Do we like them?

Do we like Jafar?

A character from Aladdin (1992)

Our score: 1 out of 10. No. He's a smooth, power-hungry schemer who lies to everyone, uses people and never gives anything back. He's great to watch, but we wouldn't back him for a second.

Jafar is the Grand Vizier of Agrabah, the Sultan's most trusted advisor. Behind the polite manner, he has long wanted more than a servant's role. He needs a magic lamp hidden in the Cave of Wonders, and only a "diamond in the rough" can enter the cave and take it. Aladdin, a kind-hearted street thief, turns out to be that person.

He's a great villain in style: tall, calm, sarcastic, with a hypnotic staff and a talent for flattery. He has a short fuse for anyone who disappoints him, including Iago, his parrot, who has to put up with a lot. He's patient and clever, and he thinks ahead. But his plans never involve anyone's happiness but his own. Every kindness he shows is a trick, and every ally is a tool to be used.

Once he gets the lamp, he wishes his way up from Sultan to the most powerful sorcerer in the world. He takes over the palace, humiliates the royal family and sends Aladdin far away. When Aladdin challenges him, he turns into a giant cobra. His greed is what finally beats him: he wishes to be a genie, and the wish traps him inside a lamp of his own. A 1 out of 10 is fair, because the one point is for how entertaining he is.