A mysterious plant-man calling himself Arbutus, who the Sultan encountered in his youth, appears in Agrabah and insists on collecting upon an old debt. He was promised the Sultan's most "precious treasure". Which Arbutus took to mean, the Sultan's own daughter Jasmine.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Actor Allusion: Ron Perlman, who played Vincent in Beauty and the Beast (1987), voices Arbutus. At the tail-end of the episode, Iago calls him a "beast." (What's more, the episode's plot has more than a few elements in common with the original fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, what with a father incurring a creature's wrath by stealing his prized flower, and said creature demanding the father's daughter in payment.)
- Attention Whore: Arbutus considers himself a master artist and one of the reasons he keeps Jasmine captive. Is so he can have someone around to admire and critique his "art".
- Berserk Button: Whenever a plant is harmed in his presence, Arbutus goes ballistic.
- Bittersweet Ending: Jasmine is rescued, but Arbutus' beautiful garden withers away upon his death. Though after Aladdin and the others plant the rose that represented Arbutus heart, the rose perks up. Possibly indicating Arbutus may be reborn someday.
- Defiant Captive: Jasmine, being kidnapped by a Plant Person in the middle of the night does not make her very inclined to stick around and be treated like just another part of Arbutus' "art pieces".
- Disproportionate Retribution: While Arbutus had every right to be upset over the Sultan trespassing and damaging some of his plants (whom he treats as his children). Frightening the poor man, then kidnapping his daughter is rather extreme.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: At the start of the episode, the Sultan tells the gang the story of how on the night of his wedding to Jasmine's mother, he made a promise to Arbutus that he would give him his most precious treasure in 20 years' time, so the plant elemental wouldn't kill him for plucking a flower from his garden. And that night is the night that Arbutus will come to collect. Everyone does guard duty outside the treasure room, falling asleep. Meanwhile, the Sultan has a nightmare of his encounter with Arbutus, and wakes up with one name on his lips, as he realizes all too late what Arbutus is truly after.The Sultan: Jasmine!
(Cut to Aladdin and the others sleeping in the hall)
The Sultan: (offscreen) JASMINE!
(They all startle awake)
Genie: Jasmine?
Aladdin: The most precious treasure! - Moral Myopia: Arbutus inability to see humans and any "non" plant creature any differently than "they" see most non-sentient plants. Comparing someone taking a flower and placing it in a vase as tantamount to killing a human.
- Motive Rant: Arbutus goes into a speech to Jasmine, after seeming to simply be a monstrous Plant Person with a love of creating art, furious at the Sultan for no reason other than picking a flower. To her credit, Jasmine quickly realizes Arbutus anger is not without reason.Arbutus: (having created a new patch of garden) Well Princess? Care to critique my art now?Jasmine: I think it's... (sees the magnificent garden) It's beautiful...Arbutus: So was my last work... but YOU had to run away and ruin it! You were an integral part of my design, you know!Jasmine: I'm not one of your creations! I'm not a... a THING!Arbutus: A THING?! How typical!Jasmine: Arbutus! I'm not a flower you can keep in your garden! I need my family and friends.Arbutus: Ah yes... human needs. Like you need to hack down my gorgeous trees and chop them into lumber!Jasmine: It's not that simple!Arbutus: Indeed. You burn them. For warmth! Creating smoke to block our life-giving sun! (sweeps his arms out, shadowing the garden)Jasmine: We don't do that on purpose!Arbutus: Is it an accident when you rip and pluck my flowers?! (stretches hand over a patch of flowers) Condemning them to a slow death in a vase?Jasmine: Slow death?Arbutus: Your kind...you're all the same! You treat my beautiful living creations as things! (grows a flower from the palm of his hand, which matches the flower plucked by the Sultan years ago) Why should I treat you any differently?Jasmine: Arbutus, I... (Arbutus sadly regards the flower he grew) I think I understand.
- Villainous Breakdown: Arbutus has a massive one, when Aladdin arrives in his garden to rescue Jasmine and begins slicing up his plant creations.
- Vine Tentacles: Arbutus' plants, which he uses to restrain and hold Jasmine, Aladdin and the rest of the heroes.
