This has all the stuff a grand finale should have: it has a plot focusing on our main character and his issues (something The Return of Jafar lacked), much better quality animation, and even a strong antagonist in Sa’luk. Let’s look at the plot first. There are moments here and there where it’s a bit shaky, but overall I found it executed quite well. It’s a young man reconnecting with his father, a father who is in fact a wanted criminal, and there is the expected conflict. Aladdin isn’t super trusting, Cassim is kinda shifty, and the two butt heads a lot throughout the film, though obviously in the end it becomes truly clear that they care for each other. It’s a pretty sweet thing, and a bit more complex than what you’d expect from a DTV sequel.

Sa’luk is a big plus for being just an absolutely brutal villain. He’s as dark as Jafar got, and he doesn’t even need magic! All he needs is his trusty Wolverine claw knuckle duster. This guy is so hardcore that not even gravity could kill him, and it has killed many villains in the main canon, from Gaston to MacLeach, so you already can tell this man ain’t nothin’ to fuck with. He also kills a goddamn shark onscreen and then proceeds to make the film dark as hell. But Death in the Disney universe is fickle and much like Death in Final Destination; if you think you can cheat it while being a villain, whoo boy do you have another thing coming. For surviving a fall from a great height, Sa’luk is rewarded with one of the most absolutely nightmarish deaths in any Disney film, one so disturbing I shan’t spoil it here; just go watch the movie and see for yourself.

Another note is that the man himself, Robin fucking Williams, is back! He voices Genie again for the finale, and he really is perfect for the role… though sadly, his humor is a lot more hit-or-miss than it ever has been before. While he still has a hell of a lot of zingers – that Thor joke he has in particular is so absolutely corny that I can’t help but love it – he does fall a bit too much into pop cultural references, including towards his own movies (in one scene, he turns into Mrs. Doubtfire to console Jasmine). Obviously he doesn’t ruin the film, and as far as weak Williams comedy goes this is still leagues better than a lot of the best material of some comedians today (COUGHAmy SchumerCOUGH) but I can’t deny it’s lacking a bit of the Genie charm from the first film.

A final bit of info: there’s a lot of intriguing “what could have been” situations for the film. The most notable is that Mozenrath was originally slated to be the main villain of the film, with fans speculating that perhaps he would be revealed as Aladdin’s brother (I can’t stress enough that was all fan speculation, there is no reliable source Mozenrath being Aladdin’s brother was the plan). They decided not to do this to a desire to diverge from the TV series and due to Mozenrath’s voice actor being hard to get ahold of, and I think this decision was a pretty good one; as great as the series is, I think this was a much better way to bring the story of Aladdin full circle. The other interesting tidbit is that Cassim was almost voiced by none other than James Bond himself, Sean Connery, but he had other commitments and sadly could not do it. However, his replacement John Rhys-Davies (AKA Gimli) did a great job, and even sounds a bit like he’s doing a Connery impression. And there’s one more bit of info, the best for last, but let me sum things up first…

This film is pretty good. It’s not as amazing as the first film is, nothing really could be, but as the grand finale of all things Aladdin, this was a pretty fun and enjoyable way to go out. I’d say give it a watch; hell, since it distances itself from the series you can reasonably watch it right after the first film and not have to worry about anything but missing a few background cameos! For a DTV sequel, it’s a fun ride, with a lot of good qualities to it, and by DTV qualities  this is basically the DTV equivalent of Fantasia with how good it is. Don’t go in expecting a masterpiece on the same level as the first film, but expect an enjoyable fantasy adventure with some solid family conflict.

Now, you ready for the last bit of info? The Peddler from the original film appears at the end of this film, singing a variant of “Arabian Nights” to book end the series. This was originally planned for the first film, back when he was going to be the narrator and pop up from time to time, the first film ending with his reprise of “Arabian Nights” as he packed up his camel and rode off into the desert. But that wasn’t used, and after all these adventures he finally gets to do it, the implication being that he spent the entire prologue sequence of the first movie rambling on about all the adventures of Aladdin to whoever was there to buy from him, and in the final scene of this movie his stories and the Arabian nights finally come to an end.