Hanna-Barbera wanted the series to have absolutely no link whatsoever to the 1960s NBC television series (save for the title character). At the time the series was produced, the studio had just spent an enormous amount of money having celebrities such as Sonny and Cher, Phyllis Diller, and the Harlem Globetrotters provide their voices for The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972). That being said, Hanna-Barbera's budget did not allow for bringing in the likes of original cast members such as Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman or Bill Daily. Hence, the premise of I Dream of Jeannie (1965) was completely reworked for animation.
This series and Partridge Family 2200 AD (1974) are each wholly owned by Screen Gems, making them among the few Hanna-Barbera series owned by an outside studio.
This was the first animated series Charles Nichols directed for Hanna Barbera. But the first two cartoons to be directed by himself for that company were Lost in Space (1973) (that aired on the same day as "Jeannie") and the theatrical film Charlotte's Web (1973).
Both this series and Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973), another animated spin-off of a live-action NBC television series, premiered on September 8, 1973.
Instead of blinking her eyes to grant wishes this Jeannie get's her power from her pony tail while Babu power comes from the magic words Yapple Dapple.