Wizards of Waverly Place
| Wizards of Waverly Place | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Todd J. Todd J. Greenwald Peter Murrieta |
| No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | nutes approx. |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disneel |
| Release | October 12, 2007 – presen |
| Release | langua[English language – English]] |
| Release | langua[English language – English]] |
| Release | langua[English language – English]] |
| Release | langua[English language – English]] |
| Release | langua[English language – English]] |
| Release | langua[English language – English]] |
| Release | langua[English language – English]] |
Wizards of Waverly Place is a new live-action comedy Disney Channel Original Series which premiered on October 12 2007 on Disney Channel,[1] and was released on Family Channel in Canada on October 26th at 7:00pm, and will air on Disney Channel UK on November 3rd at 10:00am. The series focuses on the three Russo children who on the surface seem to be normal teens, but are actually wizards in training.
Wizards of Waverly Place is the first Disney sitcom to feature simple computer-generated imagery such as superimposing. The tag line in advertisements is "They've got the power!" and "Being a teenager can be tricky." On its premiere night, it scored a surprising 5.93 million viewers.[2]
On October 5, 2007, the pilot episode was made available as a free download from iTunes. On October 12, 2007 iTunes required it to be purchased.
Plot
The show centers around Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) and her brothers Justin (David Henrie) and Max (Jake T. Austin), who are a lot like the teens in their Manhattan neighborhood, but with one significant difference - they come from a long line of wizards, and must learn to harness their budding magical powers or soon risk losing them.
The three children live with their father Jerry (David DeLuise), who was born with the same powers but had to relinquish them when his brother Kelbo surpassed him magically, and their mother Theresa (Maria Canals Barrera) who has no magic powers. While their parents run the family business, Waverly Sub Station, the three siblings grapple with both their budding wizardly powers and typical teen challenges spanning school, friends, and family.
Cast
- Selena Gomez - Alex Russo
- David Henrie - Justin Russo
- Jake T. Austin - Max Russo
- Jennifer Stone - Harper Evans
- David DeLuise - Jerry Russo
- Maria Canals Barrera - Theresa Russo
Theme song
The theme song is "Everything is Not What it Seems" is performed by Selena Gomez and features the cast in a CGI background.
Characters
- Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) is a wizard in training. At age 14, she is the middle child in the Russo family: younger sister to Justin, and older sister to Max. Confident in her magic, and undisciplined in using her powers, she is constantly competing with her brothers to keep her powers. Often times her magic is used in such a way that she requires assistance from her brothers, a favor she at times needs to reciprocate. Her best friend is Harper Evans, and her enemy is a girl named Gigi.
- Max Russo (Jake T. Austin) is the 12-year-old younger brother to Alex and Justin. As the youngest in the Russo family, Max is the most mischievous, determined to take his magic "to the Max." When he's not dodging homework and vegetables, Max plays practical jokes on his siblings and makes sandwiches at the family sandwich shop.
- Justin Russo (David Henrie) is the eldest child of the Russo family. At 16, Justin is an overachiever and exercises restraint over his powers as he tries to fit in at school. He enjoys reading comic books and learning at school. As the more mature sibling, Justin often finds himself cleaning up after Alex and Max's mishaps. He has also gained the unreciprocated affection of his sister's best friend, Harper.
- Theresa Russo (Maria Canals Barrera) is the mother of Alex, Max and Justin. She runs the Waverly Place Sub Shop with her husband Jerry. She possesses no magical powers, but encourages her children's discovery of magic and, just recently, their Mexican Latino heritage.
- Jerry Russo (David DeLuise) is Theresa's husband, and father to Alex, Max and Justin. Having possessed magic powers as a child until his brother became the family wizard, Jerry instructs his children in the proper practices to be used when conducting magic. He owns the Waverly Place Sub Shop and runs the restaurant with his wife.
- Harper Evans (Jennifer Stone) is Alex's best friend, and girlfriend of Justin (or, so she thinks). She enjoys making her own clothes, even if she's the only one who thinks they look great. She believes it's better to stand out as an individual rather than be the same as everyone else. Although she doesn't know that her best friend's family can practice magic, she's always there to lend Alex a helping hand whenever she can.
Minor characters
- Gigi (Skyler Samuels) is Alex's enemy. She has tried to embarrass Alex since they were in kindergarten when she spilled water on her and said she had an 'accident'. Her real name, as mentioned in "The Crazy Ten Minute Sale", is Gertrude.
- Miranda (Lucy Hale) is Justin's girlfriend, a pretty goth girl. She likes Justin very much because according to Alex she "brightens from tragic to gloomy when they're together" and wants to kiss him. She is very fond of the color black. Harper is very jealous of her because of Justin's affections towards her and thinks he's dating her simply because she reminds him of her, though they are complete opposites.
| Cast | Character | Season Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| Lucy Hale | Miranda | 2 |
| Skyler Samuels | Gigi | 2 |
| Amanda Tepe | Various | 2 |
| Alissa Archer | Waitress | 1 |
| John Bobek | Waiter | 1 |
| Kristin Bryant | Dancer | 1 |
| Wayne Federman | Mr. Kaminsky | 1 |
| Jordan-Claire Green | Kelly | 1 |
| Moe Jimenez | Student | 1 |
| Bryant Johnson | Matt | 1 |
| Brian Kubach | Riley | 1 |
| Al Madrigal | Spanish Pocket Elf | 1 |
| Jack Plotnick | Pocket Elf | 1 |
| Kelsey Sanders | Wannabe #2 | 1 |
| Heather Trzyna | Wannabe #1 | 1 |
| Jim Wise | Mr. Malone | 1 |
Settings
- The Waverly Sub Station is the Russo Family's sandwich shop. All 3 kids work there and hang out.
- The Magic Lair is where the Russo kids have magic class with their father. It is conveniently right behind the Waverly Sub Station, the family's sandwich shop.
Spells
- The Duplication Spell
Incantation: Edgebonoutoosis
Description: Used to duplicate objects or people. (Note: needs concentration on the thing they are duplicating or else it may come out wrong.)
Used by: Justin; Uses it at the beginning of the episode to duplicate a rabbit however he was thinking about dogs at the time and ended up barking. Alex; Uses it to duplicate herself however she was thinking about the rabbit Justin made earlier and it came out barking. Later at the end of the episode she uses it to duplicate her dad and unlike the other dopplegangers it seemed to come out right.
- The Time-Rewinding Spell
Incantation: Macreary Timereary
Description: Used by wizards to transport themselves back an increment of time, be it seconds or minutes, to allow themselves to correct a mistake they may have made.
Used by: Justin; After accidentally shattering Jerry's priceless crystal ball, Justin uses this spell to restore it as good as new. Alex; As Justin continues to screw up his attempts at kissing Miranda, Alex uses this spell over and over again, at least 17 times. When Alex does the spell at the movie theater, it's revealed that the spell even rewinds other events, such as the taste test of Max's sandwich.
Episodes
| Season | Ep # | First Airdate | Last Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 22 | October 12, 2007 | 2008 |
External links
References
- ^ "Premier of Kids and Family Sitcom "Wizards of Waverly Place" ... "Friday, October 12 on Disney Channel"" (Press release). Disney Channel Media Net. September 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
premiere episode, "Crazy Ten Minute Sale,"
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Top Ratings