"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (also called "The Magic Song") is a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

, written in 1948 by

Al Hoffman Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

, and

Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

. Introduced in the 1950 film ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', and performed by actress

Verna Felton Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Bar ...

, the song is about the

Fairy Godmother In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale wit ...

transforming an orange pumpkin into a white carriage, four brown mice into white horses, a gray horse into a white-haired coachman, and a brown dog into a white-haired footman. The song was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

but lost out to "

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best kno ...

" from ''

Captain Carey, U.S.A. ''Captain Carey, U.S.A.'' is a 1949 American crime film noir directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix. An American returns to post– World War II Italy to bring a traitor to justice. The film was based on the novel ...

'' Disney used the song once again in their 2015 remake of ''Cinderella'' which starred Lily James in the leading role. The song was performed by

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...

, who plays Fairy Godmother, and was the final song of the movie, playing with the end credits. Bonham Carter's version can also be found as the 30th song on the original movie soundtrack.

Recording

Ilene Woods Jacqueline Ruth Woods (May 5, 1929 – July 1, 2010) better known as Ilene Woods, was an American actress and singer. Woods was the original voice of the title character of the Walt Disney animated feature ''Cinderella'', for which she was nam ...

and The Woodsmen with Harold Mooney and His Orchestra recorded the song in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

on October 26, 1949. It was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

as catalog number 31-00138B and by EMI on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

label as catalog numbers B 9970, SG 2371, HM 3755 and JM 2678. A recording by

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signin ...

and

The Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. Be ...

was the most popular. It was recorded on November 7, 1949 and released by

as a 78 rpm single (catalog number 20-3607-B) and as a 45rpm single (catalog number 47-3113-B). The flip side was "

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is a song written and composed by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Walt Disney film ''Cinderella'' (1950). In the song, Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods) encourages her animal friends to ...

". The recording reached number 14 on the ''Billboard'' chart. The same single was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

by EMI on the

label as a 78rpm single (catalog number B 9961). It was also released with catalogue numbers HN 2730, X 7279, SAB 8 and IP 615. Another recording, by

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

and

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals '' Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

, was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

as catalog number 782. The record first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on December 16, 1949 and lasted 7 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 19. It was backed with "

Echoes Echoes may refer to: * Echo (phenomenon) Film and television * ''Echoes'' (2014 film), an American supernatural horror film * ''Echoes'' (miniseries), a 2022 Netflix original drama series * "Echoes" (''Fear Itself''), an episode of ''Fear Itse ...

" on the flip side. On the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' Best-Selling Record charts, where all versions were combined, the song reached number 7. The Kings Men performed the song on the

Fibber McGee and Molly ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' (1935–1959) was a longtime highly popular husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC Blue in 1935. One of the most p ...

radio program on January 10, 1950.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

recorded the song with

Vic Schoen Victor Schoen (March 26, 1916 – January 5, 2000) was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000. He furnished music for some of the most successful persons in show business inclu ...

and His Orchestra on January 3, 1950.

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

also recorded the song on September 9, 1949. It is currently in the compilation of 1992

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

(Legacy label) album "Zip A Dee Doo Dah". This song was used in a

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develo ...

commercial starring

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. Known for his aggressive play, he is widely regarded as one of the g ...

, Leo Messi,

David Luiz David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo. Primarily a centre back, he can also be deployed as a defensive midfielder. After starting out at Vitoria, David Luiz moved to Be ...

, and

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor f ...

promoting the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...

. The first line of the lyric was used as a

mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...

Nellie McKay Nell Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is a singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera'' (2006). Early life and education McKay was born in London to an English father, writer-director Malcolm McKay, and an ...

in a Guy Noir skit during episode 1482, January 24, 2015, of

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed '' Live from ...

Lyrics

The lyrics of the song, as with the title, are composed nearly entirely of nonsense. The 1949 recording, however, has several extra English lines that were not used in the 1950 Disney version, including: "If your mind is in a dither, and your heart is in a haze, I'll haze your dither, and dither your haze, with a magic phrase", and "if you're chased around by trouble, and followed by a jinx, I'll jinx your trouble, and trouble your jinx, in less than forty winks." The tempo of the various recordings also differs widely.

Covers

In 1955,

Jack Pleis Jack K. Pleis (May 11, 1917 – December 5, 1990) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, ...

recorded it for his album, ''Music from Disneyland''. In the Disney/

Square Enix is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game franchises, among numerous ...

crossover game ''

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is an Action role-playing game, action role-playing video game video game developer, developed and video game publisher, published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios for the PlayStation Portable, serving as the si ...

'', the song has been reorchestrated by

Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several game ...

as the theme tune for the Cinderella world Castle of Dreams. Louis Armstrong covered it and the recording was released in 1968 on Disney's Buena Vista Label (F-469). In 1975, Bando Da Lua recorded it for the album, ''Bando Da Lua Nos E.U.A''. In 1980 Mino Reitano and Luca Chinnici recorded it (in Italian) for the album '' Ciao amico'' (Hello friend) with Italian text by Devilli. On the 2012 album ''Disney - Koe no Oujisama'', which features various

Japanese voice actors Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and a ...

covering Disney songs, this song was covered by

Jun Fukuyama is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He played Lelouch Lamperouge in '' Code Geass'', Koro-sensei in '' Assassination Classroom'', Ichimatsu in '' Osomatsu-san'', Yuta Togashi in '' Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions'', Kraft Lawrence in ''Spice ...

