User Reviews

This show came out at the height of the so-called "teen cartoon" era. Several shows that had teenagers as the central characters all made their debuts around this time and this show was no exception. The premise of this show was pretty much an update of the original "I Dream of Jeannie", except that this time Jeannie is, more or less, a teenager and her master and his best bud are a pair of high school students, not adult astronauts as in the original series. Also, a very annoying "junior genie" named Babu, who's powers always malfunction at the worst times. All in all the show was okay, but it will never be a classic like the show it was inspired by.

Yep, that's right: our own Mark Hamill got an early gig as the voice of Corey, the teen who finds the magic bottle from which pops forth the "Jeannie" of the title in a kiddie show that doesn't manage to do as well as the original.

Cashing in on good memories of the live-action gem of '60s stalwart "I Dream of Jeannie", this cartoon take moves things into a more kiddie-like realm as Corey takes on the Major Nelson part as the lucky (?) finder of the genie bottle. The hijinks that ensue aren't really as wild as what the good Major found himself getting into, and considering the possibilities offered by animation, that's a shame.

Of course, many familiar voices lend their talents like Hastings and Messick, but they saved the big guns for the likes of Joe Besser (of Three Stooges fame) as Jeannie's bumbling assistant genie Babu who, with a "yapple-dapple", manages to make a mess out of the simplest incantation. Of course, things were set right by the end of every episode.

One more quibble - was Barbara Eden really so busy that she couldn't have lent her voice to Jeannie? Could have been magical, but....

Four stars for "Jeannie" - a genie with little magic for the kids.