Iago

Iago is Jafar's parrot companion and the anti-hero of Disney's Aladdin. He has appeared in all games of the series so far except Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Journal Entries

Kingdom Hearts

Jafar's cunning, crotchety parrot. He's Jafar's eyes and ears as he flies around Agrabah, spying on his master's enemies. Iago takes after Jafar, with a penchant for intrigue and evil.

He squawked around in "Aladdin" (1992).

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

A cunning and chatty parrot.

Iago flies about Agrabah, serving as the evil Jafar's eyes and ears.

Kingdom Hearts II

Aladdin (1992)

Jafar's boisterous and cunning parrot. He's Jafar's eyes and ears for everything going on in Agrabah.

Iago's mischief finally landed him inside the lamp, imprisoned with Jafar. Now that he's finally free again, he swears he's turned over a new feather. But I wonder...

Story

Kingdom Hearts

In Kingdom Hearts, Iago was Jafar's servant. He played a minor role, normally just appearing on Jafar's shoulder in cinematics, though he was the one who stole Genie's lamp from Aladdin. He later appeared holding Jafar's lamp in the boss battle, and flew around with it. The lamp was one of the ways to damage Jafar. Like the movie, Iago tried to fly away at the downfall of Jafar, but ended up in the lamp as well.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

Iago made a small cameo appearance in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, holding the lamp during the Jafar boss battle, like in the first game. He was also how Jafar got his hands on the lamp in this game to control Genie.

Kingdom Hearts II

In Kingdom Hearts II, Iago, like The Return of Jafar, was finally free from Jafar's lamp. When he encountered Sora and the others again, he tried to convince them that he had turned over a new leaf, although only Goofy seemed to believe him until Iago saved the group from a bunch of Heartless.

Iago wanted to prove to Aladdin that he was no longer a villain. He did so by taking Jafar's lamp from Pete, which proved his loyalty, until Jafar was released and he was forced to trick Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aladdin into going to the ruins, thereby destroying any trust he had obtained. When the group returned to Agrabah to face Jafar, Iago blocked an attack aimed at Aladdin and proved himself a friend again.

Kingdom Hearts coded

Iago appears in Kingdom Hearts coded and helps Jafar like he did in Kingdom Hearts. Iago steals the Genie's lamp which Sora must get back. He also appears in the final boss fight, once again holding Jafar's lamp.

Personality

Iago is a cowardly parrot. He gets scared quite easily, and the person he fears the most is his master Jafar. He obeys Jafar, because he is afraid that Jafar will harm him if he doesn't obey his master. Iago is a good friend to Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aladdin, and the others, though. At one point in the game, he even saves his friends from one of Jafar's attacks.

Appearance

Though it is not mentioned in the movie or games what species of parrot Iago is, he strongly resembles a plump Scarlet macaw. Most of his plumage is red, except for his tail and the tips of the first four feathers on each wing (Iago uses these feathers as "fingers"). Iago's sclera are yellow and his eyes are surrounded by a white, featherless area. He also has a large, yellow-orange beak and orange talons. His similarities to real-world birds end there, however. Iago's talons have three toes arranged in such a way that he has two in the front and one in the back, as opposed to real macaws having four toes, two in the front and two in the back. He has a thick black "uni-brow" and three thin, black feathers sprouting out of the top of his head. Iago's eyes are also set facing forward, unlike any species of macaw (and most species of birds). Arguably the biggest difference between Iago and other birds is the fact that he has straight, white teeth in his beak like a human, and his tongue is rather human-like as well.

Origin

Iago originally appeared in the 1992 film Aladdin. In the movie, he was Jafar's parrot and helped Jafar with his plan to marry Jasmine and become sultan of Agrabah. Iago is the one who steals the magic lamp from Aladdin and gives it to Jafar. In the climactic battle, Iago briefly fights Abu until Abu knocks him out for a few moments. Once Jafar is tricked into wishing to be a Genie, he is sucked into his new lamp. Iago tries to flee, but is grabbed by Jafar and trapped inside the lamp along with his master.

He returned in the 1994 sequel The Return of Jafar, this time as a major character. Finally breaking free of the lamp, Iago decided that he had it with Jafar, thanks to his lack of gratitude for everything and dropped his lamp down a well. However, life on his own proved to be a little overwhelming for the parrot, though he found a perfect chance to get back into power when he saw Aladdin leave the palace. Though Aladdin was at first unwilling to trust his old foe, as was everyone else, Iago patched things up first by saving Al's life, then by bringing him and Jasmine back together after a fight. However, just as things were looking up, Jafar showed up and forced Iago into betraying his new friends. This led to Aladdin being framed for murder and sentenced to death and everyone else locked up. Getting a change of heart, Iago freed the Genie who saved Aladdin. Though Iago was at first unwilling to face Jafar, he changed his mind and, though wounded, managed to kick Jafar's lamp into lava, destroying the villain. With this, Iago's friendship with the others was cemented.

His role returned to that of a minor character in Aladdin and the King of Thieves. Though he appeared in nearly all of the scenes, fighting Cassim (Aladdin's father and the King of Thieves) during the attack on Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding and going with Aladdin to the lair of the 40 Thieves, his only major part in the film is being Cassim's accomplice in stealing the Oracle to obtain the Hand of Midas. Though they were arrested, Aladdin freed them and Iago ended up going with Cassim. When Cassim was captured by his own men, Iago returned to Agrabah and told the others. He joined them in the final battle and in the end, decided to tag along with Cassim, hoping to finally find some treasure.

Trivia

• Iago is often confused with the Parrot living on Swordman Island in Kingdom Hearts V CAST.