Mozenrath is one of the main antagonists in the Disney 1994-95 Aladdin animated television series.
History[]
Mozenrath is an evil, power-hungry young sorcerer. He is the ruler of the Land of the Black Sand, a kingdom where the sand is black, the sun is usually blocked by clouds, and the only residents are himself, his flying eel sidekick Xerxes, and an army of Mamluks, undead soldiers who are under his command. He is quite open and accepting about his own cruelty and he prides himself on his ruthlessness. He took control of the Land of the Black Sand from its former ruler, the sorcerer Destane. According to Iago, Destane was a real hard case and even Jafar steered clear of him. Mozenrath explained that Destane was like a father to him until he "stole his power and his humanity," turning him into one of his undead soldiers. This implies that Mozenrath was his apprentice until he betrayed him, killed him, and turned his body into a mamluk. However, the actual story is a mystery. Nobody knows exactly what happened, just that Destane is a zombie now, Mozenrath has his magic, and he's ruling in his place. His floating Eel familiar Xerxes (voiced by Frank Welker) and his undead Mamluk army are loyal to him and will follow any of his orders.
His main goal is to conquer and rule the Seven Deserts, including Agrabah. While he and his undead Mamluk soldiers have secure control over the Land of the Black Sand, they are not powerful enough to conquer the other kingdoms that Mozenrath wants to rule. Because of this, his plots and schemes usually involve obtaining more magic and becoming more powerful and it is up to the heroes to stop him. Through the course of the series, he tried to kill Aladdin and his friends whenever they got in the way of his plans, nearly succeeding on several occasions, only to be defeated in the end. He also attempted to capture Genie several times so that he could tap his magical energies and use them for his own purposes. In Mozenrath's debut episode (Episode 44 - "The Citadel"), lago referred to the sorcerer as "Jafar Jr." It was an appropriate comparison, as Mozenrath demonstrated Jafar's ambition and cruelty. In the episode "Black Sand", Mozenrath was seen in Jafar's old room and later in the episode, Iago asked him if he knew Jafar. Mozenrath did not answer.
It would have been easy for him to kill Aladdin at any time simply by teleporting to where Aladdin was and finishing him, but he did not, perhaps because Aladdin and his friends spared his life whenever they defeated him. Nevertheless, he does try to kill Aladdin and his friends on several occasions when they are about to thwart one of his schemes or have just succeeded in doing so. Because Aladdin and his friends are good guys, they never kill Mozenrath, allowing Mozenrath to return to his own devices after he is defeated. The last time they defeated him, after becoming fed up with his repeated attempts to harm them, they took away his gauntlet, the source of most of his magical power. Genie then trapped him in a cage attached to a giant balloon and sent it flying away. It's unknown what happened to Mozenrath after this, but it's likely he died as using his gauntlet caused his health to deteriate.
Powers and abilities[]
Mozenrath possesses a fairly extensive array of magical artifacts with powers (most were probably acquired from Destane), which is shown when he offers many of them to Amin Damoola in exchange for his services in capturing Agrabah's sultan in the episode "Vocal Hero." His most powerful and treasured artifact is a magical gauntlet that gives him tremendous magical power. He always wears his gauntlet on his right hand. This power comes at a price though, as the flesh beneath the gauntlet has rotted away, leaving only bones, although he can still manipulate his motions of the skinless hand and fingers.
While he has an extensive knowledge of magic (spells, potions, etc.), he has no magic without the gauntlet or his other artifacts. Mozenrath's magic can be used to move, trap, and hurt people, but not kill. The blasts from Mozenrath's gauntlet are painful and they can render people unconscious, but they don't pose much of a threat to someone with nerves like Aladdin, which explains why Aladdin was never afraid to face Mozenrath head on. There seems to be a rule in the Disney universe that magic can't be used to kill people, only to trap them, hurt them, and create threatening circumstances where people might end up dying.
Mozenrath's magic has been shown to be very painful to Genie. In their first encounter, neither knew that Mozenrath's magic was stronger, so Genie was able to fake him out. However, in every encounter after that, Mozenrath's magic was shown to be more powerful, except for one time at the end of the episode "The Wind Jackal of Mozenrath" when Genie grabbed him and contained his magic with magic proof mittens while Mozenrath was distracted. Mozenrath only has two weaknesses; He cannot perform offensive magical spells that would cause pain or injury while being touched or when someone is very close by, and he can't use magic without the gauntlet or his other artifacts. Perhaps he can't use magic when people are touching him or close to him because the magic would rebound and hurt him as well, like electricity. This has allowed Aladdin to stop him on multiple occasions by grabbing him or tackling him.
Despite Mozenrath's young age, his body was physically weak and was not going to last much longer. His physical deterioration was a side effect of always wearing his gauntlet. Because of this, Mozenrath attempted to switch bodies with Aladdin in the epsiode "Two to Tangle."
Personality[]
Mozenrath is very ambitious and self-centered, like Jafar. He has a seductive voice. He also was seductive in attracting Jasmine. Mozenrath is a psychopathic villain whose primary motivation is power and, like Jafar, he is very sarcastic. Although he rules The Land of the Black Sand, his main goal is becoming powerful enough to conquer the Seven Deserts, including Agrabah. He will step on anyone to achieve his goals. He is calm and calculating, but he loses his temper when things don't go his way.
Appearance[]
Mozenrath is tall and slender like Jafar, but youthful and more attractive. He wears much flashier clothing than Aladdin. Rumor has it that the writers were planning on revealing that he and Aladdin were brothers in the third movie before the focus was shifted to Aladdin's father. Unlike Aladdin, Mozenrath is very pale, which is probably because he spends most of the time in his citadel in the Land of the Black Sand, which doesn't get much sun. His lips are pale. In the episode "The Secret of Daggar Rock," his skin gradually gets darker and more normal looking from being out in the sun all day.
Trivia[]
- It is worth noting that both Aladdin and Mozenrath got to where they are when the series takes place with the help of magical artifacts they acquired from evil sorcerers. Aladdin got the lamp from Jafar (with Abu's help,) and Mozenrath got his gauntlet and much of his knowledge of magic from his former master Destane, who he betrayed.
- The first idea for the Aladdin and the King of Thieves story line involved Mozenrath. The plot was that the hero and villain would turn out to be brothers. However (according to one of the writers) everyone thought they should steer away from the TV show. That and the fact that they couldn't get in touch with Jonathan Brandis prompted them to move on to another relative of Aladdin's - his father.
Quotes[]
- Let's see how the boy handles my magic without the genie's.
- My only goal now is to hear your tortured screams!
- Princess Jasmine, of course, made for such a delightful victim.
- Who cares? I lost everything.
- Aladdin, you're so gullible.
- Aladdin, you were in my kingdom but you didn't look me up? I'm hurt.
- Before I'm done, Princess, you'll give me everything.
- You fools! I AM Mozenrath!
- Aladdin, I'm so pleased that you're alive... for the moment!
- Well, I could rave all night, but I've got a city to destroy.
- You know, Princess, pitiful is very cute on you.
- Why tell you when I can show you?
- Well, I like a good laugh too. I'm laughing already!
- Are you clear on just how excruciating painful my powers can be!?
- Point well-taken. If only I had...A MONUMENTAL CRYSTAL!!!
- It's been nice knowing you Aladdin, but then again...no it hasn't.
- Why talk about it, when I can show you?
- If looks could bruise!
- The Sprites don't want to dig? Then I'll dig....THEIR GRAVES!
- Where are your tears, little Princess, beg me for mercy.
- I refuse to lose to a street rat!