I've always wanted to fire a 10 000 tonne cannon at this deplorable film and now I get my chance. Heh heh.<br /><br />Sequels suck (a word I don't like using, but necessary here). Usually. TROJ a perfect example. Maybe the kids will like it. But I was no older than 14, maybe 15, by the time I saw this and it almost made me sick.<br /><br />What Disney have in effect done is to ruin all the good work done by Aladdin. What was good about the first one? A lot of things, such as:<br /><br />1) THE GENIE 2) Jafar 3) The fact that Jafar (and Iago) was defeated without being destroyed 4) Iago was a very suitable henchman for Jafar who was loyal to his master and didn't have an ounce of goodness in him. 5) The other characters, while a bit sugary, were quite believeable.<br /><br />Just a warning to readers who want to see this movie and want nothing given away: this next bit forcibly reveals a few non-critical plot elements.<br /><br />So just what has Disney done? They have slammed good points 3-5, overall weakened no.1 and only no.2 enhanced in any way. Even that could have been left alone. I'll keep to point-format and address them one by one. 1) The good thing about the first one was that the genie wasn't over-used. Every time he WAS brought in it was something special. In TROJ, and subsequent 'episodes' spun off from it, he just goes too far and is over-used, removing the novelty of his approach. It ceases to be so spectacular. In other words, you CAN have too much of a good thing... well, most good things. I'm not too critical on this point; even without Robin Williams, the Genie (now played by none other than Homer Simpson) does a creditable job. Just a couple of questions though: The genie's arm-cuffs disappeared when he was freed; why is he wearing them again now? and Why does the genie spend all his time around Aladdin now when he didn't want to be tied down at all? 2) Jafar (same voice) does an excellent job and is the best part of the movie. His genie antics are quite believeable and he steals the show from the (good) Genie and everyone else. But there's a downside - see the next point. 3) Because Jafar wasn't killed off in the first one, they brought him back, and he wasn't so fortunate the second time round, apparently - I didn't see any bones, but if he was still alive, they would have brought him back for subsequent episodes. This was the most sickening part of all, to kill off a worthy villian who was just blossoming. And especially the way they did it, his 'death' seemed to take about 10 minutes. 4) This was the second most sickening thing for me. How could a perfectly able villain, like Iago, turn into a good guy? 'Specially after the first one where he despised 'kissing up to that chump and his chump daughter' which is what he ends up doing. Even when Jafar completely forgives him, and appears to have won him back, Iago, without cause or reason, SETS FREE the genie and is ultimately the one who kills Jafar. Iago in Aladdin 1 would not have done that in an eternity. 5) Disney opted to toy with the remainder of the characters. Aladdin, even though he lives in the palace, still cannot dress respectibly for most of the film and is still chased by Razoul. The other characters, relegated to minor roles, disappoint: Rajah (formerly kittenish) is now savage, Jasmine contrary, the Sultan no longer easy-going, and the carpet badly faded.<br /><br />Young children who don't understand such things may not mind and instead actually enjoy this film.<br /><br />When I first saw an ad for this movie, in fact, I thought it was really good that they'd brought Jafar back, but having watched the whole thing, I wished they'd left him in the Cave of Wonders to chill out as planned at the end of the 1st one by the Genie. I'd rather forget this one ever happened. Jafar alone prevents it from getting the worst possible mark. 2/10<br /><br />PS Disney to an extent redeems itself with a third movie in the series, but it can't begin to account for the damage of this monstrosity.