Movie
Description
The Police Chief is a supporting character in the 1971 anime film Alibaba to Yonjuppiki no Tōzoku, identified only by his official title rather than a personal name. He serves as the head of law enforcement in the Alibaba Kingdom and is a direct subordinate of King Ali Baba 33. He first appears early in the story when the king summons him over a disrupted breakfast; the chief says he has something to discuss, and the two go together to the underground treasure vault. There he explains that the vast fortune handed down from the first Ali Baba had already shrunk to half during the reign of Ali Baba 32, and that it has now vanished completely, leaving only a single old lamp.
When the lamp turns out to contain a genie who grants wishes but cannot stand cats, Ali Baba orders the chief to round up the cats of the kingdom. The chief dutifully directs this kingdom-wide cat hunt, and his men capture cats and confine them so that the genie can be used without interference. In this role he functions as the loyal instrument of the king's authority, carrying out the scheme as a faithful subordinate and standing on the side of the crown rather than the townspeople affected by the order.
The character's motivation is presented simply: he serves the throne and executes whatever the king commands. His most significant relationship is with Ali Baba 33, to whom he answers, and he holds command over the soldiers and police who perform the roundups. Although he is a minor figure, his actions have an important effect on the story, because the capture and confinement of the cats leads the boy Al-Haqq and his companion, the mouse Kajiru, to rescue the captured animals and begin the resistance that forms the central conflict of the film.
The Police Chief undergoes no real development over the course of the film and remains a static presence in the background of the main action. He has no magical abilities and no special combat skills, but he possesses institutional authority as the kingdom's chief of police, which he uses to organize the mass capture of cats. His significance to the plot lies mainly in being the king's instrument at the point where the disappearance of the treasure is revealed and where the cat hunt is set in motion.
When the lamp turns out to contain a genie who grants wishes but cannot stand cats, Ali Baba orders the chief to round up the cats of the kingdom. The chief dutifully directs this kingdom-wide cat hunt, and his men capture cats and confine them so that the genie can be used without interference. In this role he functions as the loyal instrument of the king's authority, carrying out the scheme as a faithful subordinate and standing on the side of the crown rather than the townspeople affected by the order.
The character's motivation is presented simply: he serves the throne and executes whatever the king commands. His most significant relationship is with Ali Baba 33, to whom he answers, and he holds command over the soldiers and police who perform the roundups. Although he is a minor figure, his actions have an important effect on the story, because the capture and confinement of the cats leads the boy Al-Haqq and his companion, the mouse Kajiru, to rescue the captured animals and begin the resistance that forms the central conflict of the film.
The Police Chief undergoes no real development over the course of the film and remains a static presence in the background of the main action. He has no magical abilities and no special combat skills, but he possesses institutional authority as the kingdom's chief of police, which he uses to organize the mass capture of cats. His significance to the plot lies mainly in being the king's instrument at the point where the disappearance of the treasure is revealed and where the cat hunt is set in motion.