Benevolent Genie: Difference between revisions

[[File:JeannieAndTheCaptain.jpg|link=I Dream of Jeannie (TV)|frame|<small>Please observe the "Deer in Headlights" expression on the Major's face.</small> ]]

As it turns out, not all [[Genie in Aa Bottle|genies]] are by-the-book bureaucrats who are more interested in doing [[Literal Genie|exactly what you say]] than actually getting you what you want. Nor are they all [[Jackass Genie|complete jerks]] who seem determined to make whatever wish you utter cause suffering regardless of how well you word it. Some genies are just really cool. Maybe you helped them do something and [[Disproportionate Reward|they're giving away wishes as a legitimate reward rather than out of obligation.]] Maybe you're a [[Nice Guy|good person]] [[Hidden Heart of Gold|at heart]] and the genie just can't bear to screw you over at risk of helping the bad guys. Or maybe the genie is just so nice they can't even conceive of [[Make a Wish|granting a wish]] in a way that directly hurts good ol' master.

See Also: [[Literal Genie]], [[Jackass Genie]], [[Genie in Aa Bottle]].

* The Goddesses from ''[[Ah! My Goddess (Manga)|Ah My Goddess]]''.

* Shenron from [[DragonballDragon Ball]]. He may not be all that polite, but he grants you anything you want, no strings attached. {{spoiler|Unless it is outside of his power to do so.}}

* 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 -Zagging Trope]].)

* In ''[[Duck TalesDuckTales the Movie: Treasure of Thethe Lost Lamp (Animation)|Duck Tales the Movie Treasure of The Lost Lamp]]'', the genie is a curious but good-natured fellow who even tells the nephews that he is "eternally grateful" when they first free him. He takes no pleasure in granting wishes that are liable to cause trouble or are otherwise harmful, but he can't resist for long before he is somehow compelled into bringing it into existence anyway. He even warns them early on to try and keep the wishes relatively subtle, as flashy displays of his magic invariably cause trouble. Not least of which is a former master of his, an immortal sorcerer who has a talisman that gives him limitless wishes and a very cruel nature. Two other wishes the genie was forced to grant him included sinking Atlantis back when it was a prime vacation spot after the sorcerer couldn't get a reservation and causing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (in his words, "Poor Pompeii! Vesuvius wouldn't have blown its top if Merlock hadn't!"). The genie openly weeps when recounting these facts.

* 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 (TV)|Barbara Eden]] is featured in this film, though not as a djinniyah.

* The eponymous [[Magical Girlfriend]] of ''[[I Dream of Jeannie (TV)|I Dream of Jeannie]]'' tries to be as useful as she could, although her attempts rarely go particularly well.

* ''[[The Twilight Zone (TV)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "I Dream of Genie" features a genie who can only grant one wish and so encourages the man who finds him to [[Be Careful What You Wish For|carefully consider what he really wants]]. The hero rejects various [[Genre Savvy|ordinary wishes for wealth, love and power]], and finally {{spoiler|wishes to become a [[Benevolent Genie]] himself, one who can grant three wishes and arranges for his lamp to be found by the homeless and needy}}.

* 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.

** 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 Onon the Writer|changes with the plot]]. They pretty much always ''mean'' well, though.

* [[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 (Videovideo Gamegame)|Mega Man]] wishes for enhanced strength, and nearly ''knocks down the palace.'' Princess Lana immediately wishes that "no one had made any wishes", returning things to normal for the moment so they can get on with the plot.