Babu is an incompetent genie who was trained by Jeannie. He was also voiced by the late Joe Besser (an actor on Abbott & Costello, and later part of the Three Stooges, one of Curly Howard's replacements).
He seems to have been based on a one time character on the original I Dream Of Jeannie, played appropriately by Bob Denver. That character was revealed to be the nephew of Genie Ruler, The Great Hadji. In the cartoon, Hadji rarely even acknowledges Babu, and shows only disdain when he does.
Other Information[]
Like the other characters on this series, Babu appeared in a crossover with Scooby-Doo and the gang in an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
Physical appearance[]
Babu is portrayed as a plump Arabian male, even if his voice couldn't sound more New York City area/region if he tried. His outfit oddly resembles a male version of Jeannie Nelson's genie outfit from the original live-action sitcom. His size and bulk seem to aid as an impediment to his ability to perform magic correctly.
Personality[]
He is quite dim-witted and his magic frequently goes wrong. He is bright and cheery despite this, optimistic that he will graduate from being an apprentice genie - after 1500 years. He uses the phrase 'Yapple Dapple' to enable his magic, whereas most genies use a physical gesture of some sort, perhaps an indicator of his status. Jeannie's master Cory Anders and his friend Henry Glopp notably have less success than they do with Jeannie discouraging Babu from helping them out.
Powers and abilities[]
Babu has all the abilities of a genie as seen in the original sitcom and animated series. What he seems to lack is the focus and ease that most other genies, including his mentor, Jeannie, develop over time. His enthusiasm and desire to show he is competent often put his abilities in a bad light, jumping in before thinking. On the other hand, he can be creative in overcoming his own foolishness. Featured on the cartoon series Laff-A-Lympics (rights' issues prevented Jeannie herself from being used), Babu once engaged in a contest to fill a hole with water. His original spell caused a small eye-drop syringe to appear, making his defeat certain. Babu became inspired to correct this, reworking what he had done as a gigantic eye-dropper that filled the hole in seconds.
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