Sinbad’s kids want you to know there was never a Shazaam movie starring their father. Like all good collective memories, this one was started by the Internet and quickly surged in popularity. As kids of the 90s will argue to the hilt, there was a conception that Sinbad starred in a genie movie helping some kids. But, what’s likely going on is that fans are mixing the 1996 Shaquille O’Neal movie Kazaam with one of the comedian’s appearances on All That. Now, most of the decade was a blur, so it’s hard to blame audiences. However, Sinbad’s son and daughter, Paige Bryan and Royce Adkins, would kindly request you stop approaching them trying to convince the family that it did indeed happen. They talked to LX about the entire phenomenon. It’s bewildering to cover in its totality, but it’s an illuminating window into a psychological construct called false memory syndrome or “The Mandela Effect.” In summation, a large group of people remembers events one way when the moment in question unfolded in another.
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“Our dad has been mistaken for Shaquille O’Neal more times than makes logical sense,” Bryan explained. “All of a sudden my peer group was like, ‘hey, remember that movie your dad did when he was a genie?’”
Have you noticed no one my age has seen this so called Sinbad Genie movie, only you people who were kids in the 90’s. The young mind !
— Sinbad (@sinbadbad) September 7, 2016
She continued, “Now people will be like, ‘Oh no, I’m not talking about ‘Kazam.’ I’m talking about your dad’s [movie].’” “What is our truth definitely plays a role in how we recollect something.”
Back in 2016, Sinbad had a tweet literally joking about this strange phenomenon. “Have you noticed no one my age has seen this so called Sinbad Genie movie, only you people who were kids in the 90’s. The young mind!,” he wrote.
Now, just so you know, there really isn’t a genie movie starring the comedian. Shazam! director David F. Sandberg has had to battle similar claims when it comes to his DC movie. Back in 2019, people actually thought the superhero flick was a remake of the Shaquille O’Neal movie too! (Shaq is still the man apparently and played a huge role in the Millenial childhood from the looks of things.) The filmmaker wrote on Twitter, “Even I have to admit that it is one of the least faithful remakes ever made.” So, clearly that 1996 movie and the early seasons of All That have a stranglehold on an entire generation. For the sake of Sinbad’s kids, hopefully this can all stop very soon though.
Did you think there was a Sinbad genie movie in the 1990s? Let us know down in the comments!
