I'm the man of the ages, straight out the pages!
Hang on-- I'm contagious, outrageous, spontaneous!
You can't contain this!
I am Kazaam!
[BOOM]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
What's up, everyone?
This is "Disney+ Deets," where we break down everything
you need to know about your favorite
Disney+ movies and series.
I'm Kenneth.
And I'm Marcellus.
And not to toot our own horns, but we're pretty
much the biggest Disney+ fans out there.
No, let's do it!
Toot, toot!
Beep, beep!
That's right!
Let's get into it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I am so excited because today's movie is a wish come true,
straight from the '90s--
BOTH: "Kazaam."
KENNETH: Genie extraordinaire, sir.
He is here granting wishes.
MARCELLUS: That's right-- the one and only Shaq.
In between seasons with the Orlando Magic,
the basketball superstar flew to Hollywood
and made the world believe in a different kind of magic,
playing a wish-granting genie.
Ugh!
This was everything, because I was
like, look at Shaq onscreen, playing a genie.
And Shaq is huge.
Like, he is so tall.
He is 7 foot 1, Ken.
KENNETH: Of course! MARCELLUS: You understand this?
KENNETH: Of course. Of course.
MARCELLUS: You cannot miss him.
KENNETH: If I had a genie, I'd wish to play Shaq one on one.
I think I could beat him.
MARCELLUS: Ken, who is 5 foot 2, I can't with you.
Let's stick to the facts, please.
KENNETH: In 1995, Shaquille O'Neal
was a 23-year-old NBA phenom.
His managers were looking for a project
during Shaq's summer hiatus, and they approached producer
and director Paul Michael Glaser,
who jokingly suggested that he should
play a genie with an attitude.
MARCELLUS: And boom, "Kazaam" was born.
Writers Christian Ford and Roger Soffer
fleshed out the screenplay,
and just 10 and 1/2 weeks later, the movie got the green light
to start production.
KENNETH: Amazing!
Let's talk about Shaq for a minute.
On the court, he was one of the most aggressive, powerful
centers to ever play the game.
But now we kind of see him in a whole 'nother light.
MARCELLUS: A whole 'nother light.
KENNETH: He has this incredible sense of childlike wonder
about everything.
MARCELLUS: Shaq is one of the most
recognizable people on earth.
He's super tall.
You can tell exactly who he is-- a 300-pound frame.
Everyone knew Shaq-- except for his costar,
12-year-old Francis Capra.
Capra wasn't a big sports fan and had
no idea who the superstar was prior to filming "Kazaam."
MARCELLUS: That is unbelievable.
KENNETH: I'm not a big sports person.
Are you a big sports person?
MARCELLUS: I'm not, but I knew who Shaq was.
KENNETH: That's right. That's right.
But you know what?
At the same time, what an amazing dynamic that
they had in the movie. MARCELLUS: Yes.
KENNETH: Being able to kind of just
have this great bond and this great connection.
So I think it worked out really, really cool.
MARCELLUS: The filmmakers needed a unique child actor
to play the role of Max, someone with street smarts
and great comedic timing who could
act in front of a blue screen and who could
hold his own next to Shaq.
Capra fit the bill perfectly.
KENNETH: He and Shaq bonded both onscreen and off,
playing games, pranking the crew, and being, in Shaq's
words, "just two big kids."
MARCELLUS: Ken, I love this part when
his bike started transforming.
It was just so cool to see it.
When I was a kid and I was watching, I was like, wow!
Did you know Max didn't even really know how to ride a bike?
You'd never know it watching him onscreen,
because the production brought in a bike tutor just for him.
KENNETH: I wish I could get a singing tutor.
MARCELLUS: Um, I believe they call those vocal coaches,
and... just stick to your day job.
KENNETH: Oh!
[LAUGHTER]
OK.
MARCELLUS: I don't think people realize how much
new ground this movie broke.
There were special effects created
for this film, which had never been attempted before.
KENNETH: Look at the special effects!
MARCELLUS: Ugh!
KENNETH: The shower water is going down to the bottom,
but it's not going to the floor!
MARCELLUS: It's not.
KENNETH: That's amazing!
It's staying right there!
I remember being a kid and thinking, that is dope.
