The Wonderful World of Disney (TV Series) Sabrina Goes to Rome (1998) User Reviews

It's a little awkward...but, fans will enjoy it.

[CoraTree · 6/10 · 25 April 2011]

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. Even so, it feels awkward at times to see Sabrina without her Aunts, Harvey and the rest of the normal cast.

This TV movie was broadcast on October 4, 1998 during a time when Season 3 was airing. So you can't help, but think throughout the film that Sabrina's being unfaithful to Harvey with her romantic interest in this Paul guy. It also feels like the writer's tossed her on a trip to Rome for no reason. Some connection to her regular life would have been nice. I don't recall her talk about her aunts or Harvey once in the film. It feels like a what-if scenario in a parallel universe without the film actually stating it.

I think you have to suspend-your-disbelief a little too much for the film. Even if it was a parallel universe, it makes no sense for her love interest be some guy in Rome, that she's never going to see again. I've heard of this sort of love story before…but, the chemistry between Sabrina and Paul is forced and seems unnatural.

My first time seeing this was after I'd already watched all seven seasons. The quality of the movie doesn't touch that of the season it was made for (Season 3). This definitely is a lot better then some of the later season's episodes.

If you're a big enough fan of the series you'll get some enjoyment out of this.

spring break in Rome

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 12 June 2016]

Teenage witch Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart) is given a locket by her father to unlock in Rome in 2 weeks and save her Aunt Sophia lost for 400 years. Her talking cat Salem Saberhagen stowaway with her. She's shocked to find Gwen (Tara Strong) as her roommate. Gwen is an even worst witch. Sabrina encounters American Paul. Paul and his friend Travis start following Sabrina and witness suspicious happenings. They strike up a deal to photograph her witchcraft for $250k.

Basically, Sabrina leaves her TV show for a break in Rome. The film quality is relatively low-grade TV. At least, she actually goes to Rome and there is some travelog. The new character Gwen has an annoying squeaky voice. It's a bit pointless to have only Sabrina and Salem in a movie to accompany the TV show.

The best Sabrina movie

[kenny_c_hueholt · 9 February 2002]

This movie was great. Sabrina travels to Rome and finds a locket belonging to an old ancestor of hers. She has to find a missing piece though. I especially like her line, "This thing hasn't been uncovered for over 500 years and now it's all up to me. And people say I procrastinate." I also liked the part with Salem and Stonehenge (the guinea pig) wrecking havoc at that Italian restaurant. This runs on the WB pretty often. Highly recommended.

A disappointment for Sabrina fans

[Eva Ionesco · 2/10 · 21 December 1999]

I grew up devoted to the Archie comics, including Sabrina, so I was a little worried when I heard they were going to make a TV show of Sabrina. Would they get it right? Would they capture the spirit and intent of the original version. I was highly skeptical to say the least, but after viewing the first TV show, I was ecstatic! They had done it even better than the comic!

Sabrina quickly became my favourite show, and I was even happier when it continued to improve throughout the seasons. The witty lines, the cute magic, the great personalities and the wonderful lessons Sabrina learned in human values all combined to make it into the best show on television.

That's why I'm more than a little disappointed with this movie. It drags! The witty lines are few and far between, the humour misses more often than it hits, the storyline is farcical, the acting is stagey. Even Salem, who makes the TV show so good, is not at his best. The whole cast seems uncomfortable.

I love films, and I usually focus on the good points of even the bad ones, as there is usually something to love in almost all films. But with this film, it's very difficult. I can't recommend it, and I think most Sabrina fans would be disappointed. I've given it only 2 out of 10.

The cat is the best character in this series

[The-Sarkologist · 7/10 · 9 November 2013]

Even though this is officially a tele-movie, that I saw on video, I thought that I might comment on it anyway. The movie is based on the television show Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, which in turn is based on characters from the Archie comics. The title of the series says everything: Sabrina is a witch who lives in urban America with her two aunties. In this world witches come from another world and some of them live on Earth. The one reason as to why I like this show is because of the cat, who was once a powerful warlock who tried to take over the world. For punishment he was turned into a cat. Salem, the cat, is a very cheeky and intelligent character.

