―An astonished Aladdin upon meeting the carpet[src]
The Magic Carpet (better known as just Carpet) is a supporting character in Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin. He is a sentient Persian carpet whom Aladdin befriends while traversing the Cave of Wonders.
Carpet was created a thousand years ago by the legendary sorcerer and carpet weaver Khuriya who created one-hundred Magic Carpets each with their own unique patterns and colors. On the day of his death he commanded his creation to go out into the world and find masters for them to serve. Carpet and his siblings went their own separate ways, with Carpet finding his way into the Cave of Wonders and becoming trapped in its treasure room. Because he was not part of the original forbidden treasures of the cave, his physical interaction with Abu didn't provoke the cave's guardian. Having resided within the same home, Carpet had been good friends with the Genie (who remained trapped within his lamp in an exclusive chamber), a thousand years prior to meeting Aladdin.
Development
Carpet is known for being one of the first computer-animated characters in a feature film. His complex design was what forced the animators to design his pattern in computer animation. He was animated by Randy Cartwright. Randy animated the hands and feet (tassels) in traditional animation, while the rest of the character was computer-animated.
Personality
Despite being a carpet, Carpet is a character of many traits and pure of heart.
In the first film, he was a bit shy when he first encountered Aladdin and Abu, but was curious enough to nervously fly over to investigate; eventually hiding once Aladdin first saw him or whenever Abu looked over. Aladdin had to coax him out of hiding, and soon, he quickly befriended Aladdin and risks his own life to save him. He happily joins Aladdin on his magical adventure to win the heart of Jasmine. One thing he doesn't enjoy is how Aladdin wouldn't tell the truth about him truly being a street urchin, which was the only time he showed any annoyance towards Aladdin.
Over the course of the series, he has shown to possess an almost human level of intelligence, such as being shy, heroic, romantic, and unquestionably loyal.
He also seems to be very intelligent, as well as perceptive, more so than most other characters. He is usually the one that figures out what's going on before anyone else, though he has trouble expressing it to Aladdin and his friends due to his lack of ability to speak or make any sounds. On top of his intelligence, he is very compassionate, but occasionally lets his kindness speak over his common sense. Also, unlike Genie, he doesn't take losing seriously.
In the end, he has been shown to have a strong bond with Aladdin, not only saving Aladdin's life on multiple occasions, but also doing favors for him such as helping Aladdin and Jasmine fall in love, despite his distaste for Aladdin's lies. In return, Aladdin has said to trust him with his life (in Aladdin and the King of Thieves).
Carpet first meets Aladdin and Abu in the Cave of Wonders while they are looking for the Genie's lamp. Carpet teases Abu, who is scared and forces Aladdin to look. Aladdin gently coaxes Carpet out by his astonishing appearance. At first, Abu is angry at Carpet and does not want him to come when he thinks he can’t trust it, but Aladdin calms him down and offers Carpet to join them. Carpet joyfully leads Aladdin and Abu through many twisting caves, and it is implied that Aladdin might never have found his way to the lamp without Carpet's guidance. As Aladdin goes to fetch the lamp, Carpet realizes that Abu is trying to steal the last temptation treasure of the Cave - a gigantic ruby in the hands of a large ape-like idol and tries to pull him away from it, but fails. When Abu grabs the jewel it melts into lava along with the idol, the cave starts to collapse, and fill itself with lava and flames. Aladdin nearly falls into the lava, but Carpet catches him in time then flies to Abu for Aladdin to pull him off a rock before it bursted into lava and help him onto him. Carpet then flies from the massive lava floods trying to help them escape - of course intending to escape with them - but is pinned by a falling boulder. He manages to free himself in time to save Aladdin and Abu as Jafar throws them back into the cave. When Aladdin frees Genie for the first time, Carpet shows that he and the Genie know each other because they have not seen each other for a long time and they both exchange fist bumps.
After Aladdin wishes to become a prince, he returns to Agrabah - Carpet can be seen lying under him on top of the elephant Abu during the "Prince Ali" song. He also helps Aladdin to impress the Sultan.
