This is actually a pretty nifty spell. Who wants to bet Mozenrath never uses a spell like this again?

Given the general workings of his powers I am not sure how this works. The magic itself has to be sentient because like the creature in the Citadel these hands seem to work autonomously with some simple directive in mind.

Also I love Razoul’s reaction to Jasmine here.

“We are so fired.”

This is purely to look at how the animators played with expressions in this scene, and this is some of my favorite linework for Mozenrath. all very fluid, many frames per second, LOTS of facial expressions, most all in a highly consistent style. The first picture is how it looks on the English episode. That’s what I had to work with. I had to touch up the Russian caps a little still, but I could still see his face in the original shots.

Meanwhile, in a C-plot that gets maybe 1-2 full minutes of footage, Abu and Iago worry about their friends.

Of course initially Iago is happy for the day off. Not being dragged off on an adventure? Awesome.

This doesn’t stop him from complaining they’ve been gone an awful long time.

I like to think this is because he’s actually genuinely concerned about both Aladdin and Jasmine, but you’ve seen my headcanon before. Jasmine’s his secret BFF. She’d better come back okay.

Geez, guys. It’s JUST a magical talking eel monster.

So Jasmine IMMEDIATELY spots Xerxes hiding and waiting for them on the path. And when he comes out and hisses at everybody she’s the only one who thinks quickly enough to catch him. (He eventually gets away, but we can blame that on Razoul.) I’m going to pass this off as the guards being way more accustomed to conventional adversaries. Other armies. Criminals. Identifiable wild animals with no magic whatsoever. Beyond that they’re a superstitious bunch and don’t seem to like messing with anything supernatural. It is a way in which they as a group are ill prepared for this venture, and therefore the fact that Jasmine and Genie came with them on this trip pretty much saved their lives.

This is twice now that Jasmine’s assertiveness and foreknowledge has benefited this group.

Talking about Jasmine

“You lost this battle the minute you got Jasmine mad.”

“Oh no! [laughs] I’ve angered the princess!”

“You don’t get it. I’ve seen her mad.”

This exchange. Just because it could contextually still be very “Dude, you made her angry 😐 No you don’t understand. Dude. Dude, watch this episode. You’re not listening to me. You’re going to die.”

Also? Given how Aladdin kind of sucked at the end of “Forget Me Lots,” I really like this turn. He’s totally confident that Jasmine can come and rescue him, and that she’s the one that’s going to do it. He knows what she can do. He’s counting on it. He is not threatened in any way by this turn; he expresses no guilt that he needs her to get him out of this.

He’s just being awesome for once.

So Mozenrath seems to feel entitled to a little respect for all the work he’s put into kidnapping and extorting and murdering…

image

Mozenrath, you need a nap.

(Also, you may have noticed the Disney logo changed. The brightness is so high on my English copy that i couldn’t salvage it. Mozenrath’s face is completely blank. This is from a Russian dub.)

But no, we do get to an important facet of Mozenrath’s character that’s really only touched on a couple times in the series – and I’m not sure if it’s just because the writers decided to stop talking about it or Mozenrath just got over it.

He mocks Aladdin for refusing to be the Sultan so he could “play the hero” even though that’s totally not what happened. He refused to be Grand Vizier so he could play the hero. He still gets to be Sultan when he and Jasmine get married and her father passes away. Anyway, Aladdin shoots back that it “beats some of [Mozenrath’s] hobbies” and Mozenrath loses his shit.

“I singlehandedly conquered the Land of the Black Sand. I became the most powerful sorcerer of our age. And that’s only the start. I will rule the Seven Deserts.”

“And how many parties do you get invited to?”

The fact that this is a sticking point – I don’t know whether to nod at the episode for slipping it in or what. Why would this be important? Is it important? Maybe. Xerxes seems to think it’s a good enough burn to laugh at.

Remember that Mozenrath is, again, “barely older” than Aladdin. So yes. The fact that he managed all of this is impressive. But Aladdin? Is getting married to a Princess. Aladdin has a Genie, and a magic carpet, and talking animal companions with good grammar, and friends and a future and he’ll actually be recognized by other people for the things he’s achieved.

Will Mozenrath? Technically the only person that might have commended him for his advances, he killed. He may conquer the known world, true, but is anyone going to praise him for it? WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE BE IMPRESSED? Nobody even seemed to notice that he took over the Black Sands until he stepped into a neighboring city and made people come and look. And this apparently really burns his ass.

He brought Aladdin and company there to do a job, yes, but he was obviously showing off, too. It was his first outing. He was finally going to start making his mark on the world, and it ended in disaster, and as far as he’s concerned? It’s Aladdin’s fault. Aladdin ruined his perfect entrance into the world of global domination and politics. Aladdin not only didn’t think he was a badass, but he also humiliated and frightened him, forcing him to lose face.

So now it’s time to mess things up for Aladdin. First: take his Genie, which was apparently the first step toward his perfect life.

And GDI Aladdin you will respect the amount of effort he put into this kidnapping, picking a decently spooky location, catching and/or concocting such a clever trap, and setting up the can’t-possibly-fail structure of this ransom! Because he worked hard on it and you are not properly appreciating the lengths he goes to in order to impress you people, you little shit.