Sabrina, Down Under

Infobox Film
name = Sabrina, Down Under


caption = "Sabrina, Down Under" official book cover
writer = Daniel Berendsen
starring = Melissa Joan Hart
Tara Strong
Scott Michaelson
Lindsay Sloane
Nick Bakay
Peter O'Brien
Rebecca Gibney
director = Kenneth R. Koch
producer = Melissa Joan Hart
Paula Hart
distributor = Viacom Productions INC.
CBS Television Distribution
Heartbreak Films
ABC
CBS Home Entertainment
released = flagicon|USA September 26, 1999
runtime = 84 mins.
music = Michel Colombier
cinematography =
editing = Stuart Bass, A.C.E.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by = "Sabrina Goes to Rome " (1998)
followed_by =
gross =
amg_id = 1:269974~T0
imdb_id = 0209297

"Sabrina, Down Under" is a 1999 television movie produced for ABC. It is a sequel to "Sabrina Goes to Rome" and is part of the "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" TV series. The movie features only two main characters from the series, the protagonist Sabrina Spellman (played by Melissa Joan Hart), and other main character Salem Saberhagen (voiced by Nick Bakay.) Tara Strong reprises her role as Gwen from the first film. As the movie is set in Australia, none of the scenes are set on the original set of the series.The film was directed by Kenneth R. Koch, who helped to produce "Sabrina Goes to Rome". He also directed many episodes of the series and was a prominent producer of the show.

Plot

Sabrina travels to Australia's Great Barrier Reef with Gwen, a fellow witch from England, for a week-long vacation where they try to help protect a hidden mermaid colony whose habitat is threatened by ocean pollution, and by a local marine biologist, Dr. Julian Martin, determined to find the colony as his claim to fame. While Sabrina finds romance with Barnaby, a "merman" from the mermaid colony, Salem the cat finds a possible romance with another witch-turned-into-a-cat named Hilary, but finds Sabrina's problems interfering with his plans.

Cast

*Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina Spellman, a teenage witch, visiting Australia to discover the Great Barrier Reef, and meet marine biologist Dr. Julian Martin. She discovers merman Barnaby, who she gives legs when she sees that he is ill.
*Tara Strong (credited as Tara Charendoff) as Gwen, a British witch whose spells never go the way she plans. She and Sabrina go on holiday to Australia together. Gwen was introduced in "Sabrina Goes to Rome".
*Scott Michaelson as Barnaby, a merman who turns into human for two days, thanks to Sabrina's help.
*Lindsay Sloane as Fin, Barnaby's mermaid sister who despises humans.
*Nick Bakay as the voice of Salem Saberhagen, a 500 year old warlock, sentenced to spend 100 years as a cat as punishment for attempting to take over the world. While on his yearly vacation, he is surprised to find Sabrina there. He quickly falls for Hillary who is also a cat, however the two break up when her sentence is up and she is turned back into a woman. While taking a picture he discovered who had been polluting the ocean.
*Peter O'Brien as Dr. Julian Martin, a marine biologist who spends his time protecting the reef.
*Rebecca Gibney as Hilary Hexton, a witch imprisoned in the body of a cat. She begins to date Salem, however when she is turned back into a witch she says goodbye to him.
*Conrad Coleby as Jerome, a young boy who attracts Gwen with his charm. He is cute, sweet and funny, but his dialog is sometimes hard to understand.
*Ben Lawson has a small appearance as a employee of the reside.

Books

As part of the "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" book collection, a book titled "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Sabrina, Down Under" is available. The book is written by Ellen Titlebaum. It is unnumbered, as is the first film's book adaptation. The other books in the series are numbered in reading order.

Differences between movie and series

*Lindsay Sloane, who played Valerie on the TV show, plays the mermaid Fin in this movie. The fact that the two characters resemble each other greatly is not mentioned (or apparently noticed) by Sabrina or Salem.

Music

*The song "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna is heard at the opening credits.

External links

*imdb title|0209297