Later, Carpet helps Aladdin win the heart of Jasmine by taking them on a carpet ride during the song "A Whole New World" - from a critical eye, Carpet is actually helping a great deal, since Aladdin does little steering. Carpet picks a flower for Aladdin to give to Jasmine and throws clouds to them. When Jasmine starts to guess at the truth, Carpet prompts Aladdin to tell her, but is disappointed by him keeping up the facade. Despite this, after they return to the palace, Carpet gave Aladdin a slight boost to Jasmine as they bid each other goodnight so they kiss.
When Aladdin wins Jasmine's heart and decides not to free Genie, he shouts at Carpet and Abu, both of whom leave, disappointed in him. Aladdin realizes his mistake and goes to tell Jasmine, but without Carpet or Abu there, it's easy for Iago to steal the lamp.
When Aladdin and Abu become imprisoned in a tower by Jafar and sent to the icy mountains, Carpet flies into the tower and helps them return to Agrabah to face Jafar and rescue Jasmine. In the film's final battle, he is unraveled by Jafar into one single thread, but is restored once Jafar is sucked into his own lamp after Aladdin cleverly tricked him into wasting his third wish to become a genie.
Taking place sometime after the events of the original film, Carpet is still in Aladdin's possessions and is first seen assisting the street-rat in raiding the lair of Abis Mal and his goons. While flying back to the palace, Aladdin donates the stolen riches to the poor citizens of Agrabah.
Carpet disappears for a considerable amount of time, but during which, Aladdin and Abu run into the vengeful Abis Mal, only to be rescued by Iago, the devious pet parrot of Jafar. To repay the parrot, Aladdin takes Iago to the palace, but Jasmine is less than amused, causing a rift in their relationship. Carpet assists Iago and Genie (who returned from his travels to live with Aladdin and Jasmine) in restoring their broken bond, which succeeds. To appease the Sultan, Aladdin and Carpet take him on a flight to a quiet spot designated by Iago. This was actually a trap set by the returned Jafar, who forced Iago into assisting him once more. Carpet is captured by Jafar along with the Sultan and imprisoned within the palace dungeon along with Genie, Jasmine, and Abu.
The heroes are later freed after being Iago freed Genie, and they rush into battle against Jafar in the palace gardens. As Aladdin and Carpet rush to retrieve and destroy Jafar's lamp, the evil genie blasts Carpet with magic, turning him into a solid glass that shatters upon impacting the ground. Fortunately, Iago manages to destroy Jafar's lamp, undoing his magic including the spell cast upon Carpet. After his revival, he celebrates the restoration of Agrabah and welcomes Iago into the palace, alongside the other heroes.
Carpet appears as a main character in the film's spin-off television series, featuring prominently in several plots; on one occasion Aladdin's enemy, Abis Mal, stole and forced him to fly him to the location of a valuable treasure by threatening him with moths, while another episode featured him feeling dejected after the group met a race of sprites who allowed them to fly without him (Although he later proved his continued worth by tricking the sprites into settling the palace back in its original location after they got angry at the rest of the group and nearly allowed the palace to crash). He has a somewhat friendly rivalry with Genie as the two often play each other at various games such as chess (with Carpet, to Genie's frustration, often winning). He proves to be somewhat fearless not caring how cruel or mighty their opponent might be, when Aladdin or one of his friends gets hurt, he rushes into battle.
Carpet reappears in the film's final installment. In the film, Aladdin and Jasmine are finally getting married, but things become dangerous when the former and the palace family meet the forty thieves led by Aladdin's missing father, Cassim. Aladdin learns Cassim's location from an Oracle and travels on Carpet to the area with Iago and Abu by their side. Within, Aladdin is forced into battle against Cassim's rival Sa'Luk, as punishment for trespassing; in during which, Carpet is neutralized with a hefty thief sitting upon him. Aladdin nevertheless wins the battle and earns time along with his father, learning of his past.
Aladdin eventually convinces Cassim to return to Agrabah, and during their return, Cassim was openly disapproving of Aladdin owning a magic carpet, and using it as a mode of transportation, believing it to be dangerous compared to the traditional choice of horses. Aladdin nevertheless assures Carpet that his father will simply come around in time. By the end of the film, when Carpet saves the lives of Aladdin and Cassim during the climactic showdown at the Disappearing Isle, the latter shows a change of heart towards his son's enchanted companion.
