Here’s why Robin Williams didn’t voice Genie in Aladdin and the Return of Jafar. Williams’ legendary acting career brought him many popular roles, but none might be as iconic as his voice work as Genie in Aladdin. The 1992 animated movie has become a classic of Disney’s library and saw Williams inject a plethora of energy and pop culture references into the wish-granting character. After earning over $500 million worldwide and receiving great reviews, it became clear that Aladdin was now an IP Disney could continue to mine from.

Unsurprisingly, this success saw Disney fast-track a sequel to Aladdin that went straight to home video. The Return of Jafar continued Aladdin and Jasmine’s stories one year after the first film and was released in 1994. Despite being set free at the end of Aladdin, Genie returns to Agrabah to reunite with his friends and be part of the new adventure. Even though reviews weren’t kind to the sequel, it was a major success and went on to make over $300 million worldwide in home video sales and has since gained a reputation as one of Disney’s best animated sequels. But, all of this happened without Williams returning to voice Genie.

For The Return of Jafar, Williams was replaced as the voice of Genie by Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) because of a fallout he had with Disney. When Williams originally agreed to voice Genie, he reportedly came to an agreement with Disney that his voice couldn’t be used to sell merchandise. This meant that Disney would not have been able to make toys using Williams’ voice or use it to promote any products. However, Williams believed that Disney did not honor this agreement and began airing his grievances with the studio in interviews. The fallout of this feud led to Williams refusing to come back for Aladdin 2.

Even though Williams’ complaints about Disney are well documented, the specifics of what happened are not as clear. Williams claimed his frustration began when he saw a commercial for Aladdin that ended with his character and voice being used to sell merchandise. However, LA Times reported at the time that Disney ran all marketing materials involving Genie by Williams and his wife. In Williams’ mind though, a breach in trust had happened and he claimed he would likely never work with the Mouse House again.

Williams’ filmography had great ties to Disney before Aladdin as he starred in Good Morning, Vietnam and Dead Poets Society for the studio years prior. Despite what he said about Disney to the press and not returning for Aladdin and the Return of Jafar, there was a happier ending to this story. Williams later agreed to return as Genie for Aladdin and the King of Thieves, which was the final appearance of the animated genie. But, Will Smith has since taken over as Genie in Disney’s live-action retelling of Aladdin and is expected to return for the sequel.