Benevolent Genie: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:JeannieAndTheCaptain.jpg|link=I Dream of Jeannie
As it turns out, not all [[Genie in
This is the [[Benevolent Genie]], the generally lesser-used character type of the three. This is because the very existence of such a genie is a [[Deus Ex Machina]] for most problems if the genie is so powerful they can just magic them away, becoming a [[Sidekick Ex Machina]]. One common way of adding conflict is to make the genie so ditzy that their usefulness can end up screwing things up in a [[Stop Helping Me!]] kind of way, by limiting the number of wishes that can be made, or at least giving the genie some sort of exploitable weakness.
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More often than not, the ultimate ending for this type of Genie tends to be [[Freeing the Genie|its master wishing it free]]. Depending on the work, this sometimes makes the Genie have unlimited power or in other cases makes them normal humans.
See Also: [[Literal Genie]], [[Jackass Genie]], [[Genie in
{{examples}}
== Anime & Manga ==
* The Goddesses from ''[[Ah!
* Shenron from [[
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== Films -- Animation ==
* The Genie in ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' functions like this, even interpreting an unconscious head bob in the best possible way (as "Genie, I want you to save my life"). In fact, he's nice to a fault -- when Jafar takes control of him late in the film, it doesn't even occur to him to try to use some [[Literal Genie]] interpretations to screw Jafar out of his wishes (for example, simply teleporting Jafar to a [[Death World]] when he wishes to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world, or making Jafar the "sultan" of an oasis). Fortunately, Aladdin himself thinks of a loophole and tricks Jafar into using it. The Genie doesn't even realize what Aladdin's plan is until after he already granted the wish. (Compare Eden from [[The Series]] under "Western Animation," who is smart enough to play this as a [[Zig
** The sequel shows that Genies are not required to be benevolent. And the only reason he counted that head nod as a wish is because Aladdin tricked him into a free one before. Has Aladdin not done that, it probably wouldn't have been counted as one.
** That and he really liked Aladdin and actively ''wanted'' to save his life but was limited by his own previous statements, so he took any opportunity he could get.
* In ''[[
== Films -- Live Action ==
* Fakrash al-Amash (Burl Ives) in 1964's ''The Brass Bottle'' is a djinn who is so grateful to architect Harold Ventimore (Tony Randall) for freeing him from his bottle, that he is continually making extravagant gifts to him -- alll of which only complicate Ventimore's life and make him miserable. [[I Dream of Jeannie
* Josephus in ''Bernard and the Genie'' befriends the much-harrassed former art dealer Bernard and grants him ''unlimited'' wishes. Although they as expected mess things up at first (Bernard gets arrested for having the Mona Lisa on his wall, not to mention stabbing a policeman with a sword), Josephus later reveals that he can just turn back the clock, and they set everything straight. They then decide that since it's Christmas, they should make a few Christmas miracles and spread good cheer. (This includes getting back at Bernard's cheating ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend, as well as his ex-boss, who is played by Rowan Atkinson.)
** Josephus only became one after the wish "I wish you would stop trying to kill me", however. Before that he was more 'pissed off former thief with a large scimitar who had been trapped in a bottle for thousands of years'.
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== Live Action TV ==
* The eponymous [[Magical Girlfriend]] of ''[[
* In ''[[The Tenth Kingdom]]'', Snow White is one of these.
{{quote| '''Snow White''': You may ask for one wish, and I will try and grant it. But be sure to ask for the right thing.<br />
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'''Snow White''': Strictly speaking, that's two wishes. But it's done. }}
* In ''[[Bernard And The Genie]]'', [[Lenny Henry]] plays one of these to Alan Cumming's Bernard.
* ''[[
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== Western Animation ==
* An animated version of the ''The Fisherman and his Wife'' tale on the ''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'' show has a happier ending (and also replaces the fish with a mermaid but that's not important). The story follows the same plot, but in the end, the mermaid asks the fisherman what ''he'' wanted. When he says that all he wants is for his wife to be happy, the mermaid reverts things back to the way they were before -- except now the fisherman's wife appreciates what she already has instead of complaining about what she lacks. [[Unfortunate Implications]] aside, it was a pretty happy ending.
* The TV series version of ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' has a female genie called [[Shout-Out|Eden]], who is also benevolent. Unlike Genie however, she's wise enough to become a [[Literal Genie]] when dealing with [[Jerkass]] Abis Mal. When the villain wishes Genie imprisoned in the bottom of the ocean, she give him an escape hatch because Mal didn't say forever. When Mal wished the biggest and strongest being in the world, she including a method of relieving him of his power; and when the little girl who finds her wishes for everything to be all right, she turns Abis Mal into a bug as a "freebie". She also went out of her way to encourage the little homeless girl to come up with better wishes; when the girl wished for a sandwich, she convinced her to wish for a lifetime supply of food instead.
** A different episode featured a benevolent "genie" surrounded by jackasses - it's a little fuzzy creature that grants the wish of whoever scares it as a defense mechanism. [[Pet the Dog|Iago befriends it]], and at episode's end, shows it a mirror while screaming. "Squirt scared himself", so its own wish is granted - to return to the homeland of its species.
* The genie in the Hanna Barbera cartoon ''[[Shazzan]]'' does this, promptly doing whatever the protagonists want. Except taking them home, which is ostensibly the whole plot. Mostly, he just answers wishes of "save us from this evil guy who wants your power". In the one cartoon where the bad guy succeeds, he uses a [[Literal Genie]] interpretation of his wish to [[Children Are Innocent|keep from killing his]] "real" masters.
* Cosmo and Wanda in ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'', since making Timmy happy is their job as fairy godparents. On the other hand, they sometimes [[Literal Genie|make mistakes]], and Timmy's wishes can have [[Be Careful What You Wish For|unintended consequences]]. They ''do'' warn Timmy about the possibility of a wish backfiring and even urge him to alter his wishes to minimize risk if possible.
** It also seems that sometimes they ''have'' to be literal, or at least, can't undo something they've already granted literally. Or something; it kind of [[Depending
* [[Captain N]] once had the heroes stumble upon a genie who granted their wishes pretty much as they intended them. It was pretty much a critique of the newly-developed patch devices; Kevin wishes for enhanced skills, and quickly realizes [[Victory Is Boring]]. [[Mega Man (
* [[Looney Tunes|Daffy Duck]] once briefly obtained a treasure that included the services of a genie who really wanted to help him ... but Daffy, [[Jerkass|being who he is]], attacks the genie as a rival for his treasure. The consequences are not good.
* One episode of ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'' featured Odie finding a genie at the beach, who was a rather nice guy. Since Odie only had one wish (to fly), he even decided to give Odie his wish three times so that his wishes wouldn't be wasted.
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