Shaban is a character featured in the Tokyo DisneySea show The Magic Lamp Theater.
Background
Backstory
When Asim found a magic lamp, Shaban snatched it from him and rubbed the lamp, releasing the Genie, who granted Shaban's wish to become the "world's biggest magician." Unfortunately, the magician chose his words poorly, and the Genie interpreted the wish literally, transforming Shaban into a giant. Shaban was forced to use his second wish to correct the mistake. This time, the Genie granted Shaban's wish by becoming his partner, helping him perform magic in his show, to great success. Over time, however, Shaban became jealous of the way audiences clearly loved the Genie more than him, and he angrily locked the lamp, with the Genie inside it, inside a chest, much to his power. Afterwards, he put on a great show called the "Magic Lamp Theater" to entertain guests.
Appearances
The Magic Lamp Theater
Shaban is introduced performing his first one-man show since locking the Genie in the chest, which performs poorly. Asim, who serves as Shaban's "volunteer", performs the famous "cutting a person in half" magic trick, but Asim's legs go running off on their own. Eventually, Shaban became distracted, giving Asim the opportunity to snatch the key from him. While Shaban goes offstage to prepare for the next trick, manages to free the Genie, who appears on a large screen via 3-D imagery, as he schemes to make Shaban use up his third wish so that he will be free of him, and he and Asim can be partners instead.
Shaban returns and attempts to perform the "pulling a rabbit out of a basket" trick, but the Genie takes the place of the rabbit and fouls up the trick deliberately, albeit dismayed to see the Genie has been freed. However, he became clever enough to release him, albeit being deliberately taunted in an effort to get him to wish for the Genie to go away, thereby using up his final wish. He attempts to leave the stage, but is dragged back by the Genie's magic. Shaban laments that things were better before he ever met the Genie, the latter is able to lead him into accidentally voicing his desire to go back to that time. Shaban vanishes in a cloud of smoke as the Genie grants this "third and final wish" by sending him back to the "old days", eventually defeating him so that Asim and the Genie can be friends again.
Other appearances
Shaban made a special appearance in the third edition of the springtime event, Springtime Surprise, a magical festival presented at Arabian Coast alongside Asim and other magicians performing magic tricks, followed by a magical tour de force by the Genie himself as well as appearances from Mickey, Minnie, Duffy, and ShellieMay.
Trivia
- "Shaban" is a male Arabic name derived from the word "Sha'ban" meaning "separation", "dispersion", or "branching out", which in turn is also the name of the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. This can be a reference to Shaban attempting to separate the friendship between the Genie and Asim in the show.
