Kazaam (1996)

A troubled kid inadvertently releases a genie, who must grant him any three wishes he requests.

Director:

Paul Michael Glaser (as Paul M. Glaser)

Writers:

Paul Michael Glaser (story) (as Paul M. Glaser), Christian Ford (screenplay)

Stars:

Shaquille O'Neal, Francis Capra, Ally Walker

Bottom Rated Movies #35 | 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shaquille O'Neal	...	Kazaam
Francis Capra	...	Maxwell 'Max' Connor
Ally Walker	...	Alice Connor
James Acheson	...	Nick
John Costelloe	...	Travis
Marshall Manesh	...	Malik
Fawn Reed	...	Asia Moon
Mother Love	...	Mrs. Duke (as JoAnne Hart)
Brandon Durand	...	Vasquez
Wade Robson	...	Elito (as Wade J. Robson)
Jake Glaser	...	Jake
Efren Ramirez	...	Carlos
Jonathan Carrasco	...	Z-Dog
Jesse Perez	...	Vasquez's Sidekick
Todd Sible	...	Engineer Ed

Storyline

Being a lone young boy in the 'hood" is dangerous and unpleasant. This is what Max experiences when he fools a gang of local toughs who cornered him at school. The gang finds out that the key he gave them is of no value in committing a robbery, and they chase him through the streets of his neighborhood, bent on revenge. He tries to escape by slipping into the open door of an old warehouse, but they follow him there, too. While running from them through aisles filled with all kinds of stuff, he bumps into an old boom box. By doing that, he manages to release Kazaam, a genie who has been held captive for thousands of years. In order to stay free, Kazaam must give Max three wishes.

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Plot Keywords:

bathing | glass of water | rapping | wrecking ball | mother son relationship | 

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Taglines:

He's A Rappin' Genie With An Attitude... And He's Ready For Slam-Dunk Fun!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main villain's name is Malik, which is the Arabic word for king.

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Goofs

Even though the movie is based in Brooklyn, while Max is talking with his dad in the car, you see a bus with Red and Orange stripes roll by. Buses in New York have blue stripes. Red and Orange were the colors of the Metro buses in Los Angeles in the early to mid-1990s.

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Quotes

Kazaam: Grab my belly and make a wish.

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Crazy Credits

Film title logo appears as the end credits are finished

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Whiz Comics #2 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Groovin
Written by Felix Cavaliere and Edward Brigati (as Eddie Brigati, Jr.)
Performed by Pato Banton

User Reviews

A perfect example of a movie that I loved as a child, hate as an adult...

Well, adolescent really(19). Like Howard the Duck, Kazaam was a movie I loved as a child but looking back on it I was shocked at how low my taste buds were as a kid. Granted, there are some funny moments specifically the ones with the flying toasts and the bicycle race. And it is not the worst movie of 1996, Ed and especially Bio Dome are worse. However, the special effects are really quite substandard, and the rest of the production values are of direct to video quality and shoddy ones at that. The story is predictable with only a few worthwhile scenes to favour, the sight gags suffer from poor comic timing and the script is childish and simplistic. The characters I really dislike here, the kid is annoying, the villain is one of the lamest I have seen in a long time while Shaquille O'Neal's Genie with his awful rapping(then again I dislike rap intensely, and that is the least problematic of his performance) grated on me fast. The acting doesn't fare much better either, while the direction is literally non-existent and the soundtrack is only tolerable if on mute. This is of course my opinion, disagree all you want, I guess I just didn't like it. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kazaam

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,001,588, 21 July 1996

Gross USA:

$18,937,262

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,937,262

Company Credits

Production Co:

Interscope Communications, Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1