Disney Witches revisited

Lars Jensen lpj at forfatter.dk
Wed Sep 10 20:12:23 CEST 2003


I only now got time to read Rich Bellacera's entire posting, so I'm a
bit late on addressing this.

Rich, I have to confess I'm a bit unsure of how to answer some of your
questions -- mainly because I don't know which continuity (or
"universe") you're referring to.

For instance, you write about Magica:

> Scrooge nemesis who wants his No.1 Dime as she believes it to be a
> talisman of great "luck."

Depends. If you're asking about Magica as seen in most Barks stories (or
in the current Danish-produced ones), then no, Magica wants the Dime
because Scrooge has touched it more times than any other coin. Melted
into an amulet, it will grant Magica the Midas Touch -- the ability to
transform base metals into gold.

If you're asking about the Duck Tales Magica or the Italian, Brazilian,
Dutch or French Magica, I wouldn't know the answer, though.

> She is probably the BEST known of Disney witches in comics.

To which several people started discussing whether she is a witch or a
sorceress and what the difference is. I've even seen people quoting
Barks to support their view that she is a witch.

The truth is, of course, that the two terms are used interchangably in
everyday life -- even by Barks. If you want an answer to your question,
though, I suggest we go with the definition of witches and sorceresses
Don Rosa gave: Witches are inherently magical beings that can make magic
just by waving their fingertips (or -- in my opinion -- thinking, even).
Sorceresses are (more or less capable) ordinary human beings who --
using spells, magic wands and so on -- can perform magic.

If we agree on this, then Barks' (and the current Danish) Magica is a
sorceress. The Italian (and the Duck Tales) Magica is a witch.

> Magica currently lives in an old shack on the side of Mount Vesuvius.
>
> At one time [Mim] and Magica were roommates in an old castle, but now
> they more commonly work seperately.  Currently Mim lives in an old
> house in the forest.

I'm not sure where you get the "currently" and "at one time". Are we
talking about when the stories were published? If we are, then I'll
refer you to:

http://stp.ling.uu.se/pipermail/dcml/2003-July/023597.html .

Note that in American comic books Mim was living in an old house in the
forest, while she in S-coded stories produced *at the exact same time*
was living with Magica in a run-down castle.

It is true, though, that these days, in D-coded stories, Mim lives in
that forest house. And, in D-coded stories, Magica lives in that shack
on Mount Vesuvius.

> [Mim] occassionally teams up with the Beagle Boys, but more often
> encounters the forest characters like Big Bad Wolf and Brer Bear.

Actually, she has met the Beagle Boys far more often than Big Bad Wolf
or Brer Bear. And she isn't really used much with *any* of these
characters nowadays. In Denmark, at least.

> [Witch Hazel's] residence is unknown, but is presumably also somewhere
> in the forest.

Witch Hazel has most often been shown to reside on the witches' moon.

> Granny de Spell

Appears in the "castle stories" only. Different from Nonna Caraldina,
who appears in Italian stories.

> Minima appears to often visit Magica along with her grandmother.
> Nonna Caraldina? Another granny of Magica's?

Yep and yep.

> Samson Hex
> A young owl-boy who served as apprentice to Magica and Mim for a
> while. Has not been seen lately?

Sadly, no. A potentially great character but with some built-in
problems...

> Yensid the Sorcerer
> The Sorcerer from FANTASIA.  Not used very much?

Nope. In my opinion, his performance in "Fantasia" was so outstanding,
he should be left alone, rather than be used in not-so-good stories.

> Merlin the Magician
> The Sorcerer from SWORD IN THE STONE, also not used very often, but
> his familiar, Archimedes the Owl, has been seen more often, even
> apparently living with Mim?

These days, in Denmark at least, Archie is *not* used with Mim -- if the
writer wants Mimsy to have a pet, he/she will use the cat Spitfire.

> Maybe W.I.T.C.H. would make a great animated series...

Rumor has it that Saban, under license, is working on this exact thing.

Olaf Solstrand wrote:

> I also remember a few Italian stories where we meet a grandmother, a
> niece and a fiance of Magica de Spell.

These are Nonna Caraldina, Minima De Spell and Rosolio.

