Castaspella as seen in the Filmation animated series She-Ra: Princess of Power.
History[]
Castaspella was a practicing apprentice sorceress originally from the Kingdom of Mystacor. She, along with a rival sorceress whose name was not given, were being trained by a great Etherian sorcerer named Norwyn. When Hordak arrived on Etheria, the rival sorceress betrayed Norwyn and Castaspella by revealing the location of the Council of Kings and joined The Horde as Shadow Weaver in exchange for power.
Castaspella is the very beautiful queen of Mystacor. The seat of power was at Castaspella's Enchanted Castle, which set atop a floating island. Many of its people are magically endowed.
At one point, some years before Adora defected from the Evil Horde to join the Great Rebellion, Castaspella was dethroned by the evil Mortella, whose powers came from a magic fire lit inside Castle Mysticor. As long as the fire burned high, Mortella's powers were at their peak. She conjured up a small legion of Magic Knights out of the flames to do her bidding and put a spell on Castaspella that transformed her into an elderly woman, greatly diminishing her magical powers.
Under Mortella's rule, Mystacor became a dark and foreboding place. Castaspella was banished to the Dark Forest, where she was allowed to gather magical powders and herbs for Mortella and bring these to Mystacor to receive a meager payment. However, Castaspella was not allowed to leave the forest, for Mortella had grown so powerful that she would always be able to find her again.
When the Magic Knights captured Bow and Adora, whom she wanted to use as slaves and ordered to make sure her flames did not burn low. Having met and been helped by the two Rebels earlier, Castaspella took it upon herself to free them. When She-Ra appeared and easily began to defeat Mortella's Knights, Castaspella grabbed her chance to confront her old adversary to put an end to her evil reign. She-Ra used the water from the lake around Mystacor to douse the magic flames and with her source of power gone, Mortella disappeared and Castaspella regained her true form and rightful place as ruler of Mystacor.
Since that time, Castaspella has used her magic to aid She-Ra and the Great Rebellion. Though she does not know of Adora's alternate identity, she has become a close friend and has even developed a crush on her brother Adam.
Behind the Scenes[]
- Castaspella's animation model was designed by Alice Hamm, based on various concepts provided by the combined design departments of Filmation and Mattel. Her outfit's color scheme differs from her action figure because it was based on a toy prototype.
- Voice actress Melendy Britt has stated in interviews that she based Castaspella's manner of speaking on actress Katherine Hepburn.
Appearances[]
She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985)[]
Season One (1985)
- The Prisoners of Beast Island
- The Laughing Dragon
- Enchanted Castle
- Three Courageous Hearts
- The Eldritch Mist
- The Anxious Apprentice
- The Price of Power (appears in flashback) (non speaking role)
- Birds of a Feather
Season Two (1986)