Cave of Wonders

"Who disturbs my slumber?"

- The Cave of Wonders upon being awakened. "INFIDELS! You have touched the forbidden treasure! Now you will never again see the light of DAY!"

- The Cave's fury when Abu touched a ruby.

The Cave of Wonders is a supporting antagonist from Disney's 31st full-length animated feature film Aladdin (which is based on the Arabic folktale Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from One Thousand and One Nights). It also appears as an on and off antagonist in House of Mouse, a background antagonist in Mickey's House of Villains, and both an on and off antagonist and location in the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

It was voiced by Frank Welker.

Personality
The Cave of Wonders is stoic, menacing and persuasive. He is shown to be a strict enforcer of rules and regulations. However, if it is angered by the breaking of rules or disrespect, it becomes wrathful, violent, homicidal and destructive, killing the ones who dare to test it. While the Cave is technically neutral, it acts out in fits of rage and aggression that usually result in the deaths of the mortals that disturb it. These qualities are what ultimately class it as a villain.

Aladdin
The Cave is first seen at the beginning of the film, awoken by Jafar, Iago and Gazeem using a magical golden scarab. The Cave demands to know who woke it up, and Gazeem steps forward. Jafar instructs the worthless thief to enter the Cave and retrieve the Genie's lamp within, but the Cave warns that only the one who is worthy may enter, a "diamond in the rough". Gazeem enters anyway, displeasing the Cave and causing it to lash out and bite, crushing Gazeem to death and burying him alive in the sand.

Later, Jafar discovers Aladdin, the true "diamond in the rough" that the Cave spoke of. He has Aladdin captured by Razoul, then comes to him in the dungeon disguised as an old man. Jafar tempts Aladdin and his pet monkey named Abu with promises of treasure, then leads them out of the dungeon and to the Cave. It wakes again, demanding who has awoken it to identify themselves. Aladdin steps forward, and the Cave recognizes that he is worthy. The Cave allows him inside, but tells him that he cannot touch anything but the lamp.

Aladdin and Abu enter the Cave through the tiger's mouth, and are tempted by the abundance of gold and jewels they find inside. However, they resist touching anything. They meet a Magic Carpet who was imprisoned there, which helps them. Aladdin soon finds the lamp and takes it, but at the same time Abu grabs a large ruby. The Cave is infuriated by this, and declares that it will kill them all.

The Cave then begins to make itself crumble and collapse, and causes waves of lava to flood its chambers. Using the Magic Carpet, Aladdin and Abu are able to navigate through the crumbing catacombs and fiery passages until they reach the mouth. However, a stone falls and pins the Magic Carpet down, throwing Aladdin and Abu to the front. Jafar pretends to come to their aid, but really snatches the lamp for himself, then prepares to kill them. However, Abu rushes forward, steals the lamp back, and bites Jafar, causing him to drop them into the Cave just before it slams its mouth closed, trapping Aladdin, Abu, and the Carpet within.

However, after freeing the all-powerful Genie, all four of them are able to escape the Cave.

At the end of the film, after Jafar's defeat, the Genie takes the lamp that he and Iago are trapped in and flings it back into the Cave.

Disney's Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge
The Cave of Wonders appears as a neutral character and location in the videogame sequel, requiring the scarab to open it.

Aladdin (Television show)
Though never appearing in the show, the Cave is mentioned by Iago in the episode "Shadow of a Doubt" when the heroes are going to a mirror cave to get an item to stop Mirage. Iago reminds everyone of Abu's greed by saying "Don't let him touch anything! Remember the Cave of Wonders incident?".

Kingdom Hearts
In the first game, the Cave of Wonders appears as a brief antagonist, being controlled by the dark powers of the Heartless. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aladdin must battle hordes of enemies as the Cave blasts magic beams from its eyes, which collide to cause a lot of damage, as well as spits out Heartless and hot winds.

Sora must make his way on top of the tiger head and rapidly hit the eyes while keeping his balance, as the head is constantly trying to throw him off. After hitting both eyes enough times, the Cave will be released from the spell and return to normal, as a simple location within the world of Agrabah. They then must enter the Cave to reach Jafar, who has kidnapped Jasmine and using her to reveal Agrabah's Keyhole, which is located in the Cave.

Kingdom Hearts II
Sora and company go to the Cave for treasure to buy Jafar's lamp from the peddler. The Cave does not object or stand in their way.

Kingdom Hearts coded and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
As Data Sora goes through the events of the first game, he must battle the Cave of Wonders in a similar manner to the first game: hitting its eyes to remove the spell.

House of Mouse
The Cave of Wonders appears as an occasional character, usually accompanying Jafar and Iago.

In the episode "Donald's Lamp Trade", the Cave is angered when Donald steals treasure, calling him an infidel.

Mickey's House of Villains
The Cave appears briefly in Mickey's House of Villains, serving as a transportation of sorts for Jafar and Iago. It lingers outside while the villains take over.

Once Upon a Time
The Cave of Wonders makes a brief appearance in the Season 6 episode "Street Rats".

Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey
The Cave of Wonders appears as a location in the 2007 videogame, visited by Jasmine and the game's protagonist.

Disney Infinity
The Cave appears as a decoration in Disney Infinity.

Disney Parks

 * In Fantasmic!, Jafar summons the Cave of Wonders to try and kill Mickey Mouse. It fights Mickey, and eventually devours both him and Jafar. Jafar and Mickey battle inside the Cave.
 * In World of Color, the Cave appears as a background character during the Aladdin sequence.
 * In Disney Quest, the Cave appears as the Gateway to the Explore Zone.
 * The Cave appears as a location in the "Storybook Land Canal Boats" attraction.

Quotes
"Know this, only one may enter here; one who's worth lies far within, the Diamond in the rough!"

- The Cave's warning to Gazeem.

"Seek thee out the diamond in the rough."

- The Cave instructing Jafar to find the one who was worthy.

"Proceed. Touch nothing but the Lamp!"

- The Cave's warning to Aladdin.

Trivia

 * In most of its appearances, the Cave retains its dark blue color regardless of the time of day.
 * In The Return of Jafar, a statue of the tiger god of the Cave of Wonders is seen in Abis Mal's lair.