Shaazam (1990 Film) Review
Aug 30, 2018 10:35:01 GMT -8
Post by lyraalluse on Aug 30, 2018 10:35:01 GMT -8
Shaazam (1990 Film) Review
I grew up watching a bunch of fantasy movies like The Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Legend, The Princess Bride, Mirrormask, and many others.
One day I saw an obscure VHS tape which had a genie on the cover and had the title of 'Shazaam' printed in bold font on the top. I decided to check it out because it was a fantasy movie I had never watched before.
It quickly became one of my favorite fantasy movies of all time.
This is not to be confused with Kazaam which was released a few years later. Kazaam was a good movie too but I always preferred Shazaam because the story was a little better in my opinion.
By the way, many other people remember Shazaam even though it supposedly never existed and is considered to be a Mandela Effect.
However, I remember this film. I even remember the plot in great detail, which I will explain now
Shazaam is about a boy named JC who is sort if an outcast. He has his head in the clouds and is a sort of dreamer. This causes him to have a strained relationship with his parents who want him to grow up. It also makes him somewhat of an outcast at school because the other kids don't understand him.
One day, JC finds an ornate lamp which he thinks is pretty neat so he takes it home and adds it to his collection of 'interesting items'. These items range from fossils, to weird coins, and all other sorts of oddities.
One day he accidently knocks the lamp over and the genie, named Shazaam, comes out. JC is kind of freaked out by this at first but calms down once the genie proves he is real. This leads to a joke with JC saying the genie has a weird name and the genie says JC is a weirder name, since it's just initials. Then JC explains it is short for Jace Corry and it really isn't that weird since a lot of people have his name.
After some back and forth between him and the genie, the genie informs him that he has three wishes and lays down some ground rules like he can't make wishes that hurt people and so on. So JC decides to make his first wish, which is making a friend. The genie grants the wish and tells JC that he will be meeting a new friend soon.
The next day, when JC leaves his house for school, he looks over to the next house and sees that another kid is leaving their house at the same time. JC goes up to the kid and asks who they are. The kid says her name is Margaret and that she usually leaves an hour earlier but she was running rate so she left now. This explains why JC has never seen her, despite living next door. They walk to school together and Margaret explains that she goes to the same school but is in a different class. They plan to meet at lunch and talk more.
At lunch Margaret sits with JC and the two chat over their meal. Margaret says she goes by the nickname of Mars because she believes she is actually from there. JC says it is his first time meeting an alien and he mentions that he met a genie not to long ago as well. This piques Margaret's interest and she asks if she can see the genie too. So JC says he will introduce her to the genie after school.
After school is over, JC invites Margaret or 'Mars' as he had started to call her, over to his house. He shows Mars the lamp then he rubs it. Shazaam comes out and is surprised by the presence of the new person. JC introduces Margaret to the genie and says that the wish of making a new friend was granted.
Mars, however, can't see or hear Shazaam. Shazaam explains that only the master of the lamp, who in this case is JC, can see or hear him. JC tells this to Mars, expecting that she won't believe him. But Mars does believes him and she explains that the genie is probably from another dimension so only the people who are given permission to see him will be able to do so.
Mars asks the genie (who she can't see) if he can send her back home to Mars. The genie tells JC that he can grant any wish on Earth but anything outside of earth is beyond his jurisdiction. JC passes this information along to Mars who is a bit disappointed but understands the limitations of the genie.
After Mars gives him some ideas of what to wish for she goes home for the evening. She says she will walk with him to school and hang out with him at lunch from now on (as well as after school/ on the weekends) before she leaves.
JC compliments the genie for helping him to make a new friend after Mars goes home and says that he wants to make another wish. This time he wishes that his parents would spend more time with him. The genie says his wish will be granted soon them disappears back into the bottle.
The next day when JC goes downstairs for breakfast, he is surprised that his mom has cooked him pancakes and other breakfasts foods. Usually his parents are busy and he makes his own breakfast. His mom explains that she had a little extra time and decided to do something special. The dad comes in and also eats the breakfast that the mom cooked and the three have a nice conversation before JC has to leave for school.
JC meets up with Mars and the two walk to school together. He tells her about the wish he just made that was granted. Mars says that's great and she asks him what his third wish will be. JC says he's not really sure and the two go to their respective classes when they reach the school.
After school is over, Mars says she has to help with some chores so she can't come over. JC says he understands and heads home. When he gets home he is surprised to see his dad waiting for him. His dad asks if he wants to play some catch and JC says that would be great. So they play catch for a while and then JC goes upstairs to his room to talk to the genie.
He lets the genie out of the lamp and says that everything is going great. But the genie does not seem happy. JC asks Shazaam what is wrong, and Shazaam says that once he makes his third wish he will have to go away and grant wishes for someone else.
