The Wizards Of Waverly Place Episode You Likely Forgot Starred Shakira

One of the core running themes of "Wizards of Waverly Place" was transformation — both of the teen protagonists into their older, more mature selves over the course of the show, and of humans into different forms via magic. And on the 12th episode of Season 3, aptly titled "Dude Looks Like Shakira," a particularly radical use of transformation was demonstrated.

On the episode, it is revealed that the Russo kids' Uncle Kelbo (Jeff Garlin), a recurring character on the show, has been using a spell to turn himself into pop music superstar Shakira, but has lost control of his transformation's timing. In fact, it turns out that Shakira is Uncle Kelbo, only taking up a second identity, Hannah Montana-style. Since an old wizard law prohibits the use of magic for the pursuit of fame and fortune, the kids have to scramble to find a way to help their uncle change back into himself for good. But, in the meantime, Shakira gets to have plenty of fun with the role of a middle-aged man impersonating her, and to do a bit of harmonizing with Gomez.

Interestingly, per IMDb, this turn as "Uncle Kelbo" marked the first time since the 1994 Colombian telenovela "El oasis" that Shakira did proper acting, outside of a music video, as a character other than herself — or at least her real, non-shapeshifted self, anyway.