He is last seen at the end of the film where he takes the recently-married Aladdin and Jasmine for a ride to celebrate their marriage, where the newlyweds wave goodbye to the Merchant from the first film, Iago and Cassim as they ride off.
In this special crossover event, Carpet and Aladdin battled the Greek hero-in-training Hercules after they were fooled to believe he had kidnapped Abu. Rivaling Hercules' flying companion, Pegasus, Carpet assisted Aladdin throughout the battle until it was discovered that Hercules was framed as part of the scheme concocted by Jafar and Hercules' nemesis Hades in an attempt to have the two heroes kill each other in combat. After the truth was revealed, Carpet and the others headed down to Hades' home in the Underworld to defeat the duo.
In this story, during a time where Aladdin and Genie are away, Carpet serves as Jasmine's personal assistant, tagging along with her on various royal events such as parades and openings in the bazaar, as well as making sure she keeps up with them all, whilst still being ever so loyal and friendly to her in the prices. Nonetheless, he appears to support Jasmine's dream of becoming more than a mere "peacock princess" and immediately lends a helping tassel when the prized horse of Jasmine's deceased mother escapes the palace due to Abu's accidental bumbling.
Carpet appears along with Jasmine in the episode "Two to Tangu", where he hears Jasmine whistling and he appears out of a tunnel and flies her with another Magic Carpet flying Sofia and Amber following him behind during the song "The Ride of Your Lives". Then he flies Jasmine back to Agrabah after saying goodbye to Sofia and Amber.
The Magic Carpet is seen with Jasmine at the princesses' dressing room. He appears again with the princesses saving Wreck-It Ralph from falling to his demise.
Carpet and Aladdin in the House of Mouse episode "Rent Day".
Carpet makes several cameos in the series House of Mouse. His most notable is in the episode "Donald Wants to Fly". In the beginning, he flies Mickey onto the stage. Later, he performs an incredible stunt even having Phil say to Hercules, "Whoa, you can't beat that rug!". In the episode "Donald's Lamp Trade", he rescued Donald from the basement after his attempt to steal the forbidden treasure. Carpet and Aladdin made an appearance in "Rent Day", where Aladdin agreed to have Carpet fly Cinderella home for Mickey (who needed the pumpkin for her carriage to exchange for the Headless Horseman's sword as part of a trade exchange for rent money) if Mickey finds Aladdin a red rose for him to give to Jasmine (leading to the Beast'senchanted rose), with Carpet also appearing in the ad for Scrooge McDuck Savings & Loan. He also appears in the episode "Chip n' Dale" for a few moments as he helps the chipmunks retrieve the nuts Goofy passed out.
In The Lion King 1½, Carpet made a silhouette cameo during at the end, in the cinema with Aladdin and Jasmine.
In Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Carpet appears as a vehicle used by Jafar who established his base on a floating island in Wonderland. In a flashback, he is also used to capture Cyrus, during its fall caused by the Red Queen.
In Descendants: Wicked World, the carpet can be seen laid out on the floor in a shop on the Isle of the Lost. However, the carpet in the episode is missing the tiger heads in the corners and the tassels. Jordan, daughter of Genie, has a similar carpet in her Lamp, but in different colors. In the second season episode "Evil Among Us", Carpet can be seen as a museum exhibit in the Museum of Cultural History.
Carpet also made some cameo appearance in Whisker Haven. High Flying Tea Party, Heart! Hooves! Eggs!, and Where's Taj.
Carpet also appeared as an emoticon in the Aladdin entry of the As Told by Emoji short series.
In Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Carpet makes a cameo appearance as a wired prop when Chip and Dale are in Sweet Pete's bootleg studio, however, the magic carpet is not bootlegged however, but is being used by Pete taking the role of Aladdin from the bootleg version of the titular film, "Prince Khali".
In this book, Carpet's origins are revealed after he is stolen by two unknown figures, forcing Aladdin on an adventure to find his friend and discover his past.
In this novel, Carpet's initial meeting with Aladdin and Abu is the same as in canon, but when Jafar departs with the lamp and leaves Aladdin trapped in the cave, Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet must escape the cave on their own without the genie. However, when they attempt to rescue Jasmine from the palace, Carpet is trapped under a heavy pillar. Jafar cuts the Carpet into pieces in a scene that implies a torturous death, using his threads to make Jafar's key soldiers fly. As the book ends with the loss of all magic, the Carpet cannot be brought back.