MARCELLUS: And I just love that Shaq is bald,
but he had a shower cap on--
my favorite thing.
KENNETH: Most of the movie was shot in a real warehouse
in downtown Los Angeles, which was
split into six interior sets.
Two giant blue screens were set up
for all those special effects.
Plus, the massive building gave the production enough room
to shoot club scenes with up to 500 dancing
extras and a platform stage.
MARCELLUS: If you had a genie, what would your first wish be?
KENNETH: I'd wish for all my work
to magically get done so I could spend
more time watching Disney+.
MARCELLUS: But watching Disney+ is our work.
KENNETH: Oh, yeah!
OK.
MARCELLUS: Speaking of cool jobs,
costume designer Hope Hanafin had her work
cut out for her, dressing Shaq.
From his size 17 ring to his size 22 genie shoes,
everything he wore had to be custom-made.
KENNETH: Let's talk about this fashion for a minute!
MARCELLUS: Oh! KENNETH: Shaq was really dope.
I don't know about you, but that earring was amazing.
MARCELLUS: Oh, I loved it.
KENNETH: Hanafin wanted Kazaam's wardrobe
to teach the young viewers some real-world history.
His jewelry was modeled after the Tuareg, a nomadic North
African tribe that once controlled numerous trading
routes in the Sahara Desert.
MARCELLUS: Kazaam's first costume
was also Tuareg-influenced.
But as Kazaam gains fame and power,
his attire starts to evolve.
KENNETH: Absolutely.
MARCELLUS: Isn't that super cool?
KENNETH: Absolutely.
He's really looking like the superstar that he is.
MARCELLUS: Music supervisor Bonnie
Greenberg wanted Kazaam's musical style
to evolve with the character.
So in his early performances, we hear
beats with Jamaican, Arabic, African, and Asian influences.
But as Kazaam gets more comfortable
in the modern world, he starts rapping
over R&B and hip hop beats.
Uh!
Da Brat!
KENNETH: Hey, Da Brat!
MARCELLUS: Oh, she did so good.
She's so great!
KENNETH: Da Brat is an amazing rapper who shows up.
This is her first big-screen debut.
MARCELLUS: Debut!
KENNETH: Are we looking right now at Spinderella?
MARCELLUS: Yes, we are.
Salt-N-Pepa's Spinderella recalled
being impressed by Shaq's love for hip hop, saying,
he plays basketball, but his heart is in rap.
KENNETH: I think this is when our character Kazaam is
realizing, like, I think I want a career in the music industry.
MARCELLUS: Yeah.
You can really see how Shaq got into this groove
and into this feeling.
You can tell he really enjoyed the music.
KENNETH: Shaq loved the music written for him in Kazaam
so much, he hired all four of the film's music producers
to work on his third album.
MARCELLUS: He was ready to go and switch
into a whole music career. KENNETH: He was ready for this.
MARCELLUS: And I was excited for him about it.
KENNETH: Absolutely excited for him about it.
MARCELLUS: Working on this movie came with a unique perk--
pickup basketball games with Shaq!
In between shooting, he'd play ball
with whoever he could round up on set,
from painters to cameramen.
KENNETH: It may not surprise you to know,
Team Shaq went undefeated during filming.
I still think I could take him.
MARCELLUS: Maybe if you had a genie,
but you might need to use all your wishes on that one.
[LAUGHTER]
Ken, this movie has so much heart.
KENNETH: I love how this movie makes me feel all nostalgic.
MARCELLUS: Yeah, and this movie reminds
me to keep those friends around you that encourage you.
And, you know, Shaq felt like we all
have genies in our lives, someone who believes in you,
even when you don't always believe in yourself.
KENNETH: Aw.
I guess that makes you my genie, Marcellus.
Now, let's talk wishes.
MARCELLUS: Yeah, we better wrap this up.
Be sure to like and subscribe and check out "Kazaam,"
now streaming on Disney+.
Take care of yourselves and the planet,
and we'll see you next time.
Marcellus and Ken, signing off.
KENNETH: OK, for my first wish, I--
MARCELLUS: No, no.
KENNETH: I was gonna wish for something for you.
MARCELLUS: Yeah, sure, Ken.
[LAUGHTER]
[MUSIC PLAYING]