Iago

**Iago** is the secondary antagonist in *Aladdin*. He is a loud-mouthed and sarcastic parrot that served as Jafar's henchman during the latter's attempt to rule Agrabah. Iago's primary obsessions are riches and fame, which—coupled with his disdain for the Sultan's crackers—motivated his villainous acts.

Iago's role expanded significantly over the course of the saga, the most notable example is the sequel *The Return of Jafar*, in which Iago reformed and joined Aladdin and Jasmine as an anti-hero.

## Background

Iago's past is mostly shrouded in mystery. However, it has been hinted at a few times. In "Fowl Weather", he mentions that he once lived in the rainforest, but did not enjoy its unpredictable weather, prompting him to move to the desert. In *The Return of Jafar*, Jafar mentioned that he purchased Iago in the bazaar at some point in his life. In *Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams*, Iago claims he was born to be a peacock "but got switched as an egg."

He is part of a royal menagerie in the Arabian city Agrabah and is named after the villain Iago in the play *Othello* by William Shakespeare, as evidenced by a mention in the TV series, revealing that he has a twin brother called Othello.

## Personality

Iago is amongst the most complex characters to originate from a Disney animated feature film. When first introduced as the loyal follower of Jafar, he appears to be just as evil and cruel as his superior—being uncaring, murderous, deceitful, and cunning. However, Iago is the more aggressive of the two, as well as the more vocal and easily-frustrated. He has a difficult time keeping his opinions to himself and has a habit of shouting and ranting on about his annoyances when things don't go as planned.

Like Jafar, Iago craves power; the thought of having control over the city (and more specifically, the Sultan), is what seemingly drives his motivations throughout the original film. Iago cared nothing for those he would have to eliminate to obtain power, and openly expressed his desire to have both Jasmine and the Sultan killed once he and Jafar were in control of the kingdom; sadistically cackling at the very idea.

Despite being the second-in-command of Jafar's nefarious schemes, it was Iago's diligence that allowed the duo to succeed as far as they did, as it was he who proposed that Jafar marry Jasmine to assume the throne and he who eventually stole the Genie's lamp from Aladdin—using his own unique abilities and wit to do so with relative ease.

He also seems to hate crackers (which isn't what you would normally expect for a parrot), which the Sultan—apparently being completely unaware of Iago's distaste for them—often fed him directly to the mouth, which also acted as the main reason why he aided Jafar in his treacherous ambitions against the Sultan in the first film. Upon Jafar becoming both the Sultan and the most powerful sorcerer on the planet, one of Iago's first actions was exacting revenge against the Sultan by constantly force-feeding him the same crackers he was fed, with the Sultan unable to fight back due to being hung up like a marionette. It's implied in *Return Of Jafar* that his hatred of crackers stemmed from a particularly bad experience at a bazaar where he, ironically, did indeed squawk "Polly want a cracker!".

Despite his highly antagonistic nature in the original film, *The Return of Jafar* shows a different side to Iago—one capable of growth and reformation. The film implies that Iago's harsh attitude was partially the result of a lack of respect and appreciation over the course of his lifetime. Even as Jafar's partner, Iago faced abuse and neglect, which would eventually lead to the downfall of their relationship. As an opportunist, Iago cunningly used Aladdin's caring nature to weasel his way back into the palace, though it was the latter's genuine compassion that first sparked a change in Iago's character. He was shocked (and touched) by the prospect of anyone treating him with care and compassion. Throughout the course of the film, Aladdin and Jasmine became increasingly accepting towards Iago, even going as far as to welcome him back into the palace despite his attacks against them previously. This would result in Iago feeling guilt and reciprocated care for the couple, and their allies, prompting him to betray Jafar and risk his life for his new companions, despite coming dangerously close to death in the process.

Following *Return of Jafar*, Iago has come to understand what must be done to truly earn respect and love: giving it to others. From that moment on, he would remain a loyal ally to Aladdin and Jasmine. He's still very greedy though, but it's shown that he can be quite selfless as deep down, he appreciates his friendship with Aladdin, Abu, Genie, and Jasmine and shows that he will help them when the situation truly calls for his assistance. He generally tries to avoid danger, however, and often urges the others to do the same. In the episode "The Secret of Dagger Rock", Iago and Abu were told by Jasmine to keep away from a potentially dangerous mission, which Iago accepts. However, they both spend the entire time worrying for Aladdin and Jasmine, to the point where Iago willingly sets out with Abu to rescue them.

Nevertheless, Iago's villainous nature from the original film doesn't fade completely. He is still every bit aggressive, loud-mouthed, rude and narcissistic, but in a more comedic light than anything; he is no longer willing to result to extreme measures such as murder to achieve his goals. Iago would instead become a mischievous schemer, retaining his flaw of constantly plotting by concocting various get-rich-quick schemes to cheat the citizens of Agrabah for their valuables. This ties into his unhealthy obsession with wealth. In *Aladdin and the King of Thieves*, he was even willing to steal one of the treasures given to Aladdin and Jasmine as a wedding gift, as it had the power to lead to a supposed "ultimate treasure". Now with a sense of moral, however, Iago ultimately sacrifices his greed for the greater good (such as the safety of others) in most, if not all occasions.

## Trivia

* He's voiced by Gilbert Gottfried in the animated franchise who also voice Berkeley Beetle from *Thumbelina.* while in the 2019 live-action remake he is voiced by Alan Tudyk.
* Iago became a minor villain in *Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's Adventures of Aladdin*.
* Iago become Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's ally in *Thomas, Twilight Sparkle and The Return of Jafar* and after the end of the film, he will be with the heroes from now on.
* Iago guest star in Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's Adventure Series in some adventures.
* Iago is good friends with Marco Polo and Fu Fu due to his fondness of the kid and learned to like Fu Fu in the end.
* Iago is best friends with Discord, Berkeley Beetles, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie and Rattlesnake Jake since they're all reformed characters.
* Iago and Beetles sometimes have arguments about their voices sounding alike (breaking the fourth wall in progress).