As a kid, I really liked shows and movies that play with the concept of magic. Sabrina: The Animated Series, though, was not one of my favorites. I couldn't put my finger on it as a kid, but as an adult I finally understood why this show never resonated with me as much as Harry Potter: it's just not good. From the awful writing to the really unlikable characters, it's unfortunate of me to say that this show killed my immediate interest in consuming more Sabrina media.
An animated adaptation of the classic Archie comics character, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, this show focuses of Sabrina as a young preteen girl living in Greendale. She goes on magical misadventures with her talking cat, Salem, her Aunts Hilda and Zelda, and her friends Harvey and Chloe. All the while trying to hide the fact that she's a witch from the residents of Greendale, save for Chloe. The first problem present in this show is the terrible writing. Each episode focuses on Sabrina trying to makr her life better with magic only to make things worse and her aunts, uncle, or Salem have to get her out of trouble, otherwise she gets out of trouble on accident. The conflicts are often forced, such as with Extreme Harvey and Witchy Grrrls, and common sense is lost on the main characters for the sake of tension. In addition to that, it's not particularly funny. Save for a few moments from Salem and the Weird Al Yankovic cameo in Witchy Grrrls, there isn't much substance when it comes to the humor. It mostly relys on weak gags, obvious word play and weightless slapstick. This all around makes for a tedious 22 minutes, an inexcusable runtime given the lack of substance in each episode.
The characters don't offer much to like and at best are just one dimensional and bland. The exception to this is Salem, who's actually a pretty fun character. He's snarky, laid back, smart and can be funny at times. The only problem with him is that he's NOT the main character of this show. No, that honor is unfortunately bestowed upon Sabrina Spellman, who completes the irresponsible preteen girl trio with Mimi (from What About Mimi) and Polly Pocket. She's arrogant, she's selfish, she lies and she never learns her lesson. No seriously, in You Said a Mouse-Ful she promised that the next time she has a problem, she'll tell her Uncle Quiggly about it. The very next episode (I'm not kidding), Boggie Shoes, when Harvey is lacking confidence in his dancing, she does NOT keep this promise and tries to fix the problem herself only to make things worse. Speaking of friends, Harvey is pretty flat as a character. He doesn't have much personality outside him having a crush on Sabrina and her him, but that's pretty superfluous as they lack real chemistry. Chloe is a better friend, but that's noy saying much considering she's just as irresponsible as Sabrina (and being 12 is NOT an excuse). Chloe otherwise doesn't have much personality of her own, apart from some sass. Pi's character begins and ends with him talking like a wouldbe surfer. Sabrina's family have potential to be well fleshed out characters, but aren't developed beyond filling in their respective archetypes. Zelda's the fun sisterly aunt, Hilda's the motherly aunt, and Uncle Quiggly is the father figure who's undermined and not taken seriously because he doesn't have magic powers (though he's not nearly as interesting as Greg Universe).
Then there's Gem Stone, the designated spoiled brat in Greendale. She yet another full embodiment of this trope I've grown sick of seeing in modern entertainment (sans Lottie from Princess and The Frog, who's actually a really well written character). Gem is selfish, rude, snobby, arrogant and a complete show-off. What particularly baffles me about her (and other spoiled brats) as why anyone takes her seriously, let alone worship her. Her attitude stinks so much not even roaches will go near her. And it's not like she hides her disgusting attitude. She makes fun of Sabrina in front of everyone every chance she gets. She insulted Sabrina's mother and grandmother in Picture Perfect. She spread lies about Sabrina and almost made her choke to death with anchovie pizza in Wag The Witch. Gem Stone should NOT get way with being such a bully to Sabrina, no matter how rich her parents are. If Sabrina was my kid and I found out Gem was bullying her, I'd chew her parents up and spit them out! Gem Stone is without a doubt one of the worst examples of a spoiled brat. Sure, Sabrina isn't much better as a character, but at least she's not a total COW!
Visually, the animation looks pretty good. DIC made good work redesigning Sabrina from her original Archie Comics look to a more grounded yet still visually pleasing look. The characters have unique designs with roundish heads, lengthy limps and big expressive eyes; though the lack of a line under the eyes to close the gap between the eyeballs and the cheeks is a bit off putting. The character animation is fluid and lively with good use of squash and stretch and the staticy effects of magic were a nice touch. The one element I didn't like about the visuals were whenever they use imagination sequences. In addition to being pointless, they were giving me What About Mimi vibes and I wanted no part if that.