In this movie Sabrina is sent to Rome with a locket that she must open. She is warned that if she is betrayed, she either must turn her betrayer to stone, or loose her powers, and this becomes important as a couple of paparazzi suspect that she is a witch and go out to try and prove it to the world – and one of them attempts to seduce her. She also meets another witch, this time from England, who is not really all that good and accidentally turns the guy that she likes into a pigeon, and spends most of the movies kissing pigeons in an attempt to bring him back.

This is a cute, but mindless movie. I watched it purely for Salem, and sure enough Salem is his greedy, cunning, and manipulative self. The themes that it explores is trust and betrayal, but none too deep to really bother analyzing anything. This is the type of movie one watches if one simply wants to turn their mind off for a while.

A really good movie

[little_lulu411 · 7/10 · 28 March 2006]

After watching this movie, My respect for Melissa Joan Hart went up about 5 notches. I had of course seen her in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and absolutely loved it. Making a movie was the best net step you could eve imagine. This movie is one that not only shows of the story of Sabrina the Teenage Witch but the history and culture of Rome too. Gwen is also very funny i this movie as is Salem. I would say that these to characters are the ones to watch in this movie. This movie is should be seen by all major Sabrina the Teenage Witch fans and people who are interested in the magic and supernatural theme. You will have fun watching this movie.

Sabrina Goes to Rome

[Icebrat2468 · 10/10 · 30 January 2005]

I loved this movie a lot. It's funny, & it's a great adventure! Sabrina fans will definitely enjoy it, especially because it's just another Sabrina-sort of story. Salem is at his best, & Sabrina's roommate, Gwen, is a wonderful addition. Gwen is extremely funny with her "antics". It's a good plot to base a movie around. This is because it's mischievous & humorous. I found that this movie was addicting in a way. I liked it so much I wanted to see it about 10 times. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, previously interested in Sabrina or not, because it is definitely a great film. All in all, this is the best movie I have ever seen & it is just an all-around must- see film that anyone can enjoy greatly.

Alright, but not as good as the TV series

[gavin-62 · 7/10 · 3 January 2001]

This was a mildly enjoyable film, but nowhere near as good as the TV series from which it is derived, lacking the manic sense of humour and deranged surrealism. The film is a bit slow moving and jokes are subordinated to plot, which is unfortunate because the plot is nebulous and badly thought out. Another problem is that this is basically a sit-com character taken out of the usual situation from which the comedy derives. Sabrina the Teenage Witch is essentially a vicious and well-observed parody of banal American high-school dramas which take themselves too seriously. Without this context, there is much less scope for humour. Nevertheless, there are some very funny scenes, and at least we get to see the lovely Melissa Joan Hart against the equally lovely backdrop of Rome. Tara Charendoff is also very sexy as an English witch (with an almost convincing accent!) and you get to see her kissing a lot of pigeons (don't ask!). But has her cockney guinea pig got the worst accent since Dick Van Dyke? "Cor bloimey myte, 'e blinken well 'as". But overall a reasonable effort. "Wicked", as we supposedly say in England...

Sabrina the Teenage Witch--a pretty good film for what it is.

[wills_queen · 14 August 2000]

I saw "Sabrina goes to Rome" and "Roman Holiday" in the same weekend. I saw a lot of similarities besides where they took place. True, Princess Ann never had a talking cat, but she was escorted around Rome by two photographers who were planing to sell the pictures of her to magazines. The same thing happened to Sabrina. Luckily, they had a change of heart. I'm not comparing Audrey Hepburn with Melissa Joan Hart, but remember Audrey's movie "Sabrina"? Anyway "Sabrina Goes to Rome" is a quality film. It's not a "Roman Holiday" but it's pretty good.

I remember this movie! (RESENT REVIEW)

[karl_with-12 · 7/10 · 18 October 2009]

*** This review was accidentally deleted by me, so I resent it ***

I remember watching "Sabrina Goes To Rome" with my sister when I was 8 years old. Even though I don't have an exact memory of it, I still remember I loved it. This film had a healthy mixture of adventure, excitement and a pinch of romance. Melissa John Hart portrayed the rightful role of a young witch in a quest to solve the mystery of a locket and release the power within to save her Aunt Sophia, meeting friends along the way.

