Iago

Iago is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film Aladdin (1992), the direct-to-video sequels The Return of Jafar (1994), Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), and the television series. An anthropomorphic red-plumed talking parrot, he was voiced by American comedian Gilbert Gottfried in all animated appearances up to his death in 2022. He was subsequently voiced by Alan Tudyk in the live-action adaptation of Aladdin, by Barrett Leddy in the 2023 Disney+ special Lego Disney Princess: The Castle Quest and Piotr Michael in the 2023 crossover short Once Upon a Studio. Iago appeared in the original film as a sidekick to the first main villain of the franchise, Jafar, functioning both as comic relief and the secondary antagonist. He reformed for the better over the franchise's run in the sequels and television series, joining the protagonists as an antihero and being a major protagonist in The Return of Jafar. His name is a homage to the villain of William Shakespeare's Othello. Development In the original story treatment by Howard Ashman, Iago (previously named Sinbad) had been originally conceived as a "British" calm and serious straight man working off Jafar, who was originally conceived as more over-the-top, comedic, and irritable, but the filmmakers later reversed their personalities in large part in order to make Jafar more threatening and when they saw Gilbert Gottfried in Beverly Hills Cop II, Gottfried was cast to provide Iago's voice. Screenwriter Terry Rossio shared a concept behind Iago on his website Wordplay, in that Jafar transferred his emotions to his pet, allowing him to do magic without distractions. Rossio also mentioned, since Iago is too small to contain such emotions, "you end up with a feathered Gilbert Gottfried." Iago's animator Will Finn tried to incorporate some aspects of Gottfried's appearance into Iago's design, especially his semi-closed eyes and the always-appearing teeth.