W.I.T.C.H. (TV series)

W.I.T.C.H.

Intertitle from season 2
Genre Fantasy adventure
Developed by Andrew Nicholls
Darrell Vickers

Greg Weisman
Voices of English:
Kelly Stables
Candi Milo
Kali Troy
Christel Khalil
Liza del Mundo
Italian:
Donatella Fanfani
Francesca Bielli
Tosawi Piovani
Emanuela Pacotto
Marcella Silvestri
French:
Karine Pinoteau
Célia Charpentier
Colette "Coco" Noël
Sybille Tureau
Laura Pelerins
Opening theme International:
"W.I.T.C.H." by Sabrina Salerno
North America:
"We Are W.I.T.C.H" by Marion Raven
Country of origin Italy
France
Germany
Original language(s) English
Italian
French
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Greg Weisman
Jacqueline Tordjman
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) SIP Animation
France 3
France Television
Distributor Buena Vista International Television[1]
Release
Original network Jetix,
France 3,
Super RTL
Picture format 4:3
Original release 18 December 2004 (2004-12-18) – 23 December 2006 (2006-12-23)

W.I.T.C.H. is a European animated television series based on the Italian comic book series of the same name. The series was produced by SIP Animation in association with and participation from Jetix Europe, The Walt Disney Company, France 3 and Super RTL.[1][2] Like the comic, the show follows five girls: Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin who have magical powers which they use to fulfill their duties as "Guardians of the Veil". The names of these five characters form the titular acronym, despite the characters not actually being witches.[3] The series is set in the fictional city of Heatherfield and various mythical planets, namely Meridian and Zamballa. W.I.T.C.H. premiered on 18 December 2004 on ABC Family and concluded on 23 December 2006.

Plot

The Guardians must save Meridian from the evil sorcerer Phobos and Cedric who are searching for Phobos' sister, the long lost princess of Meridian and true heir to the throne. They later find her and the Guardians then set about saving her from Phobos. When Meridian is freed from evil and true heir takes the throne, a new mysterious sorceress named Nerissa frees Phobos' top henchmen and reforms them as the Knights of Vengeance. Once the Guardians learn more about the sorceress and her evil plan of reuniting former Guardians, they are able to defeat the Knights only to have more powerful Knights of Destruction, in addition to the former Guardians attack them.

The Guardians' chief ally is Hay Lin's grandmother Yan Lin, a former Guardian herself, and the one that taught the girls about their magical destiny. They are also helped by Caleb, a heroic soldier from Meridian, leader of the rebellion against Phobos, and Blunk, a frog-like goblin creature (known as a Passling) who takes things from the human world to Meridian (and vice versa), humorously mistaking everyday objects for other things or items of value. Matt, Will's boyfriend, accidentally learns about Meridian and when he sees the troubles there going on, he learns how to become a warrior to help them. They are also helped by the Oracle, leader of the Universe in Kandrakar, who was the one who chose the Guardians.

Characters

Protagonists

Antagonists

The Heart

The Hearts are the sources of mystical energy for the worlds they come from. They can be represented by a jewel, a talisman or a living being. Prominently featured in the series is the Heart of Kandrakar, a pendant that allows W.I.T.C.H. to transform. Most of the time a Heart is found to be in the form of living being, as it is for Earth, Meridian, and Aridia.

Setting

See also: W.I.T.C.H.

Various planets play an important role in the W.I.T.C.H. series. Earth is the home of the Guardians of the Veil, later the Infinite Dimensions while Meridian, Kandrakar and Zamballa are mystical planets that are introduced as the story progresses and the evil forces get stronger. Nerissa briefly visited a place called Aridia, a desert realm in an attempt to steal their Heart (an unnamed male rock giant). But her attempt failed when the Seal of Nerissa signalled that the other members of C.H.Y.K.N. were freed from her control.

Zamballa

Zamballa was first introduced in the season 2 episode "P is for Protectors". Zamballa is a purple world with a jungle stretching out as far as the eye can see. At the centre is a Pyramid, the palace where Kadma lives while the Veil is still in effect. The Zamballans themselves look like walking purple trees. The Guardians learned of Zamballa from Yan Lin, who told them the story of when she was a Guardian and had to protect the world of Zamballa from an attack of Phobos. Kadma led the attack against him. After, the Zamballans were so grateful that they offered her the Heart of Zamballa itself and made her Queen. However, the Veil was raised and cut off Kadma her Guardian friends and other worlds and she had to live there without hope of leaving.

