Tag: aladdin

Production Code Episode 64: Love At First Sprite

Welcome back old followers, and welcome new readers! After a very long hiatus, I’m back doing my Aladdin liveblogs. I’m starting back with a title I meant to do for a long time, and I have a few more lined up in its wake for future posts. This one is a Carpet-centric episode, of which there are very few, and this also introduces the Sprites, who will appear in one other episode later that’s pretty relevant to Mozenrath’s timeline, hence why it’s important to get this one out of the way. I do remember really liking this episode when I was a kid, so we’ll see what comes up here. 

Note that all posts for this episode will be under the following tag: 

dvdfairy: love at first sprite 

Want to see more liveblogs? Check the updated Episode Masterlist with all currently-finished episodes. 

Production Code Episode 35 – Some Enchanted Genie

I am actually really excited about this episode. Eden’s first appearance and arguably one of the funnier Abis Mal episodes, this has always been one of my favorites. I like Eden as a character and wish they’d done more with her. Her second appearance is kind of “meh” because the jokes were poorly written and the animators were not up to the task of illustrating her energy as it shows here. (And this is all very sad also because it’s a Mozenrath episode and it’s kind of all-around disappointing as an outing.)

But we’re not doing that episode today! Or for a while (because it’s like Moze’s second to last episode EVER). Today we’re doing this one, which is awesome! I haven’t decided what episode will come next, but probably Love at First Sprite. As always, want to back read? See some previous episodes. Have a look at the Master List!

I will also at some point be doing Act 2 of Return to Oz.

Jasmine uses all the talents she realized she had when she became a supervillain that one time.

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Yes, that is Jasmine using her whip to Indiana-Jones-swing onto the wagon carrying Mozenrath’s new weapon.

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(I also have no idea why they never sold a Jasmine doll with this outfit. She had a million dolls at one point in time. They sold a PVC figurine of it, though, and I wanted it SO BAD when I was a kid. Jasmine was my favorite Disney Princess and I loved seeing her be just as capable and daring a hero as Aladdin. Couldn’t get enough of it! I wanted a Jasmine doll that could go on adventures and destroy evil sorcerers and rescue Aladdin when he gets his fool self into trouble.)

Production Code Episode 71: The Wind Jackals of Mozenrath

I mentioned in my introduction to “The Secret of Dagger Rock” that I’m reviewing these two episodes out of production order, because even if Dagger Rock was produced after this one (as Episode 74), the way they’re written suggests they were always meant to air the way they do in the actual airing order, with Dagger Rock as Mozenrath’s second appearance and this as his third. The way that Jasmine operates in this episode and the way that Mozenrath interacts with her makes no sense if Dagger Rock happens afterward, and vice versa. That’s the most I really have to say on the matter, and we’ll have much more interesting things to cover, like:

1. Jasmine and Aladdin going on secret spy missions for the Sultan.

2. Jasmine being a badass in general.

3. Our first introduction to Mozenrath’s anti-magic items and his magic-detecting crystals.

4. A conflict for Genie that isn’t totally contrived and/or insufficiently explained.

So tune in with me, and enjoy the ride! For those that are curious and want to see other episodes and liveblogs, here is a link to the Episode Masterlist.

Production Code Episode 54: Dune Quixote

This is Sadira’s third appearance in the series. Some things to bear in mind as we jump into this that need be remembered:

1. No one but Iago, Abu, and Rajah remember what happened in Sandswitch. 2. It may have been long enough that at least Iago and Abu have cooled off. This is one I haven’t seen in a few years, and the last time it was purely for icon-making purposes. What I do remember is that Jasmine had a slightly more active role (compared to Sadira’s first appearance, anyway), and this episode kind of attempts to flip that “other woman” bullshit on its head. …Eventually.

So off we go!

And now I’m going to gush about this redesign because wow. This is gorgeous. Like one of the main complaints I have about Mirage’s original design (that is used in all episodes besides this one) is that her proportions were sometimes really off, largely because the shape of her head lent itself very often to the animators drawing it too big for her body.

This one seems to borrow more closely from the bone structure of the Abyssinian, which makes sense for her as most tales of the breed’s origin are tied to Egypt. It’s also just by and large capable of being more expressive than her original design.

This whole scene is just a marvel to watch because like the rest of the episode, everything is fluid and consistent and very well defined and oh my God why didn’t they keep this design?

Production Code Episode 60: The Lost Ones

Two things about this episode: 1) I always thought this was a later Mirage episode because she’s redesigned in it, and it’s one of the ones that aired on Saturday mornings and not on weekdays. Truth told, chronologically this is her second ever encounter with Aladdin. 2) This is apparently, canonically, Wahid’s first episode. However, in the airing order, another of his episodes, A Clockwork Hero, comes way way WAY before this one. We may have to check out that one soon (another Mechanicles episode, if I’m not mistaken) just to see how that’s addressed, whether Aladdin seems to already know him (whether in that one or in this one) and other little goodies.

This is another of my favorite episodes, but I haven’t seen it in years.

Iago is so good at helping.

And speaking of anachronisms, “philistinism” wasn’t really a word or a thing in the way he’s using it here, not until the 17th or 18th century, and it’s a pretty white, Anglo-centric turn of phrase. Not to be mistaken for the Philistine people (or the Pleshets as they were known), philistines in philosophical terms are anti-intellectuals who place no value in “art, beauty, spirituality, or intellect.” (x) While I can’t find much in the way of how the phrase originated in this way, I’m not going to rule out white colonialist views of ancient cultures, but anybody better versed on this that’d like to give me a shout to set the record straight is most welcome.

I feel the need to give Iago a pass on the more modern references because this is still probably the least blatant of the anachronisms he can dish out, considering his one ambition in life is to have a vibrating recliner.