Mystery in Persia

Mystery in Persia (Scooby-Doo Meets Jeannie) is the third episode of the second season of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and the nineteenth episode overall in the series.

Premise
Scooby and the gang along with Jeannie and Babu, help a prince battle the evil spirit that was let out of a bottle. But who did it and why?

Synopsis
The Mystery Inc. gang is driving along in the countryside. Shaggy notices how deserted the road is, and is hungry. They see Corey Anders and Henry Glopp driving along in their motorcycle. Soon, Jeannie is following along, flying overhead in a sitting position. Scooby imitates her magical ponytail with his tail. The Mystery Machine crashes and the rest of the gang finally recognizes Jeannie and friends. Scooby and Shaggy, in an amorous daze, call for Jeannie, blaming Fred for the accident, and calling the Mystery Machine an "old truck". She magically removes it from the mud. Shaggy asks her to "zap up some food", and she instantly creates a picnic. Sandwiches disappear from Shaggy and Scooby's hands and Babu appears standing in the coleslaw.

Fred asks Jeannie's gang to join them, and they leave off driving. Jeannie causes Scooby to float along with her, but when Babu tries to do the same with Shaggy, he makes the whole Mystery Machine ascend to the sky. Jeannie puts it back on the ground. (Babu: "maybe I used too much 'yapple'; or too much 'dapple'"). They stop, at a fork in the road. Babu receives a message from the Great Hajji for Jeannie to come to Persia to help a Prince Abin, a friend of his. The next scene they are in ancient Persia, and unbeknownst to them, a man and an evil genie are plotting against the Great Hajji and his help, Jeannie.

The gang arrives in front of an old palace. A gate opens by itself, Shaggy and Scooby start running and Jeannie magically brings them back. Inside, they check several doors but don't find anybody, so they decide to sleep over in some of the rooms. In his room, Scooby sees a veiled ghost in a closet, who comes after him, and then after Babu and Shaggy. Babu tries to make him disappear, but only makes the bed they're hiding under disappear. He then calls for Jeannie who makes the ghost disappear. Shaggy thinks it was a joke, but Jeannie says it was a "dangerous game" being played by someone. Henry is grooming himself in a mirror and then his reflection begins acting funny, moving differently than he is. He tries to explain to Cory who doesn't understand. He then tries to demonstrate in the mirror for Cory and Jeannie, but now nothing strange happens, and they think, he was only imagining.

A vulture flies around the palace and then everybody suddenly disappears from their beds, all landing in a room full of doors, save Jeannie and Babu. Jeannie senses her master (Cory's) presence in a nearby pyramid. Landing in the room, Shaggy thinks it's all a dream. Henry blames "the me in the mirror" (to the confusion of everyone else). They then try some doors, finding only a strong wind and a monstrous hand. Jeannie magically opens a door from the outside and Shaggy and Scooby, who had just been convinced to try another door, fall out. Everyone is now reunited and are then welcomed to Zendat by Abin's uncle Abdullah (the man earlier seen with the Jinn), who appears above the pyramid.

