Type Episode
Date 1994-09-06

Bad Mood Rising

Aladdin 1x02

This time, a tale based on the Fisher King, roughly. Our heroes are off to open trade negotiations with the kingdom of Quirkistan, but when they arrive, it doesn't seem to be a very pleasant place. The state of the land, it seems, is affected by the king's mood, and he's been in a bad mood for a while.

If you think this is bad, wait until you see what it's like when the king is angry.

They try to cheer up King Mamoud, but fail. Jasmine, though, succeeds by telling him a story. He enjoys it so much that he declares that Jasmine will stay there with him forever. Though they escape at first, once Jasmine sees the harm that his anger is doing the people, she decides she must stay, for their sake. Ultimately, Aladdin manages to guilt-trip Mamoud into letting Jasmine leave, and the king discovers that he likes making others happy. Roll credits.

Aladdin manages to pass of Iago and Abu as Jasmine's mother and father, in hopes of making Mamoud feel guilty.

I've seen this episode quite a few times, but the sequence with Aladdin introducing all the people who would miss Jasmine is still pretty funny. In particular, the (identical) orphans are good. I feel like the 'pet Wallaby Edgar' was taking it a bit too far, though.

The episode is also featuring a little retelling of the story of Scheherazade, though it's Aladdin's 'story' and not Jasmine's that causes the change in the king.

Anyway, it's always interesting (for me) to see a retelling of some old story, so this one is worth seeing. But, it's not that great. Jasmine's willingness to abandon her own kingdom for the sake of Quirkistan shows that she is kind, but she forgets that she does have her own people who might need her. Well, it all worked out in the end.

Character Type
Aladdin Main
Princess Jasmine Main
Name Role
Jan Strnad Author
Rob LaDuca Director