Sabrina Down Under

This movie was released recently here in Australia, but unfortunately went straight to video. After all the publicity it received here in Queensland (where it was filmed), it would have been nice for it to have hit the big screen.

Definitely a movie for Sabrina lovers, but I felt that "Sabrina goes to Rome" was slightly better. This can probably be contributed to the fact that Aussie's don't talk in slang (as portrayed by one of the characters), and this therefore made the overall feel of the movie very unrealistic.

Despite that, this is a still great family movie.

The plot is an imaginative way to present an ecology theme. Sabrina meets a merman who is suffering from the effects of pollution. She must help save him, his mermaid sister, their mer-colony, and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

A typical TV movie stuff aimed at kids, we are offered merfolk who talk as if they are ordinary humans that just happen to have tails, and two talking cats that are quite obviously puppets. The FX are brief and incidental.

The film is well-meaning and has a good message. Too bad that the myth and mystery of merfolk and the sea weren't given more story time here. As it is, it is an amusing, fluffy, typical TV movie.

Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) goes to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia with fellow witch Gwen (Tara Strong). She eagerly learns from local marine biologist Dr. Julian Martin. Salem also comes to vacation by himself as he flirts with another cat Hilary. Sabrina discovers a rare fish. There is a rash spreading among the fish population possibly due to illegal toxic dumping. Sabrina and Gwen encounter merman Barnaby who is sick from the toxins. They give him legs for 48 hours. His mermaid sister Fin (Lindsay Sloane) is disgusted with his new legs.

There isn't much to recommend as a movie other than for fans of the TV show. Even they may be confused by Lindsay Sloane playing a completely different character. I do really like the underwater marine life. I can tolerate the rest like Gwen's squeaky voice, the ridiculous CG fish, the bland story, the weak acting or the annoying cat romance. The production is like a cheap Australian TV show. I wish it has more underwater stuff because the rest isn't very worthwhile.

Typical corny American teen movie. If you can suffer through the butchering and overuse of Aussie slang, good on ya. As usual the Americans have proven how much they are fish out of water when it comes to writing dialogue for any other culture but their own.

If you're not a fan or if this is your introduction to the show the movie it'd be a brutal thing to sit through I imagine. The story and plot are copied from much better movies. So it'd play like a bad remake.

I'm a big fan of the series. I'm surprised critics say it's typical Disney Channel garbage. For me, it's Bewitched for the 90s, especially the first three seasons.

This was fun enough to watch if you like the series. I said this about "Sabrina Goes to Rom" movie, and I'll say it about this one. It feels awkward at times to see Sabrina without her Aunts or Harvey.

This TV movie was broadcast on September 26, 1999 right after Season 4's 1st episode (aired on September 24, 1999).

If you're watching the series chronologically according to air date, it's weird.

The 1st episode of Season 4, had the departure of both Valerie and Libby. "Libby has gone to a private school, and Valerie has moved to Alaska with her parents".

Lindsay Sloane's (as Valerie) last episode appearance was the Season 3 finale. So it's strange to have her removed from the show's main cast and then have her as a completely different character in the movie (as Fin). Nevertheless, it works surprisingly well, and it's kind of nice. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask did a similar thing when they used the same character's as Ocarina of Time in different roles.

In fact, it makes you feel more comfortable accepting this as a completely "parallel universe": I had a big problem with this when watching Sabrina Goes to Rome.

It's nice to Tara Strong reprises her role as Gwen (from Sabrina Goes to Rome) . While Sabrina Goes to Rome wasn't that good for familiarity reasons it's comforting to see her again.

The storyline and plot here are a lot more believable even though it's wacky. It's also funny. I laughed quite a few times. It's generally mindless fun for fans of the series. It isn't Shakespeare by any stretch. The story and plot were done much better in the original movies that used them (Free Willy, The Little Mermaid, etc.). Even so, the character interactions don't feel forced or unnatural.

If you're a fan of the series you should enjoy it. Especially when the majority of Season 4 episodes were so bad.

Rating: 6.5/10