I also gotta give credit to the voice actors for making the best with the material. Nick Bakay (who's best known for voicing Norbit from Angry Beavers) really nails Salem's snarky and laid back personality. Cree Summer is always a treat to hear and gives a very good performance as Chloe. As much as I hate Gem Stone, Chantal Strand gave a good performance; so good in fact that I didn't even know she was the same woman who played the sweet and tender Cassie from Dragon Tales until I looked her up. Melissa Joan Hart, who played Sabrina in the live action series in the 90s did a superb job making Hilda and Zelda sound so distinct from one another. Bill Switzer was pretty good playing Harvey, though I can't help but feel he sounded too much like a teenager and not a preteen. Emily Hart, Melissa's sister, try as she might, just doesn't exert as much personality for Sabrina as I had hoped. She sounds like she's playing this role really straight so that she doesn't mess up her lines. Again, I know she's trying her best, but a little more pep in her vocal performance can go along way. Jay Brazeau was fine as Uncle Quiggly, though I don't think the voice he chose fit with the character. I was expecting someone like David DeLuise to bring life to this character. As is, he just sounds more like Sabrina's neighbor who occasionally drops in to say hi. The most disappointing performance though was Bob Bergen as Tim the Witch Smeller. In addition to the characters being infuriatingly lame, Bob used his Marvin The Martian voice for the character and it just doesn't fit at all. The character was one "You have made me very angry" line away from the show getting a lawsuit from Warner Bros..
Lastly, the theme song just isn't that great. The girl group, B*Witched, are really good singers, the chours is catchy and upbeat and it it starts off with a good lyric about to introduce Sabrina. Then they sing "she's the greatest" which is not true, and "here comes the fun now" which is also not true. The worst part about the intro though is it presents a much more interesting show than what we got. It shows Sabrina, Salem and Harvey riding a broomstick (which she never does in the episodes I saw and have no interest in seeing more) flying from dinosaurs, space aliens and pirates. It also show's Sabrina and Salem humiliating Gem, which I wrongfully assumed would be a running gag in the show. The problem with the intro sequence is it gets your hopes up high and the actual show itself is just mediocre.
Sabrina: The Animated Series does NOT do the brand any favors and on it's own is just another boring slice of life cartoon with some magic thrown in there. Despite more than impressive visuals and pretty solid voice acting, the show still suffers from terrible writing, unlikable characters, sluggish pacing and a theme song that's way too good for this show. If the live action show from the 90s or the one on Netflix are any better, feel free to watch those and forget this. As for me, I've had my fill on Sabrina as a whole for a while. I'm also most certainly done with shows about an irresponsible main character who never learns anything. There are only so many times I can say "This character is so irresponsible" without it sounding like I'm repeating myself.
An animated adaptation of the classic Archie comics character, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, this show focuses of Sabrina as a young preteen girl living in Greendale. She goes on magical misadventures with her talking cat, Salem, her Aunts Hilda and Zelda, and her friends Harvey and Chloe. All the while trying to hide the fact that she's a witch from the residents of Greendale, save for Chloe. The first problem present in this show is the terrible writing. Each episode focuses on Sabrina trying to makr her life better with magic only to make things worse and her aunts, uncle, or Salem have to get her out of trouble, otherwise she gets out of trouble on accident. The conflicts are often forced, such as with Extreme Harvey and Witchy Grrrls, and common sense is lost on the main characters for the sake of tension. In addition to that, it's not particularly funny. Save for a few moments from Salem and the Weird Al Yankovic cameo in Witchy Grrrls, there isn't much substance when it comes to the humor. It mostly relys on weak gags, obvious word play and weightless slapstick. This all around makes for a tedious 22 minutes, an inexcusable runtime given the lack of substance in each episode.
The characters don't offer much to like and at best are just one dimensional and bland. The exception to this is Salem, who's actually a pretty fun character. He's snarky, laid back, smart and can be funny at times. The only problem with him is that he's NOT the main character of this show. No, that honor is unfortunately bestowed upon Sabrina Spellman, who completes the irresponsible preteen girl trio with Mimi (from What About Mimi) and Polly Pocket. She's arrogant, she's selfish, she lies and she never learns her lesson. No seriously, in You Said a Mouse-Ful she promised that the next time she has a problem, she'll tell her Uncle Quiggly about it. The very next episode (I'm not kidding), Boggie Shoes, when Harvey is lacking confidence in his dancing, she does NOT keep this promise and tries to fix the problem herself only to make things worse. Speaking of friends, Harvey is pretty flat as a character. He doesn't have much personality outside him having a crush on Sabrina and her him, but that's pretty superfluous as they lack real chemistry. Chloe is a better friend, but that's noy saying much considering she's just as irresponsible as Sabrina (and being 12 is NOT an excuse). Chloe otherwise doesn't have much personality of her own, apart from some sass. Pi's character begins and ends with him talking like a wouldbe surfer. Sabrina's family have potential to be well fleshed out characters, but aren't developed beyond filling in their respective archetypes. Zelda's the fun sisterly aunt, Hilda's the motherly aunt, and Uncle Quiggly is the father figure who's undermined and not taken seriously because he doesn't have magic powers (though he's not nearly as interesting as Greg Universe).
