[6] Gilbert Gottfried, Jonathan Freeman, Scott Weinger, Frank Welker, Brad Kane and Linda Larkin reprise their roles from the first film, with Jason Alexander, Val Bettin, Liz Callaway, and Dan Castellaneta joining the cast.

A year after Jafar's defeat, Aladdin and Abu have settled into the Palace of Agrabah with Princess Jasmine and her father, the Sultan.

Still yearning for adventures, Aladdin foils a criminal group led by the dimwitted Abis Mal and returns their stolen loot to the citizens of Agrabah.

Hindered by his incompetent new master, Jafar tricks Abis Mal into wasting his first two wishes, then enlists his help in taking revenge on Aladdin.

He splits open the Palace gardens, creating a pool of lava, and traps Aladdin on a sinking rock.

Before the theatrical release of Aladdin, Disney commissioned Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove to produce a direct-to-television project that would shepherd its transition from the film into a television series.

[7][8] Due to a bitter and highly-publicized falling out over the unauthorised use of his voice in the marketing campaign for Aladdin, Robin Williams refused to reprise the role of the Genie.

He was replaced by Val Bettin, who had previously worked with Disney on The Great Mouse Detective, and who would reprise his role in the franchise's animated series and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

Songs in the film include: Instead of the film receiving a theatrical release, Steve Feldstein, director of public relations for Disney's home video division, stated that the decision to release The Return of Jafar on home video was due to time constraints, claiming that "to put the film in the theatrical pipeline would have taken up to five years", but releasing it on home video would take "less than two years".

In addition, Feldstein confirmed that financing was also a consideration because producing a direct-to-video feature would be "less costly to make than Aladdin".

[13] The Return of Jafar was first released on VHS and LaserDisc in the United States and Canada on May 20, 1994, being the first installment of the direct-to-video sequels.

[16] For its original direct-to-video release, The Return of Jafar was accompanied with a promotional campaign including trailers and inserts in over a million VHS copies of The Fox and the Hound (1981), and mail-in rebate coupons for Mattel toys and products from Pillsbury (in the United States only) packaged inside every copy of the VHS cassette of the film.

Originally released on VHS that year, The Return of Jafar was reissued on Special Edition DVD and VHS (with "Aladdin:" added to the title) on January 18, 2005, the same day as its direct sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, also received a re-release, with a digitally restored picture and remastered sound.

[17] The Return of Jafar, along with Aladdin and the King of Thieves was released on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD Combo Pack on January 5, 2016, as a Disney Movie Club exclusive in North America.

[19] David Nusair of Reelfilm.com summed up most of the negative feelings that contributed to this rating: Notable as the first direct-to-video Disney sequel, The Return of Jafar follows Aladdin (Scott Weinger) as he attempts to once again foil Jafar's (Jonathan Freeman) villainous plot to take over Agrabah.

And despite the fact that he was freed from his lamp at the end of the first film, the genie (now voiced by Dan Castellaneta) is back and wackier than ever.

The repetitive storyline doesn't do the movie any favors, and even at a running time of 69-minutes, doldrums set in almost immediately.

The Return of Jafar is a thoroughly needless sequel that may keep small children engaged, but is bound to come off as nothing less than a huge disappointment for fans of the original.

[21] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Steve Daly graded the sequel a "C−", criticizing it as a "knockoff" that "carries the Disney label and costs about as much as a tape of Aladdin, but it's clear from the first jerky frame that the same time, care, and creativity didn't go into it".

The Peddler, at the beginning, comes across Jafar's lamp, but sells it to Aladdin, Sora, Donald and Goofy for a rare artifact in the Cave of Wonders.