Trivia: Part of the genesis of the film was when director Tad Stones became fascinated with the character Iago. He was talking to a producer about the characters he wanted to include and mentioned Iago, and was told that Iago was trapped in a lamp. This made Stones think about how Iago might escape and what he'd do after he got out... which eventually morphed into the plot for the movie. In fact, the working title was originally "Iago Returns," before "The Return of Jafar" was settled on.
Trivia: Robin Williams refused be in the movie after having a falling out with Disney. Williams agreed to work for very low pay on "Aladdin," on the condition that his voice and name not be exploited for publicity. However, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg didn't keep to his word and did exploit Williams in some publicity material, causing Williams to feel betrayed. Williams eventually settled his differences with Disney and appeared in the third film, "Aladdin and the King of Thieves."
Trivia: The movie was initially conceived of as a one-hour TV special/pilot to usher in the "Aladdin" animated series, but co-director Tad Stones convinced Disney that it should be lengthened slightly and released direct-to-video as a feature-film. Disney accepted his offer after being impressed by animation tests, which they felt were very high quality for the low-budget that the project was given.
Trivia: Disney's first direct-to-video animated sequel. Releasing it direct-to-video was considered something of a gamble at the time, as producers worried it would cheapen the Disney brand. However, the gamble paid off - it sold incredibly well, and went on to become one of the best-selling VHS titles of all time, eventually making back over 50X its budget in profit. After its release, over 50 more direct-to-video animated Disney sequels were produced (if one counts both 2D and CGI movies).