Eta Beta wrote:

> I don't know whether Mim is used at all, these days...

Again, see this posting of mine:

http://stp.ling.uu.se/pipermail/dcml/2003-July/023597.html .

> I think [Bre'r Rabbit & Co] really live in the suburbia-like Swamp,
> with Bre'r Bear and Bre'r Fox sorta commuting).

In American and Danish stories, the swamp is part of the forest. Nobody
commutes anywhere. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "suburbia-like".
The houses are not on streets; they are just randomly placed in the
forest. Dirt roads lead from one to another. We only rarely see cars.
Not much like a suburban environment.

By the way: No offense, but if you're going to use an apostrophe in
Brer, it should be "Br'er", not "Bre'r".

>> 4) Witch-Queen from Snow White
>> Another witch typically encountered in Forest-related stories.
>> Always evil.  Not much used these days.
>
> And I'm convinced this has to be yet another Forest, possibly
> in yet another dimension... or we have to deal with a time-warp
> here, if we want to place the 7 dwarfs and the Wolves in the same
> environment...

The Witch and the Dwarfs have met the Wolves in several W-coded stories,
so they do indeed live in the same forest. In those stories, anyway.

Daniel van Eijmeren wrote:

> In at least one Barks story, Magica is permanently watched by two
> observers who are working for Scrooge.

Also in several D-coded stories. Up to this day.

> I *love* those stories and the zany, motionless way the characters are
> drawn [in the "castle stories"]!

"Motionless" is the key word here! Sure, some potentially fine
characters appear in these stories, but they are (in my opinion) rarely
allowed to shine.

> Sometimes I find it nice when the model-sheet is ignored. It gives a
> chance to explore new directions.

They usually didn't. That's the big problem with these stories. In my
opinion, obviously.

Rich Bellacera wrote:

> Mim and Hazel are "true" witches, I have seen them (well, moreso Mim)
> frequently refer to Spell books and use potions, so I'm not sure if
> that makes them Sorceresses, too (since their magic relies on sources
> outside themselves)?

See my Mim posting:

http://stp.ling.uu.se/pipermail/dcml/2003-July/023597.html .

I agree 100% on everything Don Rosa wrote about whether Magica is a
witch or a sorceress, including why she (for story purposes) should be
the latter, rather than the former.

One thing, though. Don, you write:

> she knows a spell that will enable her to melt that coin down to form
> an amulet which will give her the Midas Touch to create gold. But
> okay, that specific point is lost to history [...]

Nope, it isn't. I recently wrote a story which made it very clear that
getting the Midas Touch is her motivation. And since the entire ECN
backed up that view of her, this particular story point seems OK to use
these days.

Also, I think Pat McGreal mentioned the Midas Touch a few years ago.

> [Byron Erickson] said Egmont would eliminate the use of Magica as a
> "witch" who flew around on a broomstick. Now, has Egmont stuck to
> Byron's policy?

Not on the broom thing all the time. But it's still made very clear in
current Egmont stories that Magica doesn't have any inherent magical
powers. (Even stories that use the broom clarify that it can fly because
it's mechanical or has had a magical potion dumped on it.)

> They also told me that Fethry and Ludwig were "dead", but I have heard
> they are mighty lively as of late.

Ludwig is "dead"; Fethry lives, but only in a prescribed, small number
of stories.

Kriton Kyrimis wrote:

>> A witch (or warlock) is a supernatural being with inherent
>> supernatural/magical powers
>...
>> Anyone can
>> learn to become a sorcerer with great study of arcane knowledge found
>> through long examinations and translations of ancient tomes and lots
>> and lots of practice...
>
> it would seem to me that what you describe as the difference between a
> sorceress and a witch is that between an amateur and a professional.
> An amateur witch (a sorceress, by your definition) would be able to
> perform a spell or two, probably without real knowledge of what they
> are doing, while a professional witch, having studied *a lot* more
> (it's probably not a coincidence that witches are usually portraid as
> old) can perform a lot more magic than amateurs.

No, as Don said: By his definition of the words, a witch has inherent
magical powers -- they are a part of her. A sorceress is merely a (good
or bad) student of magic.

Lars




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