Online discussions have been buzzing with claims that Sinbad starred in a 90s film as a genie, leaving people puzzled when someone suggested they had finally ‘solved’ the enigma.
Rumors abound that Sinbad may have magically erased any trace of the movie Shazaam after it failed to impress audiences.
However, this supposed film has caused many to experience a shared ‘memory,’ commonly referred to as the ‘Mandela effect’.
For those unfamiliar, the ‘Mandela effect’ is a term describing a collective false memory. It originated from a widespread belief that Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, died in prison during the 1980s, despite him actually living until 2013.
Many individuals have taken to social media to validate their memories, whether it’s believing Tinkerbell featured in a Disney intro or that Forrest Gump’s line about life ‘being like a box of chocolates’ is exactly as they recall.
Such conviction often leads people to seek out the truth, as demonstrated by a determined Redditor.
“For those who may be unfamiliar, one of the most iconic Mandela effects is people ‘misremembering’ a film where Sinbad played a genie called Shazaam,” the Redditor posted in the r/MandelaEffect community.
“Later, people say that no such movie exists and attribute it to false memories combining Shaq’s Kazaam and Sinbad’s genie movie, but I’m not convinced because not only do I remember Sinbad as a genie, but I remember plot details that have nothing in common with Shaq’s Kazaam.
“The movies aren’t even remotely similar, and I’ve never watched Kazaam as a kid.”
“The movie that people are actually recalling is a 2002 film called Hansel and Gretel. I say it’s this film because I distinctly remember a magical character that as a kid I thought was Sinbad, but it was actually Howie Mandel,” the Redditor explained.
They went on to say that Sinbad ‘plays a role in this film’, causing confusion between the two.
According to the Redditor, Hansel & Gretel aligns more closely with the “Shazaam” they envisioned than the accepted belief that the film is actually Kazaam, starring Shaquille O’Neal as a genie.
Despite this explanation, some remain steadfast in their belief that they have seen this elusive movie.
One individual stated: “This does not solve it for me because I have the memory, like many others, of Kazaam coming shortly after Shazaam. 2002 is way too late. It had to be 1996 or earlier, but not earlier than, say, 1994.”
Another commented: “I have non-believers in the Mandela effect remember the movie. So it’s difficult to just call it a day on this one for that fact. It’s one of the bigger ones, so can’t be ignored.”
A third person insisted they had seen ‘Shazam, starring Sinbad, in cinemas’, emphasizing: “It is not being conflated with any other memory.”
Sinbad himself addressed the theory in 2016, tweeting: “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!”
“Okay, for all you people who think I did a genie movie… well, I haven’t done one YET, but I am going to do one so we can close this chapter,” he added.
Sinbad later played a genie in a College Humor video, poking fun at the ‘Shazaam’ mystery.