“Inside a cave off the coast of Maine, Chuck (Jerry Dexter) and Nancy (Janet Waldo) find a mysterious chest containing the halves of a strange ring. When joined, the ring forms the word “Shazzan!” and with this magical command, they are transported back to the fabled land of the Arabian Nights. Here they meet their Genie, Shazzan (Barney Phillips). Shazzan presents them with Kaboobie (Don Messick), a magical flying camel. Shazzan will serve them whenever they call, but he cannot return them home until they deliver the ring to its rightful owner. And thus begins their incredible journey.”
Lasting for just 36 episodes, the siblings never accomplish their goal of finding the rings owner. However, they have lots of fun and interesting adventures along the way. While Shazzan and the kids must face several foes—The Evil Regent, The Evil Demon, and Makdar the Mirage Maker to name a few—but they always find themselves or their weapons turned into harmless objects.
While parents will likely appreciate the non-violent nature of Shazzan, I’m not sure the cheesy nature of this production—the writing is pretty awful—will keep today’s kids entertained for more than an episode or two.
Like most magical genies, Shazzan is about 60 feet tall, presenting a challenge for animators trying to get all three characters in the frame. You’ll notice that Shazzan picks the kids up in his large hand, leading to lots of long shots of the giant genie holding what look to be two specks or close-ups of the kids in Shazzan’s huge hand with the giant head of Shazzan looking on. It’s probably safe to say that the animation won’t blow you away.
If you have pleasant memories of Shazzan, or just love to collect all 1960’s cartoons, Warner Archive has done a fine job putting the entire series on DVD.