This makes JC sad as he has grown quite attached to the genie. He asks if there is any way that Shazaam can stay. And Shazaam says he probably could if JC wished for his freedom. But the problem is that if JC wished him free from granting wishes, any wish that was granted before would be undone.
JC is then presented with a choice: should he continue to live in the happy life he has been given by the genie's wishes or should he give that up for the genie's freedom?
JC thinks about this for a long time. Eventually he asks Mars for advice. Mars says that she doesn't want to forget being JC's friend but suggests that maybe there would be a way to meet each other again once the genie has his freedom.
JC thinks about all of this for a while. Then eventually he decides that the best thing to do is to give the genie his freedom.
So JC makes his final wish, setting the genie free. However, the genie is not able to stick around either (due to fine print the genie was not aware of he must return to his place of origin once he is set free which in this case is an island in the Pacific). So JC loses the genie...and all of his wishes are undone.
JC is feeling rather depressed but then he gets an idea. He remembers that Mars used to leave her house to walk to school an hour before him every day before his wish was granted. So he leaves for school early...and sure enough, Mars has left at the same time. He introduces himself again and the two become friends once more.
At lunch, JC tells Margret everything that happened and he doesn't think she will believe him at first but it turns out that she does because according to her, things like this happen all of the time and she states, "that's the tricky thing with dealing with creatures from other dimensions. I should know. I'm an alien."
JC hangs out with Mars a bit after school. When she goes home he wonders what he will do about his parents. Then he gets an idea. He asks his parents when they get home if he can talk to them. They ask him what is wrong and he says he wants to spend more time with them even if it is just talking every once in a while. His parents hug him and say they didn't realize they weren't giving him enough attention.
So the next day, his mom cooks breakfast and they have a nice talk before he leaves for school.
Everything seems to be going good again but JC still doesn't know what happened to Shazaam.
He gets a letter in the mail later on from some place he's never heard of. He opens the letter and it is from Shazaam who tells him he had to return to the realm of the genies shortly after reaching the island. He was allowed to send the letter before he left. He thanks JC for giving him his freedom and says he will always consider him to be his best friend.
And that is more or less where the movie ends.
It was one of those cheesy 90s movies, but it was well written and the acting was pretty good. So I watched this movie a bunch of times when I was growing up.
How about you guys? Do you remember Shazaam? I am curious to hear your thoughts on this.
I grew up watching a bunch of fantasy movies like The Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Legend, The Princess Bride, Mirrormask, and many others.
One day I saw an obscure VHS tape which had a genie on the cover and had the title of 'Shazaam' printed in bold font on the top. I decided to check it out because it was a fantasy movie I had never watched before.
It quickly became one of my favorite fantasy movies of all time.
This is not to be confused with Kazaam which was released a few years later. Kazaam was a good movie too but I always preferred Shazaam because the story was a little better in my opinion.
By the way, many other people remember Shazaam even though it supposedly never existed and is considered to be a Mandela Effect.
However, I remember this film. I even remember the plot in great detail, which I will explain now
Shazaam is about a boy named JC who is sort if an outcast. He has his head in the clouds and is a sort of dreamer. This causes him to have a strained relationship with his parents who want him to grow up. It also makes him somewhat of an outcast at school because the other kids don't understand him.
One day, JC finds an ornate lamp which he thinks is pretty neat so he takes it home and adds it to his collection of 'interesting items'. These items range from fossils, to weird coins, and all other sorts of oddities.
One day he accidently knocks the lamp over and the genie, named Shazaam, comes out. JC is kind of freaked out by this at first but calms down once the genie proves he is real. This leads to a joke with JC saying the genie has a weird name and the genie says JC is a weirder name, since it's just initials. Then JC explains it is short for Jace Corry and it really isn't that weird since a lot of people have his name.
After some back and forth between him and the genie, the genie informs him that he has three wishes and lays down some ground rules like he can't make wishes that hurt people and so on. So JC decides to make his first wish, which is making a friend. The genie grants the wish and tells JC that he will be meeting a new friend soon.
The next day, when JC leaves his house for school, he looks over to the next house and sees that another kid is leaving their house at the same time. JC goes up to the kid and asks who they are. The kid says her name is Margaret and that she usually leaves an hour earlier but she was running rate so she left now. This explains why JC has never seen her, despite living next door. They walk to school together and Margaret explains that she goes to the same school but is in a different class. They plan to meet at lunch and talk more.
At lunch Margaret sits with JC and the two chat over their meal. Margaret says she goes by the nickname of Mars because she believes she is actually from there. JC says it is his first time meeting an alien and he mentions that he met a genie not to long ago as well. This piques Margaret's interest and she asks if she can see the genie too. So JC says he will introduce her to the genie after school.