In Prince Abin's palace, Abin explains his problem. Strange things have been happening; ghostly voices in the night. Yet, if Abin doesn't stay in the palace for one year he cannot become Sultan. Legend has it that an evil jinn who was imprisoned by Abin's ancestor was making the noise, indicating that someone has released him. Shaggy, Scooby, Henry and Babu hear the voices and take off running around the palace and scare each other from around a corner. Jadal, the evil jinn appears scaring Scooby. They run and Babu 'splits' literally. Uncle Abdullah encourages Abin to leave. Jadal chases the four around the palace. Every trick Babu tries to perform is a blunder. They hear Jadal and Babu disappears. Shaggy, Scooby and Henry escape by disguising themselves. They smell food and run to a kitchen and begin eating out of a kettle. A woman shows up and shows them that it is laundry. The rest of the gang enters. Jadal appears out of the fire, freezes everyone and imprisons Jeannie in a bottle (as he had been imprisoned for 10,000 years), And then disappears with her. (Abin just now realizes that she is a real genie) Abin offers to leave the palace. and give up the sultanate. Everybody searches the palace. Shaggy, Scooby and Babu find "Watch this spot" painted on the floor, and that section of the floor carries them down to a cellar. The others see the spot, and are carried up to a room Abin never even knew about. Henry sees a window with a camel walking in the desert outside, and thinks it's a "realistic picture". He leans to far and falls out. Then suddenly the whole room tilts, and they all fall out, landing in Jadal's cave. Velma finds a "thousand year old" bottle, and Abin gives it to her. Meanwhile, Babu, Shaggy and Scooby hear Jeannie, and think it's her ghost. Then they see her imprisoned in the bottle in a hole in a wall, but it is protected by an invisible shield. Scooby howls, breaking bottle and Jeannie is now able to free herself. Soon she, sensing her master, finds him and the others from on the other side of a solid rock wall. She, recognizes Velma's bottle as being 10,000 years old.

Jadal appears and duels magically with Jeannie. Jeannie, knowing all his tricks, defeats him, forcing him back into the bottle. Fred and Jeannie point out that whoever released him was big master, and therefore the cause of all the trouble. Jeannie makes him appear, and it is Uncle Abdullah. He felt the power and wealth of the sultanate was rightly his because Abin's father ruled with love and not by force "as a sultan should". Jeannie cannot judge mortals, so she imprisons him in the bottle with Jadal for the Great Hajji to take care of.

Shaggy and Scooby eat out of the kettle again, but this time instead of laundry, it is soap. Scooby hiccups bubbles.

Guest stars

 * Cast of Jeannie

Villains

 * Abdullah
 * Jadal the Evil Djinn

Suspects
None

Locations

 * Persia

Notes/trivia

 * Scooby and the gang's first adventure outside the continental U.S.
 * Jadal was the first character to be from another world.
 * This is the first episode to feature real supernatural beings (i.e. Jeannie and Babu), and the first without a costumed villain (though a prior episode Foul Play in Funland also did not feature a costumed villain making it the first).
 * According to Islamic tradition, the Djinn (a.k.a. genies) are beings made out of smokeless fire that are invisible to the human eye, who have their own society and can perform supernatural feats.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

 * When Shaggy is swimming in the pool, his shirt has long sleeves.
 * At the end of the scene where Henry is getting ready for bed, Corey says "good night" to him, but Henry's lips move with Corey's voice.
 * When Scooby gets away from Jadal, Babu's vest is briefly missing.
 * When some of the group begin to search for the others in the palace, some shots show Corey with blond hair instead of brown.
 * When the group finds themselves in the strange room, Fred's blue collar is briefly colored white. Also, when they're looking for a secret panel Henry speaks with Abin's voice.
 * When Abdula says "I would've ruled as a sultan should rule--with force", his turban is now colored white. After it returns to red again.
 * When Jeannie flashes Abdullah into the bottle her arms briefly disappear.
 * Before Jadal is put into the bottle it is brown and opaque, after he and Abdullah are put into it, it is now green and translucent. If this is due to Jadal being in the bottle it doesn't occur earlier in the episode.
 * In the last scene when Fred says "Don't you guys ever learn?" he speaks with Henry's voice and Daphne's headband is coloured black instead of purple.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

 * Iran does not look anything like what is depicted in the episode. In fact, the setting in this episode looks like a cross between Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The djinn legends actually originated in what is today Saudi Arabia.
 * Prior to the establishment to the theocratic government that rules Iran today, the leader (or king) of Iran was normally refered to as the "Shah", not "sultan". "Shah" is a Persian word that means "king". The title "sultan" is Arabic, not Persian.
 * Corey didn't know what happened with Henry and the mirror and didn't believe him, but he was watching Henry and the mirror Henry.

Home media
Due to the Jeannie animated series (and its franchise as a whole) being owned by another company, licensing issues prohibits Warner Home Video from releasing this episode onto DVD.