1 9 6 7 – 1 9 6 9 (USA)
Chuck and Nancy were two adventurous twin siblings who found two halves of a broken ring while on an expedition. On one half the word SHAZ was written, on the other, ZAN.
When they connected the two parts of the ring, Chuck and Nancy suddenly became the proud owners of a 60-foot genie named (you guessed it) Shazzan, who lives “behind the beyond”.
Brother, sister and genie were subsequently transported to ancient Egypt.
Shazzan protected the twins while they searched for the rightful owner of the ring, seemingly the only way they could ever return to their own time.
Every adventure featured an evil pursuer, usually a sorcerer, and his plans to steal the ring. Shazzan, with his impressive array of magic, would always manage to foil their feeble attempts.
The twins used a cloak of invisibility when they needed to be sneaky, and a flying camel named Kaboobie (whose distinctive laugh would live on in Scooby Doo) when they needed transportation.
This cartoon was (obviously) based on the legendary story of Aladdin, containing all the popular elements of a good genie story: evil men with big swords, magical clothing and, of course, the good old lamp dweller with his very impressive powers.
Perhaps Shazzan’s powers were a bit too impressive.
The genie was basically invincible, so whenever the twins got in trouble, he would bail them out with ease, leaving the viewer to wonder why he couldn’t just transport them home.
Shazzan
Barney Philips
Chuck
Jerry Dexter
Nancy
Janet Waldo
Kaboobie
Don Messick
