Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (アリババと40匹の盗賊, Ari Baba to Yonjūppiki no Tōzoku) is a 1971 anime film by Toei Animation, retelling the evergreen story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from the Arabian Nights, or One Thousand and One Nights.

Hayao Miyazaki played a decisive role in developing structure, characters and designs for this film, whose credits list him as Key Animator and Organizer.

[3] Other releases followed, including: The story is about a little boy who is the descendant of the leader of the thieves who met their fate in the 1001 Nights.

He joins forces with a mouse and 38 cats to form the 40 thieves whose sole purpose is to steal back their rightful treasure from Ali Baba the 33rd.

The tyrannical Ali Baba being nearly broke as he has spent most of the money his father left him, finds a magic lamp which is inhabited by an ailurophobic genie who cannot work his magic unless all the cats in the kingdom are gone.