Sabrina The Animated Series

''Sabrina: The Animated Series'' is an American animated television series based on the Archie Comics''. Produced by Savage Studios Ltd. and Hartbreak Films in association with DIC Productions, L.P. (owned by Disney at the time), the series is an animated spin-off of the 1996–2003 live-action series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch.''

The series aired on ABC (also owned by Disney) and UPN from September 6 to November 19, 1999. 65 episodes were produced.

Premise

Unlike previous incarnations, Sabrina Spellman in this series is depicted as a 12-year-old attending middle school. As in the original comic series, Sabrina lives with her paternal witch aunts, Hilda Spellman and Zelda Spellman and her loud-mouthed black cat Salem Saberhagen, all of whom advise Sabrina on the use of several magics. Most episodes center on the typical issues of middle school, along with those that emanated from Sabrina's inexperience with or misuse of several magic, witchcraft and extremely powerful and complex spells. Sabrina and her best friend Chloe would often use magic (often from the "Spooky Jar"; a cookie jar containing a genie-like being in the family's kitchen) for all types of perceived emergencies, ranging from trying to fit into skinny new clothes to turning Sabrina's crush Harvey into a superhero. By the end of each episode, her innate magical abilities would unintentionally backfire and Sabrina would learn that using magic usually is not the solution to her everyday issues.

Characters

Main

* Sabrina Spellman: Sabrina is a half witch-half mortal that won't become magically empowered until she's 16, but she is able to borrow spells from her aunts Hilda and Zelda using a magical "Spooky Jar," which she often does. The series follows her into her preteen years. However, she usually finds that her meddling turns situations from bad to worse. Her friend Chloe is aware of Sabrina's magic but Harvey Kinkle, another friend and her romantic interest, isn't. She is secretly in love with Harvey and wants one day to marry him. When she casts a spell, the magic is made in pink and yellow. She is voiced by Emily Hart, Melissa Joan Hart's real-life sister who played Sabrina's cousin Amanda in two episodes of the ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' TV series.
* Hilda Spellman and Zelda Spellman: While Hilda suggests they bend the rules sometime and use magic to get ahead, Zelda is determined to say no right up until the moment she gives up. Hilda is more carefree and reckless than her cautious sister Zelda, and, although they do butt heads sometimes, they are still sisters. In this series and ''Sabrina's Secret Life,'' Hilda and Zelda both have the appearance of teenagers, as this was the punishment they received from Enchantra for "abusing magic" in the past. Whenever Zelda casts a spell, the magic is always made in blue and yellow. When Hilda casts a spell, the magic is made in purple and yellow. They are both voiced by Melissa Joan Hart, known for playing Sabrina in the Showtime film adaptation and the ABC series.
* Salem Saberhagen: Salem knows the right buttons to push to talk Sabrina into just about anything, and he does it guiltlessly—until he's caught. Salem was once a powerful wizard, but he was locked into a cat-form because he was constantly trying to take over the world. However, he makes up for his predicament with magical charms that help Sabrina in some situations. He is voiced by Nick Bakay, the only cast member to reprise his role from the 1996 ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' TV series.
* Uncle Quigley: Uncle Quigley is an original character created for the animated series. He is Sabrina's maternal great-uncle and the household's adult guardian. Uncle Quigley does not have any magic powers, like Sabrina's mother he is a mortal. He is voiced by Jay Brazeau.
* Chloe Flan: Sabrina's best friend who, other than Uncle Quigley, is the only mortal who knows Sabrina's secret. She is voiced by Cree Summer.
* Harvey Kinkle: Harvey has a cute and sweet personality. While he only admits to Sabrina that she is his "best pal," he likes her very much. However, Harvey is unaware Sabrina is a witch although often sees the results of the magic himself. He is voiced by Bill Switzer.
* Gemini "Gem" Stone: A snobby, pampered and very spoiled mean girl who lives down the street and sees Sabrina as her main competitor for Harvey's attention (whom Gem is interested in as well), though Harvey likes Sabrina more. She is similar to Libby Chesler (Jenna Leigh Green) in the TV series. She is voiced by Chantal Strand.

Supporting

* Spookie Jar: A genie who resides in a purple cookie jar in Sabrina's kitchen. Whenever Sabrina needs a special spell, she can get one from the Spookie Jar, but they rarely turn out the way she expects. Spookie Jar speaks entirely in rhymes. He is voiced by David Sobolov.
* Perry "Pi" McDonald: Harvey's best friend and Sabrina and Chloe's friend, too. He is very smart and quite unusual in his own special way. His eyes are never seen because his pork pie hat obscures them. He has been described by Sabrina as "totally out of it and really smart at the same time." According to the episode "Upside Down Town," it is implied that he is of Chinese descent. He is voiced by Chantal Strand.
* Horace Slugloafe: An occasional bully to Harvey, though at times shows him respect. He usually refers to others by their surnames. He is voiced by Jason Michas.
* Bernard: A small, bald, nerdy boy with glasses who is friends with Sabrina, Pi, Chloe and Harvey. He is often bullied by Slugloafe and easily bossed around by Gem. He is voiced by Chantal Strand.
* Tim the Witch Smeller: Tim is a witch hunter who appears in "Most Dangerous Witch," "Documagicary" and "Enchanted Vacation." He was previously bullied by witches as a child due to his lack of magical powers, except his immortality, even though his mother was a witch. For this reason, he viewed witches as evil and so he collects them as trophies for revenge along with his sidekick aardvark named Elton. Tim wears a hat with a witch cauldron marked with a ban sign on it.
* Queen Enchantra: The ruler of all witches and head of the Witches' Council. When she casts spells, the magic is made in red and purple. She was voiced by Kathleen Barr, who reprises the role in the later series '' Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch.''
* Mr. and Mrs. Stone: Gem's parents are the richest people in town. They first appeared in "Witch Switch"; when Sabrina wishes herself to be rich, they almost sent Sabrina to Cambridge when they found out she got a C in her report, but later changed their mind after Sabrina is not wished herself as being rich. They also appeared in "Stone Broke" when they lost their money and had Gem move into Sabrina's house until their dog struck oil.
* Edward Spellman: Sabrina's long-lost father who is a very strong witch and Zelda and Hilda's younger brother. Some years after he and his mortal wife, Diana, mutually separated, he ended up falling for another human named Futura, whom he intended to marry until a jealous Sabrina tried to break them up.
* Diana Spellman: Sabrina's human mother who is an archeologist and works at a dig site in Egypt. She is heard in the episode "Picture Perfect."

Production

Sabrina had previously appeared in an animated format on ''The Archie Show'' (animated by Filmation), but the popularity of the live-action ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' sitcom formed part of the basis for this spin-off series. The series was developed by Savage Steve Holland and Kat Likkel and Holland served as showrunner and executive producer of the series. As such, the series reflected some of the irreverent style of humor seen in '' Eek! The Cat.'' Celebrity voice cameos in this series included Mr. T, Long John Baldry and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Melissa Joan Hart, who starred as Sabrina in the live-action sitcom, served as producer of this series, but her younger sister, Emily Hart (who played the recurring character Amanda on the sitcom), voiced Sabrina. Melissa instead voiced Sabrina's two aunts, Hilda and Zelda, originally played on the live-action series by Beth Broderick and Caroline Rhea, respectively. Nick Bakay reprises his role as Salem from the live-action series. The theme music is performed by the Irish girl group B*Witched.

The series was announced to be in production in November 1998, where 65 episodes were commissioned by Disney to air on UPN's then-upcoming Disney block, and would also air on ABC. Disney's Buena Vista Television