With ’90s nostalgia booming, it was probably only a matter of time before somebody conjured up a Sabrina the Teenage Witch revamp. But the character, who started life on the pages of Archie comics way back in 1962, won’t be getting the live-action treatment this time out. Instead, The Hub Network is going animated with Sabrina Secrets of a Teenage Witch, casting its first spell Saturday at noon.
Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical) voices Sabrina, who for those in need of a reminder is a half-witch, half-human girl trying to get through the ordinary traumas of being a klutzy high-school student while also being an extraordinary sorcery student in the magical world. And of course she has to keep her identity secret. Other main characters include the wicked Enchantra, whose power play in the supernatural world includes getting Sabrina to marry her arrogant son Shinji. There’s also Salem, one of the best parts of the Melissa Joan Hart show, a former warlock who was turned into a cat by Enchantra. The only way to return to his original form is to get Sabrina to hate the human world so much that she’ll never want to return.
It’s good to see Tisdale still ready and willing to lend her talents to kiddie fare. Not only because she’s really good at it — as evidenced by her voice work as Candace on Phineas and Ferb and being about the most tolerable part of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody — but it’s great that not all child stars feel they have to completely disavow family entertainment.
Regardless of how the show pans out, it’s nice to know there’s something for all types of witch lovers everywhere. Because between this, Witches of East End and American Horror Story: Coven, if you can’t find something witch-related you like than you’re just not trying.
