Cassim, voiced by John Rhys-Davies, is Aladdin's father, and the legendary King of Thieves.
Physical appearance
Cassim is an enormous man who appears to be in his late forties or possibly early fifties. He looks like an older Aladdin, but he has beard, another hairstyle and costume.
History
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Cassim left his wife and newborn son in Agrabah almost twenty-two years ago to explore the world and pursue a better life for his family, not wanting to be looked down upon. Some time later, he fell in with the Forty Thieves, eventually becoming their leader (the "King of Thieves"), and incorporated a new law: never hurt the innocent.
At first, Cassim is seen in the film disguised as the King of Thieves, carrying out a plot to raid Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding. As soon as the ceremony starts, he gives the word for the other thirty-nine to distract the guards while he searches for the Oracle. The plan works, to an extent- Cassim is encountered by Aladdin, and the two of them fight, both unmindful of the fact that they’re father and son. He manages to get away, swearing to meet Aladdin again.
Later, Aladdin catches up to his father after learning he is "trapped in the world of the Forty Thieves", when Cassim utters the secret words to open the hideout of the Thieves ("Open Sesame"). He’s encountered by Sa'luk, a rival of his, about the failure of the raid in Agrabah, and Sa'luk is about to crucify him when Aladdin butts in. Aladdin reveals that he is his son, and this is proved when the dagger slips out of his cloak. Cassim tells them this is true. Nevertheless, since he found the location of their hideout, he must die- or face the challenge in a battle for his life against Sa'luk, which Aladdin narrowly succeeds at.
After the challenge, Cassim shows Aladdin a secret chamber, and Aladdin offers an invitation to his wedding, which Cassim is hesitant about in the first place, but upon hearing Iago that he’ll lead Cassim to where the Oracle is if he takes part of Aladdin's wedding, he accepts it. Cassim easily bonds with Genie, the Sultan and Jasmine (after a change of clothes and dealing with some of Genie's antics) but he becomes too obsessed with the pull of the treasure to enjoy the time with his son too much as well. Nonetheless, as he attempts to take the Oracle, Cassim promises Iago he’ll go straight to attend the wedding after it, but they are caught by Razoul and the Palace Guards, who have been tipped off by Sa'luk. He is sentenced to life in prison along with 31 thieves that have been captured during Razoul's raid of the hideout. But later on that night, Aladdin, disguised as himself in his King of Thieves clothes, helps him get away.
Once out of Agrabah, Cassim and Iago go back to the Thieves’s lair. Upon arriving, they find that Sa'luk manipulated the remaining thieves into believing that Cassim sold them out and follow Sa'luk as their new leader now, despite the fact the imprisoned 31 thieves know that it was Sa'luk who sold them out, not Cassim. Being held hostage with Iago, he’s forced to use the Oracle to lead them to the Vanishing Isle, while he secretly tells Iago to get away to warn Aladdin. As the Thieves reached the Isle by ship, Cassim is rescued by Aladdin, who knocks Sa'luk unconscious, and they venture into the Vanishing Isle to obtain the hand of Midas. They succeed, but Sa'luk quickly follows, taking Aladdin hostage, threatening Cassim that he’ll crucify Aladdin unless he hands over the Hand of Midas. Cassim, realizing that Sa'luk has been a stingy thief, concurs and tosses the hand to Sa'luk who catches it by the hand instead of the handle, turning him into a golden statue and falls into the chamber filled with water.
Then Cassim and Aladdin get out of the Isle. He throws the Hand of Midas into the sea realizing that he has not lost his ultimate treasure: his son, and apologizes for taking so long to realize it. Cassim attends Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding later, watching from the shadows, as he is still a wanted man for his past crimes. He accepts Iago, who feels he no longer has a place with Aladdin and the others as they prepare for a new life of responsibility, as a traveling companion, and goes off to venture the world. As the film ends, Cassim is seen with Iago waving farewell to his son and daughter-in-law before the two of them ride off to the night at last.
Other Appearances
A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale
In this darker retelling of the first film, Cassim is mentioned by name in Aladdin's backstory of his parents which follows what is known in Aladdin and the King of Thieves, however instead of giving Aladdin a dagger, he instead gives him Abu in this continuity.
Aladdin (2019 film)
When Jasmine asks Aladdin about his parents, he makes it clear that his mother is dead, but after being asked about his father, Aladdin responds that he lost both of his parents long ago, making it ambiguous as to whether or not Aladdin's father is alive in the continuity of the remake.
Trivia
- Sean Connery was intended to voice Cassim, but he declined.
- He originally first appeared in the Aladdin comics, but he was called Hamid due to his name not being established yet.
- In the original tale of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Aladdin's father was a tailor named Mustapha. He died when Aladdin was 10 years old, leaving a teenaged Aladdin to be raised by his mother.
- Cassim is similar to Pterano from The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
- Both are family of protagonists. (Cassim: Aladdin, Pterano: Petrie)
- Both have henchmen, but less sinister and redeemed themselves.
- Cassim is named after the infamous brother of Ali Baba from the original tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, which the film is based on. In an ironic twist, the Cassim in this story played the role of a villain who found the Forty Thieves' treasure by forcing Ali Baba to tell him. But after stealing their treasure, he was discovered by the thieves and killed, unlike this version who became their leader.
- Ironically, his son Aladdin's alias in the first film as part of his first wish, Ali-Ababwa, was similar to Cassim's brother Ali Baba.
- Initially, plans actually called for Cassim to be voiced by Sean Connery, but Disney decided that Connery would be too distracting for the audience, so John Rhys-Davies was given the role instead. Cassim was modeled after Connery, as a reference to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and interestingly, John Rhys-Davies previously portrayed Sallah in both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
- Interestingly enough, Cassim's role in Aladdin and the King of Thieves makes the film very similar to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, since both Cassim and Henry Jones are depicted as the estranged fathers of the series' main protagonists due to their obsession with finding a lost treasure (the Hand of Midas and the Holy Grail), and in each movie, the fathers' colleague is revealed to be the true villain (Sa'Luk and Walter Donovan), and is destroyed by the treasure they so desired (Sa'Luk is turned into a gold statue by the Hand of Midas while Donovan drinks from a false Grail and ages into dust). By the end of each movie, the father realizes his son was his true treasure and makes amends with them, letting go of their obsessions. The only notable difference is that Aladdin believed his father had died before he was born and only learned of his survival via the Oracle, while Indiana Jones knew he was alive yet didn't have a good relationship with him initially.
- Cassim was mentioned by name in the novel A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale.
- A version of Aladdin's father appeared in issue 5 of the comic book series published by Marvel Comics. He was a lamp seller named Hamid and is married to a woman named Zena. However, it was implied that Hamid was a mistake on the part of the author since the comics were made before the film or Zena may have left Hamid for Cassim.
- Cassim is alluded to in the 2019 remake of Aladdin. When Jasmine asks Aladdin about his parents, he makes it clear that his mother is dead, but after being asked about his father, Aladdin responds that he lost both of his parents long ago, making it ambiguous as to whether or not Aladdin's father is alive in the continuity of the remake.
- Appearance-wise, Cassim and Aladdin seem to have a sort of family resemblance (the former being an older version of the latter with a gray streak and facial hair).
- Cassim was to be mentioned in an earlier script for the original movie as part of a ruse set up by Jafar, claiming to be his brother and Aladdin's uncle. He tips off his unrelation as he attempts to get the Lamp from the Cave of Wonders when Jafar calls him "Yasini" rather than "Yusef".
- In Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, Jafar instead claims to be Aladdin's father to have the guards release him.