Shazzan
A genie aids two siblings in a mystical Arabian world.
Shazzan is an American animated television series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 9, 1967, to January 20, 1968, and continued in reruns until September 6, 1969. The series follows the adventures of two 12-year-old siblings, Chuck and Nancy, who are transported to a mystical Arabian world and aided by a genie named Shazzan.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Adventure / Action
- Creator
- Alex Toth
- Director
- Joseph Barbera / William Hanna
- Voices
- Jerry Dexter / Janet Waldo / Barney Phillips / Don Messick
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Theme Music Composer
- Hoyt Curtin
- Num Seasons
- 1
- Num Episodes
- 18 (36 segments)
- Company
- Hanna-Barbera Productions
- Runtime
- 22 minutes (11 minutes per segment)
- Channel
- CBS
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Shazzan is depicted as very large, able to hold Chuck, Nancy, and Kaboobie in the palm of his hand. He is wise and jolly, often appearing with a cheerful 'Ho-ho ho-HO!' and addressing the children as his 'little masters.' The series features recurring villains: the Master of Thieves, a powerful sorcerer leading a group of thieves, and the Demon in the Bottle, an evil demon imprisoned in a bottle seeking vengeance. A frequent plot device is the siblings becoming separated, preventing them from summoning Shazzan until they reunite.
Reader's Guide
Shazzan is significant as part of the wave of action-adventure Saturday morning cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera in the late 1960s, following the success of Space Ghost. CBS head of daytime programming Fred Silverman commissioned the series, along with The Herculoids and Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor, for the 1967–68 season. Silverman later praised the creativity and artistry but noted story problems due to Shazzan's lack of weaknesses, coupled with high production costs, leading to the series being labeled a disappointment. He described it as a 'second generation' show, derivative of the Space Ghost formula. The series never resolved its central dilemma: Chuck and Nancy never find the ring's owner and thus never return home. The show has appeared in later media, including episodes of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and Space Ghost, and a satirized version on Saturday Night Live. In 2012, Warner Archive released Shazzan: The Complete Series on DVD.
Did You Know?
- Shazzan is very large, able to hold Chuck, Nancy, and Kaboobie in the open palm of his hand.
- Shazzan appeared in an episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law voiced by Maurice LaMarche.
More in Television shows about genies 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced