Mozenrath

Mozenrath is a fictional character, voiced by the late Jonathan Brandis, in the Disney animated television series Aladdin. He is always accompanied by his flying eel, Xerxes.

Mozenrath is a young evil sorcerer and necromancer, often compared to the villain of the movie, Jafar. His exact age is unknown, but it is said that he's around the same age as Aladdin. He is the best known villain from the series.

Background
Mozenrath is a power hungry young sorcerer. Mozenrath is open about his cruelty; in his first appearance, he talks about his sadistic and ruthless master Destane, who actually treated him well and groomed him as sort of an adopted son; Mozenrath boasted about using that to betray Destane and seize his power, then going on to single handedly conquered the Land of the Black Sands and its undead population. He brags that he turned Destane into one of the shambling undead Mamluks that serve him. Even Jafar avoided Destane (before he became the world's most powerful sorcerer). It is hinted that he turned Destane into a Mamluck. His floating fish familiar Xerxes and his "half dead shambling" Mamluks (zombies) are loyal to him and will follow any of his orders.

One day, Mozenrath's lust for power led him to Agrabah where he tried to compel Aladdin into helping him capture a creature he had brought from another world, a beast that devoured magic. Once Aladdin subdued it and placed Mozenrath's magical controls upon it, Mozenrath intended to use it to defeat the magical defenses of every other kingdom of the Seven Deserts (and quite possibly beyond) and conquer them (including Agrabah, even though he acknowledged that it was "not a particularly magical kingdom"; he wanted it "because it's there!") Mozenrath seemed rather surprised that Aladdin would risk his life for "people, but not gold." Aladdin, however, bested Mozenrath by freeing the beast, which turned immediately upon Mozenrath, seeking both to devour his magic for food and revenge for Mozenrath's attempt to enslave it, forcing Mozenrath to send it back to its own world. From that day on, Mozenrath vowed he would destroy his new nemesis, Aladdin, and his loved ones. Through the course of the series he tried to kill Aladdin and his friends, nearly succeeding on several occasions, only to be defeated in the end. He also attempted several times to capture Genie so that he could tap his magical energies and use them for his own purposes. In the episode that Mozenrath debuted in, Iago referred to the sorcerer as "Jafar Jr." It was an apt comparison, as Mozenrath demonstrated Jafar's power-hunger and cruelty.

Powers
He is very powerful, cunning and deceptive. Mozenrath possesses a fairly extensive array of magical artifacts (most were probably acquired from Destane), which is shown when he offers many of them to Amin Damoolah in exchange for his services in capturing Agrabah's sultan. His most powerful and treasured artifact is a magical gauntlet that gives him tremendous magical power, which he always wears upon his right hand. This power comes at a price though, as the flesh beneath the gauntlet has rotted away, leaving only bones (he can still manipulate his skeletal hand and fingers.) While he possesses an extensive knowledge of magic (spells, potions, etc.,) he is powerless without the gauntlet or his other artifacts. Despite Mozenrath's young age, his body is physically weak and was not going to live much longer. His physical weakness may possibly be a side affect of his gauntlet, though he still proved to be spry enough to fight Aladdin in hand-to-hand combat on a few occasions. In one episode, Mozenrath attempted to switch bodies with Aladdin to survive in his strong body while Aladdin would end up dying in the villain's weak body. However, things didn't work as planed and both souls ended up struggling in Aladdin's body, leading to a spiritual fight between the two in Aladdin's mind. In the end, Aladdin's spirit was much more powerful than Mozenrath's magic. However, the Elixir of Life that Aladdin had to drink to begin this fight had the side effect of restoring Mozenrath's body, although not his hand. Therefore, he now will live much longer than he would have.

Mozenrath's appearance is practically the inverse of Aladdin. He dresses richly and is quite pale, as opposed to the tanned and poorly outfitted Aladdin. Another opposite is in method, with the physically weak Mozenrath employing magic and extensive arcane knowledge as opposed to Aladdin's physical prowess and ability to cleverly adapt. These factors all suggest that Mozenrath is likely meant to be a foil for Aladdin: both are young and clever, but are also very different in personality.

Trivia

 * The first idea for the Aladdin and the King of Thieves story line involved Mozenrath. The plot was that the hero and villain would turn out to be brothers. However (according to one of the writers) everyone thought they should steer away from the TV show. That and the fact that they couldn't get in touch with Jonathan Brandis prompted them to move on to another relative of Aladdin's - his father.


 * Disney studied Jonathan Brandis's appearance and movements, and incorporated them into Mozenrath's character.


 * Mozenrath's name comes from the producers Bill Motz and Bob Roth.


 * Mozenrath is the second most recurring villain (next to Abis Mal) in the Aladdin TV Series, since he appears in 9 episodes. Also, he is the villain that appeared in the most episodes in the third and final season of the Aladdin series.


 * The first episode Mozenrath appeared in was The Citadel.