Netflix’s Winx Saga Should Have Been A WITCH Adaptation

“You were either a Winx or one WITCH. ”Announces an often-circulated Tumblr article.

This meme references two animated shows that both debuted in 2004 and both focused on teams of magical girls led by a brave redhead protagonist. While Winx Club aired on Nickelodeon in the US for another five years before getting an animated cover and spinoff series, WITCH quietly left ABC after its second season. Nonetheless, for the kids who grew up watching them, the two shows were inextricably linked, given their anime-influenced character designs, exciting fantasy stories, and various castings. (And while young American viewers may not have realized, both had roots in Europe, Winx Club from Italy, and WITCH. being based on an Italian comic book series of the same name.)

Winx ClubThe company’s popularity set it up for a recent revival: Netflix just turned it into a live-action series. But the streaming service may have picked the wrong show to tap into that energy. Both shows featured teams of magical girls tied in friendship, but WITCH was much darker and would match the tone of Netflix better Destiny: The Winx Saga.

Image: Sip Animation / Disney

WITCH follows five teenage girls – Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin (understood?) – who learn that they are the keepers of the veil, overpowered beings who can control quintessence, water, fire, earth and the ‘air, respectively. They are responsible for protecting the border between our usual world and various fantastic worlds. The first season focuses primarily on the world of Meridian, a medieval fantasy kingdom recently taken over by the evil Prince Phobos and his right-hand man Cedric.

When the girls discover their powers and new roles, they must find the rightful heir to the throne and free Meridian from the reign of Phobos. Girls balance their double lives, which means keeping their powers a secret from family and other friends. Eventually, they meet Meridian’s teenager Caleb, who at 15 is leading an underground rebellion. The series doesn’t need to be remade as something dark and edgy, because it East quite dark and edgy. WITCH was more action oriented than Winx Club, with the aim of expanding to a male audience. It made it a girls’ show anyway, but right off the bat, WITCH had that intriguing, action-centric vibe that Destiny: The Winx Saga tries his hand. It’s shocking The Winx saga to see the protagonists discover a war that marked the generation before them, but the same pace would work very well in a WITCH update, where the girls are already trying to topple a despotic leader.

Image: Sip Animation / Disney

Even some of the more specific threads of Destiny: The Winx Saga – the tension between the girls and the theme of fallible mentors – are present in WITCH Most WITCH the protagonists know each other before receiving their powers, and they don’t exactly get along. This is even more true in the comics, where new daughter Will struggles to connect with others when she first meets them, especially when she is dubbed their leader. As the Guardians bicker at first, they slowly work towards a strong and lasting friendship.

WITCH is also ahead of Winx Club when it comes to complicated relationships with mentors. The very basis of how the Guardians obtain their powers creates this tension. Each generation of Guardians passes their powers on to the next, and the show’s second season focuses on the current team to learn more about the women who came before them – and how the rest were doomed by lusting for power. Destiny: The Winx Saga adds these mentor relationships to the Winx world, but WITCH already done 15 years ago.

Image: Sip Animation / Disney

And on the most superficial note possible, WITCHThe visual aesthetic of has always been grungier than the glowing neon of Winx Club. During the day the WITCH girls attend Sheffield Institute, a brick-walled academy that looks more like the dark vibe of college Destiny: The Winx SagaThe Alfea College view as the original pink whimsical walls Winx Club never done. During the reign of Phobos, Meridian is shrouded in shadow, storm and fog, and the halls of the royal castle capture the Gothic decadence. Even when Phobos is finally overthrown, Meridian is more rooted in golden earth tones than the jewel-toned worlds of Winx.

WITCH looks ready and posed to become the dark and edgy magical girl series who Destiny: The Winx Saga try to be. But unfortunately, the short-lived show could not be saved. While the second season, directed by showrunner Greg Weisman of Gargoyles and Young justice, set up a third, he never manifested. An old forum post claims this is because there was so little interest from investors and producers.

Sadly, WITCH is currently not available for streaming, and DVDs are only released in Europe, Australia, and the Philippines. However, the memory of WITCH lives on – in Tumblr posts, in fan art and in the striking parallels of a live show about 2004 other five member magical girl show. Maybe someday he’ll land on Disney Plus, but by then, Destiny: The Winx Saga will have to suffice.