Customer Reviews

Aladdin & King of Thieves

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Underrated, to be sure, Aladdin and the King of Thieves features some very listenable music, though much of it is forgettable.

First, the Return of Jafar material: only three songs are featured. The Genie's "There's Nothing in the World" is absent, presumably because Dan Castallaneta, not Robin Williams, performed the song. Probably for the same reason, Brian Hannan's rendition of an extended "Arabian Nights" is not included (though Hannan is a decent singer in his own right, the song feels like the cheap, direct-to-video music it is without Bruce Adler's iconic vocals leading the way). The three songs included are rather good, Gilbert Gottfried's Iago managing to actually carry them well, despite a grating character voice, and it is a pleasure to hear Jonathan Freeman vocally expand on the limited vocal opportunities he was afforded in the original film. The music is adequate, but not as memorable as that of the original film. No underscore from The Return of Jafar is available.

A much greater amount of material from King of Thieves is afforded us; however, quantity is no quality. "Out of Thin Air" is a strong showing, with Brad Kane and Liz Callaway (who serves excellently as a replacement for Lea Salonga) demonstrating impressive vocals, though the music is somewhat formulaic and too gushy at points. "Are You In or Out?" is carried by a distinctive, syncopated, rhythm, and theater legend Jerry Orbach lends a gruff but very musical voice to it. "Father and Son" is a comically nostalgic piece, though Robin Williams's vocals are not as strong as in the original film. On the other hand, "There's a Party Here in Agrabah" and "Welcome to the Forty Thieves" feel like tired retreads of "Friend Like Me" or "Prince Ali." The score cues are quite good. Though the score was composed by two men, there is no apparent divergence in style, and so the score feels unified, connected by a new, Spanish-flavored main theme. Many of the better cues are included, though a hauntingly beautiful part of "Hand of Midas" is missing, as is the final wedding music, which features a well-orchestrated rendition of "Out of Thin Air." Incidentally, both score and songs are diminished by annoying references to common musical motives, including Mendelssohn's wedding march and the "snake tamer" melody.

Aladdin and the King of Thieves, though it follows in the tradition of Alan Menken's music, stands largely on its own feet, with the exception of a brief appearance of "A Whole New World" at the end of "Forget About Love." One of the producers' wisest decisions concerning these misguided and mediocre sequels was to recover an unused song from the original soundtrack: "Arabian Nights Reprise." In watching the finale of Aladdin and the King of Thieves, one can forget all the failings of the film simply by the nostalgic quality of Bruce Adler's voice and Alan Menken's music. "Arabian Nights Reprise" carries the odd distinction of feeling like it was written for the sequel, not the original. The very orchestration lends itself to King of Thieves; the tambourine at the end of the song provides a perfect segue into the style of the end credits music (an interpolation of the "Spanish" main theme). One problem: significant tape hiss, while not terribly unpleasant to listen to, damages the ability of the song to flow smoothly within the context of the rest of the hiss-less music. Make no mistake, however: this song (previously available, but in inferior quality, on a Disney boxed set) is worth the price of the CD.

The structure of the soundtrack is as follows: Return of Jafar songs, King of Thieves songs, King of Thieves score. For a much more coherent listening experience, I recommend resequencing and (optionally) editing the music. Here is the chronological order of Aladdin and the King of Thieves:

1, 2, 11, 12, 4, 13b (1:02-end), 16, 3, 14a (0:00-1:01), 13a (0:00-1:02), 6, 15, 5, 18, 17, 14b (1:01-end), 7, 19

14b and 7 should be mixed to achieve the proper segue.

I really love this movie, its one of my very favorites,and i love the soundtrack too.

Definately not up to the standards of theatrical Disney soundtracks, but it's a decent enough CD with listenable songs.

The best, in my mind, is "You're Only Second Rate" from the Return of Jafar. The other ROJ songs are reasonable, though the CD is missing "There's Nothing in the World" for some inexplicable reason.

"Out of thin Air", "Forget About Love", and "are you in or ou"t hold up quite well on their own, but I find the the other songs rather dull. The score is pretty nice my favorite tracks are "Magic Carpet", and "End Credits".

I usually live by one rule of thumb: If its a sequel, its probably not worth watching. Aladdin and the King of Thieves certainly changed my mind.
"There's a party here in Agrabah" is catchy and witty. Robin Williams never fails to entertain. Brad Kane's part is meaningful.
"Welcome to the Forty Thieves" is certainly my favorite track, featuring a bit sung by John Rhys Davies himself, whose talent carried this movie far, and whose character is entirely underplayed in my opinion.
"Out of Thin Air", although it presents the main conflict for the film, is a song that I always skip on my ipod. Call it my hatred of anything near sappy. Iago's line certainly summed this one up for me.
"Father and Son" is humourous and well done.
The score itself is classic Aladdin, with a new Spanish flair, (though the wedding march snippet certainly ruins the flow of "Wedding/Attack of the Forty Thieves.") "Aladdin and Cassim escape" is a wonderful example of the new theme.

Even as a die-hard Aladdin fan, I really disliked "The Return of Jafar" (lame, I know) and therefore the songs hold no charm for me.
And that's my take on it :)