Carpet first appears in the near end of The Cave of Wonders stage where it serves as a mount for Aladdin to fly around before he would get down to the surface. This also happens on the other stages where Aladdin would encountered it. It's notable playable appearance was the Rug Ride after it saved Aladdin from falling into the lava and based on the film where they are after by a lava wave to make their escape in the Cave of Wonders.
Carpet appears in the Kingdom Hearts game series, although his role is limited to appearing only in Agrabah. He is found within Aladdin's house in Kingdom Hearts and serves as an ally to Sora and his friends in Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. In his appearances in Kingdom Hearts I and II, he serves mainly as transportation in Agrabah.
Carpet also makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days with Genie. A notable part about this appearance was how he was eerily able to see the connection between Sora and Roxas when he believes the latter to be Sora, although Genie dismisses it.
Carpet appears in Disney Infinity 2.0 as a rideable mount, being a rare Power Disc. He is also featured in Jasmine's special ability, "Windstorm", where he is summoned to defeat multiple enemies by creating a sandstorm.
Other games
Carpet's likeness is featured in Epic Mickey, with the Wasteland having its own version of the Magic Carpets of Aladdin theme park attraction.
Carpet appears in Disney Sorcerer's Arena as one of Aladdin's Special abilities, aptly titled "Carpet!". Aladdin calls for the Magic Carpet to fly across the screen and damage the target and flanking opponents, giving them a Slow effect and reducing their Speed Meter.
Carpet also played a significant role in the stage musical, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular in Disney's California Adventure. Here, he was played by a female actress and acts alongside Genie as a comic relief. During the "A Whole New World" scene, she becomes a lifeless prop.
In the Aladdin-themed Enchanted Window display along Main Street, U.S.A., Carpet is seen desperately trying to prevent Abu from touching the Cave of Wonders' treasure.
Carpet appears in the computer-animated show, Mickey's PhilharMagic, during "A Whole New World" where Aladdin and Jasmine ride on him as they sing when the Sorcerer Hat landed on his back and Donald Duck rode on another flying carpet after them to get it back.
Like the Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland version, Carpet appears in "it's a small world" being ridden by Aladdin and Jasmine in the Agrabah area in Middle East section of the ride.
In The Return of Jafar, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, the TV series and in various other traditionally-animated TV spin-offs such as the Hercules episode "Hercules and the Arabian Night" and in House of Mouse, animation of the Magic Carpet isn't made using CGI, but rather by traditional 2D animation and therefore has a simpler pattern.
Near the end of the song "One Jump Ahead", Aladdin and Abu jump onto a rug to escape from Razoul and the other guards and ride it to safety on the ground, foreshadowing Carpet's later presence.
In the first movie (and, by extension, both of the sequels and TV series), Carpet replaces the Genie of the Ring from the original story, who in the story remained with Aladdin even after the Sorcerer stole the lamp back.
Though technically genderless, Carpet goes by masculine pronouns, as indicated by Genie referring to it as "Rugman" in the original film.
Furthermore, the TV show episode "The Prophet Motive" has the Magic Carpet feeling attraction towards a pink magic carpet before finding out to be a fake created by Abis Mal and Haroud Hazi Bin to catch him. As pink is commonly regarded as a feminine color and blue a masculine one, it can be assumed that the Magic Carpet is considered male.
While one of the first major characters animated in CGI, Carpet was preceded by Eilonwy's bauble from The Black Cauldron as a sentient object created in CGI.
Twice, Carpet gets destroyed by Jafar's evil magic, then comes back to life once Jafar is defeated, in both the original film and The Return of Jafar.
Before Aladdin, Magic Carpet's first appearance was from the boat ride It's a Small World in 1964 New York World's Fair, and then in all Disney Parks versions of this boat ride, in which there are some magic carpets that ridden by some dolls in the India scene. This making him one of the characters that originally appeared from a attraction in Disney Parks.
Magic Carpet on the Walt Disney Animation Studios Wiki
Magic Carpet on the The Disney Afternoon Wiki
Magic Carpet on Kingdom Hearts Wiki