. On ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

'', a similar sounding tune is heard sometimes such as when Squidward was playing a piece on his clarinet that incorporates a similar sounding tune as seen on the episode, "Squid Wood". On ''

House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired for three seasons on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to its final ...

'', Jafar and Iago help Mickey and friends bring the clubhouse back after Daisy accidentally made it disappear by doing a rap version of Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo as seen from the episode, "House of Magic".

, who plays the Fairy Godmother in the Disney 2015 film remake, recorded the song for the film's soundtrack.

Parodies and puns

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series '' Dr. Slump'', before going on to create '' Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character des ...

named three characters in his ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'' series after this song: the evil wizard Bibbidi, his son

Bobbidi ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

, and Bibbidi's powerful creation

Majin Boo , generally spelled Majin Boo in subtitles of the Japanese anime, and rendered as Djinn-Boo in the Viz Media manga, is the final antagonist in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama, before the release of ''Dragon Ball Super' ...

. However, these names are spelt as "Bibidi", "Babidi", and "Majin Buu" respectively, in the English dub of the animated adaption. Also, two characters of the arcade game Dragon Ball Heroes are also named after the song: the Majin Hero Salaga and the demon Mechickaboola. The song is parodied on the '' Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain'' episode "Narfily Ever After", a parody of ''Cinderella''. A parody version recorded by Mickey Katz is entitled "The Baby, the Bubbe, and You". The lyrics of the song are algebraically analyzed in a math lesson by Mr. Garrison in the ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

'' episode "

Royal Pudding "Royal Pudding" is the third episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series ''South Park'' and 212th episode of the series overall. "Royal Pudding" premiered in the United States on Comedy Central on May 11, 2011. In t ...

". The title of the song is sung several times in

Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group has consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and dr ...

's song "Django!!! -Genwaku no Django-" from their album ''

Razzle Dazzle ''Razzle Dazzle'' is a Canadian children's television program produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation between October 2, 1961, and July 1, 1966. The series was initially co-hosted by Alan Hamel and Michele Finney who were later replac ...

''. This phrase is often referenced in other Disney stories, mostly when magic is being used. For example, in ''

The Return of Jafar ''The Return of Jafar'' (sometimes marketed as ''Aladdin: The Return of Jafar'' on re-release) is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to the 1992 fi ...

'', and also in the ''Hercules'' TV series, in the ' One Saturday Morning episodes,' Episode 12: "Hercules and the Gorgon." The popular radio show ''

My Favorite Husband ''My Favorite Husband'' is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, starring Lucille Ball, evolved into the groundbreaking television sitcom '' I Love Lucy''. The series was based on the novels ...

'' episode which aired on July 27, 1950, makes fun of the nonsense words of this song. The title of the episode is "Liz Writes A Song". The film ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the ...

'' features a parody of the song, sung by Fiona's fairy godmother. ''

The Tim Conway Jr. Show ''The Tim Conway Jr. Show'' is a weeknight talk radio program, currently web streaming and broadcasting throughout the Los Angeles County and Orange County, California metropolitan areas at KFI AM 640. The show runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Pacifi ...

'', on

KFI KFI (640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel station, clear-channel List of ...

Radio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California, sometimes plays a version of the song in which the singer is interrupted by an Angry Doug Steckler who criticizes the song's math skills. Female members of

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company h ...

's pre-debut trainees team

SM Rookies SM Rookies (, stylized as SMROOKIES) is a pre-debut training team created by South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment in 2013, composed of trainees who have yet to join an idol group. From 2013 to 2018, the team officially introduced 30 ...

Koeun, Hina, and Lami covered a Korean version of the song in the Disney Channel Korea show Mickey Mouse Club in 2015. The line "Bibbidi bobbidi" is mentioned again in the song 9 & 3/4 (Run Away) by

HYBE Hybe ( Hungarian: ''Hibbe'') is a village and municipality in the Liptovský Mikuláš District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. Names and etymology The name is of Slavic ( Slovak) origin with uncertain etymology. Possibly, it deriv ...

Tomorrow X Together Tomorrow X Together (, ; Tomorrow by Together, stylized TOMORROW X TOGETHER), commonly known as TXT ( ), is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment, now known as Big Hit Music. The group consists of five members: Yeonjun, Soobin ...

in 2019. The line "Bibbidi bobbidi Boo" is mentioned again in Josh's rap line of the song Bazinga by

SB19 SB19 is a Filipino boy band that debuted in 2018, the pentad—consisting of members Pablo, Stell, Ken, Justin, and Josh. They were trained for 4 years by ShowBT Philippines, beginning in 2016. They are the first Filipino and Southeast Asia ...

in 2021.

References

{{authority control Cinderella (franchise) Disney songs Jo Stafford songs Magic words Perry Como songs The Fontane Sisters songs Songs based on fairy tales Songs written by Mack David Songs written by Al Hoffman Songs written by Jerry Livingston 1948 songs 1949 singles Walt Disney Records singles Novelty songs

Recording

Lyrics

Covers

Parodies and puns

See also

References