| Aladdin: Wishful Thinking | |
 | |
| Author | Lisa Ann Marsoli |
| Publication date | November 28, 1997 |
| Published by | Advance Publishers LLC |
| ISBN | 978-1885222992 |
| Publication Order | |
| Preceded by Abu Monkeys Around |
Followed by Jasmine's Story (Disney Young Readers) |
Aladdin: Wishful Thinking is an illustrated storybook based on the characters from Aladdin.
Synopsis[]
While looking for adventure, Jasmine and Aladdin find a genie lamp in the Cave of Wonders. Wary of rubbing it, the pair wishes for Genie's wisdom. Genie rubs the lamp himself, only to find that he has freed Jafar - and is now his master!
Plot[]
One beautiful morning, Aladdin and Jasmine look out the window, searching for their next adventure. Aladdin suggests they let Carpet decide and, accompanied by Abu, they fly until the ground below starts to rumble and the Cave of Wonders emerges from the sand. Curious, they enter, despite Abu's reluctance, and find a familiar black lamp jumping and clattering around. The voice of the Cave orders them to remove it so it would no longer disturb his peace, to which Aladdin agrees, remembering what happened the last time they were there.
After bringing it back to the palace, Genie arrives and rubs the lamp, which unsurprisingly holds Jafar. Upon realizing that he is Jafar's master, Genie sees a chance to drive Jafar crazy by making him do good deeds. For his first wish, he sends Jafar into the marketplace to distribute food, money, and clothing among the poor children, who shower him with gratitude, much to nausea. For the second wish, Genie orders Jafar to feed and bathe all the animals in the royal menagerie. Upon completion, Genie lectures Jafar on what he'd learned about being a good guy throughout the whole process. After hearing his less-than-subtle response, Genie proposes an attitude adjustment.
For his final wish, Genie declares that Jafar will become a good guy someday when he least expects it. Furiously, Jafar goes back into his lamp as Genie throws it back to the Cave. Aladdin wonders if that last wish will ever come true, to which Genie replies that to some people it comes naturally, but in Jafar's case, maybe ten thousand years.
Characters[]
Trivia[]
- This book is a completely different light-hearted retelling of The Return of Jafar, one where Genie and the rest try to reform Jafar rather than destroy him.
- As Jafar is not seen with Iago, who reformed in The Return of Jafar, this could be seen as a sequel of sorts.
- In this book Jafar's lamp was found by Genie who became his master and when his three wishes were up, threw him back to the Cave of Wonders.
- Jafar is later seen still alive in Disney's Reading Quest with Aladdin, after he was released from imprisonment within the Cave of Wonders by the Babylon Brothers and Aladdin, accidentally believing him to be Genie, who they thought Jafar had captured.
- It could be possible that Jafar somehow was brought back to life by his twin sister Nasira after events of Nasira's Revenge, returned in the events of this book, and later had captured Aladdin as seen in Disney's Reading Quest with Aladdin.
- Given that Jafar is still a genie in this book, one explanation could be that Nasira found a way to bring him back to life, but was unable to reverse him back to his original human form, and so he was stuck once again in his lamp in the Cave of Wonders.
- One possible solution to fix the seeming retcon of Jafar's death, is that the events in Hercules and the Arabian Night are non-canon or a tall "tale", such as those told by Genie, Iago, and Abis Mal to Kahvid and Yani, as seen in "Caught by the Tale".