But with the Veil lifted and Nerissa out to control the Ex-Guardians, they agree Kadma must be warned, but Nerissa and her Knights are already there and are glamoured as W.I.T.C.H. destroying Zamballa. Soon Kadma learns of the deception and with Taranee's help she manages to defeat Nerissa. In the next episode, "Q is for Quarry", the Guardians and Kadma team up to defeat Nerissa once and for all and come up with the idea of taking the Heart of Meridian. At first, Will gets the chance to, but refuses, saying that much power will corrupt her. Kadma instead takes it and merges the two Hearts, which form the Seal of Nerissa. Because Hearts cannot be taken by force, soon Nerissa will have two Hearts and Kadma under her control. The Zamballians and the Guardians gather to discuss what should happen next.

Ironwood makes herself Regent of Zamballa and her first act is to banish the Guardians, Yan Lin, Blunk, and Caleb from their world so that Nerissa is never tempted to return. In "Z is for Zenith" the Heart of Zamballa is returned and Kadma abdicates from her throne to live on Earth, while Ironwood takes the Heart and is made Queen herself.

Production

Two seasons were produced, both of which adapt plot elements from The Twelve Portals and Nerissa's Revenge comic arcs. Each season consists of 26 episodes, creating a total of 52 episodes. The first season was produced by For season 2, SIP Animation brought a new studio for production. SIP Animation completed the full production of W.I.T.C.H. Season 2 around September 2005, and it premiered in the United States, Canada and the UK in June 2006.

Cancelled third season

In early 2007, producers of the W.I.T.C.H. TV series were planning on making Season 3, based on the Ari of Arkhanta Arc, but it was cancelled due to criticism of the second season of the show. Clues of a planned Season 3, can be seen in the last episode of Season 2, Z is for Zenith. There have been many complaints and petitions about the cancelled season. Among the most active is the online site "Save W.I.T.C.H. For Its Third Season" at petition online.

Intro sequences

The UK and US versions of the show have different theme songs. The UK introduction shows the girls and their powers in a "story version" with unique footage for the opening, while the US version shows action clips from some episodes and scenes from the W.I.T.C.H. demo reel. In the UK version, the opening theme is "W.I.T.C.H." performed by Sabrina.[5] However, the US opening uses a demo version of the song "We Are W.I.T.C.H" until episode 14 when it is replaced with a version sung by Marion Raven. While the footage and theme are unchanged for the remainder of the US series, in the UK version the opening sequence of the second season is changed to incorporate the new plot developments and characters.

Starring


Additional voices

No. Of Episodes Actor Character/s
51 Lauren Tom Yan Lin; Yan Lin (Young); Susan Vandom & Alchemy
44 Serena Berman Elyon Brown/Princess Elyon/Queen Elyon
43 Greg Cipes Caleb
33 Mitchell Whitfield Phobos
27 Dee Bradley Baker Martin; Sniffer; Aldarn; Frost the Hunter; Gargoyle; Khor & Mr. Huggles
24 Byrne Offutt Uriah; Tom Lair; Vathek & Andrew Homby
23 Kath Soucie Nerissa
22 Jason Marsden Matt Olsen & Shagon
17 Steven Blum Raythor & Blunk
10 Lloyd Sherr Vathek & Coach O'Neill
10 Grey Griffin Miranda
9 B.J. Ward The Mage & Halinor
8 Loren Lester Julian, Aketon & Tynar
7 Michael Bell Drake & Crimson
6 Cam Clarke Dean Collins
6 Susan Chesler Cassidy
5 Jim Cummings Tridart

Reception

In the early stages of the first season, the series was a major hit and a TV breakout. However, the show's popularity began to decline in the second season. Common Sense Media, one of the few outlets to review the series, noted that the show is "an animated fantasy-adventure series for tweens", and gave it 3 out of 5 stars.[6] In 2006, Joey Paul Jensen was nominated for the Casting Society of America's Artios Award for Best Animated Voice-Over Television Casting.[7]

DVD releases

W.I.T.C.H. has been released on DVD in Europe, Australia, the Philippines (also in VCD format), Brazil, and Malaysia containing episodes of the first season which was divided into volumes of varying number of episodes. Each volume contains 2 art cards, each featuring one of the W.I.T.C.H. girls.

In the UK, the first three volumes were released in 2006 on 1 May, 19 June, 21 August respectively. In October 2007 the volumes were re-released as a DVD box set along with the box set of volumes four, five and six.

Season 2 has been released in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia only.

References

  1. 1 2 "Disney Animated Co-production W.I.T.C.H. To Launch At MIPCOM". Jetix Europe N.V. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  2. DeMott, Rick. "W.I.T.C.H. Licensed On Free TV To 13 Countries Across Europe". Animation World Network. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  3. "Divide and Conquer". W.I.T.C.H. Season 1. Episode 7. 26 February 2005. Jetix. We're not witches, it's just our initials.
  4. "L is for Loser". W.I.T.C.H. Season 2. Episode 12. 27 August 2006. Jetix.
  5. "Music from and Inspired By W.I.T.C.H". Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  6. "W.I.T.C.H.". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  7. "Artios Awards". Casting Society of America. Retrieved 23 October 2013.

External links

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