Iago is one of the main characters in Aladdin. He is a loud-mouthed talking parrot and one of Aladdin's close friends.
He is the secondary antagonist of Aladdin, the main protagonist of The Return of Jafar and one of the tritagonists of Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
Personality[]
Iago is without a doubt one of the most complex characters in both Aladdin and the Disney canon animated feature films, being both a hero and.
He is initially portrayed as a simple-minded bird and only squawks in the beginning of the film. However, after Quaseem leaves to confront the cave of Wonders, Iago is revealed to be quite intelligent, capable of speaking like human and is a malevolent, ill-tempered, loud-mouthed parrot. He also dislikes it when the Sultan stuffs his mouth with what he calls "moldy, disgusting crackers" (quite ironic for a parrot). Iago was also quite crude and had a malicious and murderous side to him, as he was the one who suggested Jafar become the sultan and then kill Jasmine and her father. This just proves that he was just as deceitful, murderous, evil and vindictive as Jafar was. However, he is more aggressive, vocal and easily frustrated of the two. Iago also takes great pleasure in feeding the Sultan crackers in retribution. However, an early redeeming quality in Iago was that he had danced a little bit during "Prince Ali" before Jafar glares at him. Like Jafar, Iago craved after wealth and power, showing that he is just as greedy as the master he served. He wished for him to be sultan in order to gain the wealth and power he always had craved far. Iago does also show a cowardly side to him that would even carry out to him when he reformed, for he attempts to flee when Jafar drags him into the black lamp with him.
In Return of Jafar, it showed a different side of Iago capable of reforming. Iago's cruelty seemed to have stemmed from the fact that there was a lack of respect and loyalty between him and Jafar. He was never truly treated as a companion and more like a slave. It is shown that after being fed up with Jafar constantly insulting him and his treatment, Iago has had enough and denounces the villainous genie as a master. He points this out during his song and decides to now look after himself.
Though not quite reformed, Iago was still opportunistic, cunning and conniving, as he planned on using Aladdin's good nature as an advantage and an opportunity to get back into the palace, back into power. This plan does work when Iago inadvertently saved Aladdin's life from Abis Mal and his lackeys. however, he is immediately fearful when Aladdin promises to see that Iago gets a fair hearing with the Sultan, and points out that the Sultan still hates him. Iago later helps Genie get the princess and Aladdin back together after the Sultan and Jasmine learn that Aladdin was keeping Iago a secret. Jasmine and Aladdin show Iago with kindness despite his earlier actions towards them. After being forced to play a role in Aladdin's demise, Iago became excessively guilty for being tricked. He ultimately confronts Jafar and helps Aladdin defeat Jafar even though it nearly cost him his life. However, the Aladdin TV series, Iago still remains great and somewhat selfish, often using Abu to steal items and finding the ultimate treasure in Aladdin and the King of Thieves. However, he still cares about his friends as he tried stopping Aladdin to go back to Agrabah because he was a wanted criminal now for breaking his father out of prison.
Physical appearance[]
Iago is a small, obese red feathered parrot and had a golden-yellow beak and feet. He has bluish-purple tail feathers and blue feathers that are at the tip of his red wings.
Powers and Abilities[]
Trivia[]
- Iago was nearly going to be played by Dan Davito, who later even up playing Phil from Hercules instead.
References[]
- ↑ Aladdin, Platinum Edition DVD: Pop-Up Fun Facts
