Shaquille O’Neal is standing firmly behind Kazaam, arguing that most of the criticism the film gets comes from people who were never its intended audience in the first place.
Speaking with PEOPLE about his new partnership with General Mills, the 54-year-old reflected on the reaction the 1996 musical comedy still generates nearly three decades later.
“I get about 50/50 reaction to Kazaam. Some say it was terrible, but I only hear adults say it was terrible. First of all, you shouldn’t have been watching. It was for kids. But then I get young adults that say, ‘Yo, man, that was my favourite movie.’ So it’s what they call a cult classic.”
Kazaam cast O’Neal as a 5,000-year-old genie who emerges from a magic boombox to grant a 12-year-old three wishes, arriving during one of the busiest stretches of his career.
Director Paul Michael Glaser recently detailed how the project came together in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, explaining that it began almost as an offhand remark.
A family friend on O’Neal’s management team had called inviting Glaser and his son to an NBA All-Star Game, then asked if he knew of any film roles for Shaq before he returned to basketball camp that summer.
“I said, ‘No, he ought to play a genie,’ and I hung up the phone,” Glaser recalled. Though he wasn’t being serious at the time, the idea stuck with him.
“I came up with that idea about a genie who lost his power, and [through] experiencing the caring and love of a good friendship, he rediscovers his power.”
Glaser said he still believes in the concept, even if he’s more critical of the execution.
“I still believe that was a really good idea. I don’t think we executed it as well as we could have.”
He also noted the film’s unusual musical bent came directly from O’Neal’s ambitions at the time.
“At the time, Shaq fancied himself a rap musician, so I wrote it as a rap musical,” adding that O’Neal “was a lovely guy and great to work with.”
The film also starred Francis Capra, Ally Walker and Marshall Manesh.