Then there's Gem Stone, the designated spoiled brat in Greendale. She yet another full embodiment of this trope I've grown sick of seeing in modern entertainment (sans Lottie from Princess and The Frog, who's actually a really well written character). Gem is selfish, rude, snobby, arrogant and a complete show-off. What particularly baffles me about her (and other spoiled brats) as why anyone takes her seriously, let alone worship her. Her attitude stinks so much not even roaches will go near her. And it's not like she hides her disgusting attitude. She makes fun of Sabrina in front of everyone every chance she gets. She insulted Sabrina's mother and grandmother in Picture Perfect. She spread lies about Sabrina and almost made her choke to death with anchovie pizza in Wag The Witch. Gem Stone should NOT get way with being such a bully to Sabrina, no matter how rich her parents are. If Sabrina was my kid and I found out Gem was bullying her, I'd chew her parents up and spit them out! Gem Stone is without a doubt one of the worst examples of a spoiled brat. Sure, Sabrina isn't much better as a character, but at least she's not a total COW!
Visually, the animation looks pretty good. DIC made good work redesigning Sabrina from her original Archie Comics look to a more grounded yet still visually pleasing look. The characters have unique designs with roundish heads, lengthy limps and big expressive eyes; though the lack of a line under the eyes to close the gap between the eyeballs and the cheeks is a bit off putting. The character animation is fluid and lively with good use of squash and stretch and the staticy effects of magic were a nice touch. The one element I didn't like about the visuals were whenever they use imagination sequences. In addition to being pointless, they were giving me What About Mimi vibes and I wanted no part if that.
I also gotta give credit to the voice actors for making the best with the material. Nick Bakay (who's best known for voicing Norbit from Angry Beavers) really nails Salem's snarky and laid back personality. Cree Summer is always a treat to hear and gives a very good performance as Chloe. As much as I hate Gem Stone, Chantal Strand gave a good performance; so good in fact that I didn't even know she was the same woman who played the sweet and tender Cassie from Dragon Tales until I looked her up. Melissa Joan Hart, who played Sabrina in the live action series in the 90s did a superb job making Hilda and Zelda sound so distinct from one another. Bill Switzer was pretty good playing Harvey, though I can't help but feel he sounded too much like a teenager and not a preteen. Emily Hart, Melissa's sister, try as she might, just doesn't exert as much personality for Sabrina as I had hoped. She sounds like she's playing this role really straight so that she doesn't mess up her lines. Again, I know she's trying her best, but a little more pep in her vocal performance can go along way. Jay Brazeau was fine as Uncle Quiggly, though I don't think the voice he chose fit with the character. I was expecting someone like David DeLuise to bring life to this character. As is, he just sounds more like Sabrina's neighbor who occasionally drops in to say hi. The most disappointing performance though was Bob Bergen as Tim the Witch Smeller. In addition to the characters being infuriatingly lame, Bob used his Marvin The Martian voice for the character and it just doesn't fit at all. The character was one "You have made me very angry" line away from the show getting a lawsuit from Warner Bros..
Lastly, the theme song just isn't that great. The girl group, B*Witched, are really good singers, the chours is catchy and upbeat and it it starts off with a good lyric about to introduce Sabrina. Then they sing "she's the greatest" which is not true, and "here comes the fun now" which is also not true. The worst part about the intro though is it presents a much more interesting show than what we got. It shows Sabrina, Salem and Harvey riding a broomstick (which she never does in the episodes I saw and have no interest in seeing more) flying from dinosaurs, space aliens and pirates. It also show's Sabrina and Salem humiliating Gem, which I wrongfully assumed would be a running gag in the show. The problem with the intro sequence is it gets your hopes up high and the actual show itself is just mediocre.
Sabrina: The Animated Series does NOT do the brand any favors and on it's own is just another boring slice of life cartoon with some magic thrown in there. Despite more than impressive visuals and pretty solid voice acting, the show still suffers from terrible writing, unlikable characters, sluggish pacing and a theme song that's way too good for this show. If the live action show from the 90s or the one on Netflix are any better, feel free to watch those and forget this. As for me, I've had my fill on Sabrina as a whole for a while. I'm also most certainly done with shows about an irresponsible main character who never learns anything. There are only so many times I can say "This character is so irresponsible" without it sounding like I'm repeating myself.