After school is over, JC invites Margaret or 'Mars' as he had started to call her, over to his house. He shows Mars the lamp then he rubs it. Shazaam comes out and is surprised by the presence of the new person. JC introduces Margaret to the genie and says that the wish of making a new friend was granted.
Mars, however, can't see or hear Shazaam. Shazaam explains that only the master of the lamp, who in this case is JC, can see or hear him. JC tells this to Mars, expecting that she won't believe him. But Mars does believes him and she explains that the genie is probably from another dimension so only the people who are given permission to see him will be able to do so.
Mars asks the genie (who she can't see) if he can send her back home to Mars. The genie tells JC that he can grant any wish on Earth but anything outside of earth is beyond his jurisdiction. JC passes this information along to Mars who is a bit disappointed but understands the limitations of the genie.
After Mars gives him some ideas of what to wish for she goes home for the evening. She says she will walk with him to school and hang out with him at lunch from now on (as well as after school/ on the weekends) before she leaves.
JC compliments the genie for helping him to make a new friend after Mars goes home and says that he wants to make another wish. This time he wishes that his parents would spend more time with him. The genie says his wish will be granted soon them disappears back into the bottle.
The next day when JC goes downstairs for breakfast, he is surprised that his mom has cooked him pancakes and other breakfasts foods. Usually his parents are busy and he makes his own breakfast. His mom explains that she had a little extra time and decided to do something special. The dad comes in and also eats the breakfast that the mom cooked and the three have a nice conversation before JC has to leave for school.
JC meets up with Mars and the two walk to school together. He tells her about the wish he just made that was granted. Mars says that's great and she asks him what his third wish will be. JC says he's not really sure and the two go to their respective classes when they reach the school.
After school is over, Mars says she has to help with some chores so she can't come over. JC says he understands and heads home. When he gets home he is surprised to see his dad waiting for him. His dad asks if he wants to play some catch and JC says that would be great. So they play catch for a while and then JC goes upstairs to his room to talk to the genie.
He lets the genie out of the lamp and says that everything is going great. But the genie does not seem happy. JC asks Shazaam what is wrong, and Shazaam says that once he makes his third wish he will have to go away and grant wishes for someone else.
This makes JC sad as he has grown quite attached to the genie. He asks if there is any way that Shazaam can stay. And Shazaam says he probably could if JC wished for his freedom. But the problem is that if JC wished him free from granting wishes, any wish that was granted before would be undone.
JC is then presented with a choice: should he continue to live in the happy life he has been given by the genie's wishes or should he give that up for the genie's freedom?
JC thinks about this for a long time. Eventually he asks Mars for advice. Mars says that she doesn't want to forget being JC's friend but suggests that maybe there would be a way to meet each other again once the genie has his freedom.
JC thinks about all of this for a while. Then eventually he decides that the best thing to do is to give the genie his freedom.
So JC makes his final wish, setting the genie free. However, the genie is not able to stick around either (due to fine print the genie was not aware of he must return to his place of origin once he is set free which in this case is an island in the Pacific). So JC loses the genie...and all of his wishes are undone.
JC is feeling rather depressed but then he gets an idea. He remembers that Mars used to leave her house to walk to school an hour before him every day before his wish was granted. So he leaves for school early...and sure enough, Mars has left at the same time. He introduces himself again and the two become friends once more.
At lunch, JC tells Margret everything that happened and he doesn't think she will believe him at first but it turns out that she does because according to her, things like this happen all of the time and she states, "that's the tricky thing with dealing with creatures from other dimensions. I should know. I'm an alien."
JC hangs out with Mars a bit after school. When she goes home he wonders what he will do about his parents. Then he gets an idea. He asks his parents when they get home if he can talk to them. They ask him what is wrong and he says he wants to spend more time with them even if it is just talking every once in a while. His parents hug him and say they didn't realize they weren't giving him enough attention.
So the next day, his mom cooks breakfast and they have a nice talk before he leaves for school.
Everything seems to be going good again but JC still doesn't know what happened to Shazaam.
He gets a letter in the mail later on from some place he's never heard of. He opens the letter and it is from Shazaam who tells him he had to return to the realm of the genies shortly after reaching the island. He was allowed to send the letter before he left. He thanks JC for giving him his freedom and says he will always consider him to be his best friend.
And that is more or less where the movie ends.
It was one of those cheesy 90s movies, but it was well written and the acting was pretty good. So I watched this movie a bunch of times when I was growing up.
How about you guys? Do you remember Shazaam? I am curious to hear your thoughts on this.
