Iago

Iago
(イアーゴ, Iāgo?)
Biographical information
Homeworld	Agrabah
Physical description
Species	Red lory
Gender	Male
Behind the scenes
Origin	Aladdin
English VA	Gilbert Gottfried
Japanese VA	Akira Kamiya (KH) Tōru Ōkawa (KH2)

Iago is Aladdin's parrot companion and a supporting character in Disney's Aladdin. He has appeared in many games throughout the Kingdom Hearts series.

Personality

Iago is an energetic, mouthy, and somewhat wimpy parrot, who is often frustrated and vocalizes his anger freely. Iago is scared quite easily, especially by the person he used to fear the most - Jafar. Iago was very loyal to Jafar mainly due to the immense fear of punishment he would receive should he fail his boss. Even though Iago gives off a "tough guy" exterior, he has a good heart, as seen in the second return to Agrabah in Kingdom Hearts II, when Iago guards Aladdin from one of Jafar's attacks, sacrificing himself.

Physical Appearance

Though it is not mentioned in the movie or games what species of parrot Iago is, he strongly resembles a pudgy red lory. Most of his plumage is red, except for the tips of the first four feathers on each wing (Iago uses these feathers as fingers) which are blue (green in Kingdom Hearts) and his tail, which is bluish-purple. 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. However, his similarities to real-world birds end there.

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 "unibrow" and three thin 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.

History

Kingdom Hearts

In Kingdom Hearts, Iago was Jafar's henchman. He plays 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 appears holding Jafar's lamp in the boss battle and flies around with it. The lamp is one of the ways to damage Jafar. Like in the movie, Iago tries to fly away at the downfall of Jafar, but ends up in the lamp as well.

Chain of Memories

Iago makes a small cameo appearance in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, holding the lamp during the boss battle, like in the first game.

He is 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 encounters Sora and the others again, he tries to convince them that he had turned over a new leaf, although Sora claims that might be his new scam. However, only Goofy seemed to believe him until Iago saves the group from a bunch of Heartless.

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

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.

Origin

Iago originally appeared in Aladdin. In the movie, he was Jafar's parrot and helped Jafar with his plan to marry Jasmine and become sultan of Agrabah. Iago 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 boss.

In The Return of Jafar, Iago got away from the lamp, he switches sides, mostly because he has heard enough of being pushed around by Jafar. Over the course of the film, Iago warms to the idea of friendship slowly after Aladdin rescues him from the Sultan's wrath in return for Iago accidentally rescuing him from Abis Mal, eventually risking his life to kill Jafar by pushing his lamp into molten lava. After his heroic deed, he is welcomed into Aladdin's extended family and becomes one of his most loyal best friends and sidekicks.

Gallery

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