Typically, this film isn't one of those expensive Oscar-nominated movies, but it's fun. It is my intension to travel to Rome one day and this film brought out the best of it. From beautiful landscapes to beautiful landmarks (Trevi Fountain) I should say it would be a perfect holiday! Recommended to any Sabrina fan.

A fantastic film, very modern, with excellent story-line.

[Abi C · 10/10 · 27 June 1999]

Sabrina goes to Rome is a spectacular film. Good acting skills as usual are shown from Hart, and Salem appears with the same voice by the amazingly talented Nick Bakay.

The story is about a locket belonging to Sabrina's Aunt Sophia, which Sabrina has to unlock. She does this throughout the whole film, with various other smaller story-lines happening at the same time(e.g. friends and boys) This film I can watch over and over again and not get bored of it. Well worth watching, an all round entertaining family film.

good movie but doesn't compare too...

[nazdre2000 · 11 March 2003]

Sabrina goes to Rome is an all actuality a pretty good movie. I have seen it three times (whenever I have happened to catch it on the WB) but this is mostly because it brings Rome to my bedroom in nice lively colors. However if you don't mind the black+white scene Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn is the original Sabina goes to Rome and is ten times better. It has amazing acting and a fantastic storyline. It would have to for Sabrina to do a remake of it. But back to the movie, it really is good and definetely worth watching. MJH did a good job with it and the subplots really keep your attention. Again not the original but you should stop and watch it if you are ever channel surfing and see that it happens to be on. The acting is decent, the MJH outfits great as usual, and you get to visit Rome for free without even leaving your sofa!

Nothing but perfect.

[daniel_bs3 · 10/10 · 27 June 2012]

I can honestly say this movie is amazing, it has very good quality in the script as in the effects. even thought this movie is from 1998 is worth the watching, the character of gwen is a very nice touch to th movie, a young witch in process. the music is more than amazing and i have to admit this movie is great to watch with family. as i was saying the special effects are amazing nothing too computerized and very good storyline, it's very different from the TV series because there's no mention of any character from the show but Salem. other thing i wanna say is the places were the movie took place and the scenes were recorded, trevi fountain, colisseum, streets of rome, colonial residences and ruins, this was a very, good choice from the director's part. well and overall Melissa Joan Hart! 10 out of 10!!!

DVD Movie ( Sabrina Goes to Rome)

[starr79303 · 10/10 · 5 October 2006]

Hi I'm looking for Sabrina Goes to Rome with Malissa Joan Hart I'v watched the movie on TV and so has my nice and every time it comes on TV we watch the movie together and she loves it just as much as I do we wood both love to have a copy of the movie please can anyone help us with this request because I think the vendor should put the movie out on the store shelfs for the public to watch for them self you mite be surprised at the movie for your self it's deals with magic and it gets you out of the every day grind of every day life it really takes you away and that make life bearable for some of the people that do the same thing day after day day in and day out it's a break from everything in life because life gets down right boring day after day and the movie has to be full screen on DVD cause I've been looking for five years now and I would like to pouches the movie please contact [e-mail] Thanks

Solid Plot for Good Storyline

[chmpgnrose · 10/10 · 30 December 2012]

This is my favorite "Sabrina" made for TV movies. The cinematography is beautiful and the storyline for her quest to open a 500 year old aunt's locket instructed by her father as the baseline is very strong. Witchcraft was frequently used throughout this two hour movie and the special effects are great. With her stowaway magical cat, Salem they venture in Rome, Italy for two weeks. Salem may be annoying at times, but he does truly care for Sabrina. I love Salem, he's so cute, fun yet mischievous in this movie. Her two aunts, Zelda and Hilda do not appear in this movie but are mentioned as "my aunts." I wish Harvey Kinkle, her notably first love, was in it. This movie depicts Sabrina venturing into the real world outside her sheltered life under her aunts and high school of the fictional town Westbridge, Massachusetts in Rome, Italy for two weeks.

I was surprised to enjoy this film

[kate_lattey · 6 January 2001]

I only rented "Sabrina Goes To Rome" so I could drool over EDDIE MILLS. I never really liked the show and still don't think much of Melissa Joan Hart. But the film surprised me in that I did actually enjoy it, and watched it more than once while i had it rented! Recommended for any Sabrina or EDDIE MILLS fans! (Hey eddie - call me!)