Hilda and Zelda Spellman

Infobox character
name = Hilda and Zelda Spellman
series =
portrayer = Jane Webb (Filmation series)
Caroline Rhea (as Hilda), and Beth Broderick (as Zelda) (sitcom)
Melissa Joan Hart (DIC series)
first =
last =
cause =
creater =


caption1 =
nickname = Zelly
alias = Hildegard Antoinette Spellman and Zerelda P. Spellman (full name)
gender = Female
born = 1346 (Zelda)
1354 (Hilda)
death =
occupation = Witches
residence =
parents = Lydia Spellman (mother)
siblings = Vesta Spellman (older sister)
Edward "Ted" Spellman (younger brother)
Sophia Spellman (younger sister)
spouse = Benevolio
Will the Stewart
romances = Drell (dated)
Mercury (dated)

children =
grandparents = Great-Granny (great-grandmother)
Sucker hyphen Baffoon (grandmother; deceased)
aunts/uncles = Beulah Spellman (paternal aunt)
Dorma Spellman (paternal aunt)
Irma Spellman (maternal aunt)
cousins = Marigold Wiccan
Mortimer
Doris
Zsa Zsa Goowhiggie
Monty
Stanislav
Father Christmas
Emperor Larry
Susie
Pele
relatives = Sabrina Spellman (niece)
Lydia Spellman (mother)
Vesta Spellman (sister)
Sophia Spellman (sister)
Edward "Ted" Spellman (brother)
Great-Granny (grandmother)
Boyd, Racine and Maw Maw (country cousins)

colour = #D8BFD8

Hilda and Zelda Spellman are characters featured in the classic Archie comic book Sabrina the Teenage Witch. They are full witches (as opposed to half or fully mortal) who live in the fictional town of Greendale ("Westbridge, Massachusetts" in the sitcom). They live with their niece Sabrina and the family cat Salem, who (in the sitcom) is serving time as an animal as a punishment for his attempt at world domination. In the live-action TV series, they are portrayed by Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick respectively.

(It should be noted that the following two sections pertain only to the sitcom. In the original comics, and in other portrayals, other than being over 500 years old, their background is otherwise unexplored.)

Childhood

Zelda P. Spellman was born in 1346 and Hildegard Antoinette Spellman was born in 1354. Hilda and Zelda grew up during the 14th century in Europe, with at least three other siblings: Vesta, being the oldest; and Edward and Sophia, being younger.

Vesta was terribly jealous of all the attention that Hilda and Zelda got when they were little. So, she turned their parents into pigs. The Witches Council decided that people with pigs feet could not raise children and so when Vesta refused to turn them back Hilda and Zelda were adopted out to a family in the country.

While the children were living in the farm house the parents stayed in the barn. Their father was "getting very good at working an instamatic with his snout". When their mother headbutted Vesta about a month later, they were turned back into humans. In order to legally get Hilda and Zelda back, they had to adopt them.

Their overbearing mother, Grandma Lydia, spent 200 years of violin lessons on Hilda, while Zelda won trophies, "Winner of the Other Realm Science Fair", "Outstanding Student of the Decade" and "Best of the Best". The first thing little Hilda ever zapped was a little clay horse.

Adulthood

As Hilda and Zelda reached adulthood they went off to college. While Zelda went to Harvard, Hilda went to Clown College and her roommate was Bobo, a monkey. Hilda graduated magma cum seltzer.

When Hilda was forty-eight she had her first kiss. Hilda was later engaged to Drell. Her wedding took place at the Acropolis, with Zelda, now with a fantastic career, as Hilda's maid of honour. When Drell stood Hilda up at the altar, an infuriated Hilda caused the destruction of the Acropolis, but history blamed the Turks. Zelda, during the Renaissance, lived in Florence and met a man named Benvolio. Though her father disliked Benvolio, Zelda married Benvolio anyways, though their marriage only lasted three days. At some point, Zelda woke her Aunt Dorma up and was turned into a porch swing.

During the early 1800s, Hilda and Zelda worked together at a saloon. They were run out of town, but fortunately found a way to maintain some financial security: junk. During the early 1970s, Hilda went to work for Salem Saberhagen as his secretary. Salem was found out by the Witch's Council, and as punishment was turned into a witch-familiar as a cat; Hilda was forced to keep him worm-free for a century. In the early 1990s, before Sabrina came to live with Hilda and Zelda, they had manservants, spent late nights on the town, weekends in Tuscany, took part in Formula One racing, and originally had a disco on the second floor of their house.

Portrayal in different media

In the original comic books

In the original comics, Hilda was tall and thin with red hair. Zelda was short and stout with green hair. Hilda tended to be short-tempered, while Zelda was more good-natured.

In the Filmation animated series

They are generally the same as in the comics, with a typical "witch" appearance and attire. Additionally, they disapproved of Sabrina doing good deeds, and thus (as ordered by Della the head witch) were always trying to get her to do bad deeds (like all the other witches); they even force her hand a couple of times. Hilda also had a typical "witch" cackle.

In the live-action television series

They are both blonde. Hilda is portrayed as the less pragmatic of the two, often doing things on a whim (such as buying a clock shop or running for political office). The endeavors rarely come to fruition, however. Zelda is a down-to-earth scientist who tries to keep Sabrina and Hilda out of trouble.

In the DIC animated series

Hilda and Zelda appear as characters in both "Sabrina, the Animated Series" and "Sabrina's Secret Life", appearing radically different from their comic book appearances; Hilda is depicted as a brunette with an olive complexion, and Zelda has strawberry blonde hair. They have the same basic personalities as on the live-action sitcom.

Both are depicted as teenagers (instead of the usual middle-aged adults), despite being the same age as in other media (hundreds of years old). It is mentioned in passing that they have temporally been changed into teenagers by head witch Enchantra as punishment for minor crimes, but the situation is never fully explained. In "Sabrina, the Animated Series" both attend high school and are not considered legal adults on the mortal world, which is why Uncle Quigly lives with them. In "Sabrina's Secret Life" (set two years later) they are out of school and able to run the household (and Uncle Quigly is no longer in the cast).