seem more like excuses and projections to make sense of a film that the writers were too lazy to figure out or flash out themselves.
    • We know Genie was thinking along these lines, because he announces it: "10,000 years in the Cave of Wonders ought to chill him out!" And while it would have been a bit smarter to keep the lamp under lock and key instead of letting him toss it back out into the desert, Aladdin and Jasmine probably took comfort in the fact that the location of Genie's lamp didn't seem to be common knowledge, and only the few people who were around during the climax would've known about Jafar becoming a genie and that he was sealed inside a lamp of his own. Even accounting for Iago digging up the lamp prematurely, he dropped it down a well the first chance he got, so it's still an amazing stroke of luck that Abis Mal happened to find it so soon.