The Big Sleepover

 

Quick Synopsis: At her first princess sleepover, Sofia struggles to blend her friends from the village with her new friends from Royal Prep.

Recap:  Sofia is about to host her first slumber party after moving to the castle, and Amber is very excited to help the party be a success.  She shows Sofia the observatory, which has been converted into a large bedroom, with beds and closets for the guests.  She goes through what activities she has in mind.  Amber then explains that the guests you have at your party are an important mark of social status (I'm not sure how much higher on the tree you can be than a princess, but these gradations are important to Amber, as we see throughout the show).  She invited Princess Hildegard from Freezenburg and Princess Clio of Corinthia, two of the most popular princesses at Royal Prep (and, not coincidentally, Amber's best friends).  Amber is disappointed to learn that Sofia invited Ruby and Jade from the village (and, somewhat unbelievably, acts as though she has never heard of them before; Amber at least saw the pair in Once Upon a Princess).  

    King Roland and Queen Miranda decide that Cedric should put on a magic show.  Cedric acquiesces, but complains at how demeaning it is for him to be forced to do parlor tricks for children (at this point in the show, Roland is still convinced that Cedric isn't really capable of doing any serious magic, something shown over and over in the first season).  He then decides to take advantage of the opportunity to once again steal Sofia's necklace.  He will enchant some puppets who will trick Sofia into turning the amulet over to them.  Then Cedric will take over the kingdom.  (Virtually all of the schemes by Cedric, and others, throughout the early episodes revolve around Sofia willingly giving the amulet to them.  It suggests that the amulet can't be forcibly removed.  This, of course, isn't the case as shown by The Curse of Princess Ivy, but I am convinced that early episode writers thought it was.  Otherwise, Cedric's schemes are just ridiculous.  Once he has the amulet in his hands, everyone will know he took it, whether he was invisible when he grabbed it, puppets took it for him, or he tricked Sofia into letting him examine it.  So I don't know why he is always avoiding just directly taking it from the princess.)

    The guests arrive and we are introduced to Hildegard (and her mink) and her sidekick Clio, who show up in a proper, formal manner.  Meanwhile Ruby and Jade pull up in cart and are so excited they can barely contain themselves.  Hildegard is surprised to see them, and her (and Amber's) reservations seem confirmed when Ruby and Jade bombard the princesses with questions (although, it should be said that their admiration for Hildegard, Amber, and Clio is pretty obvious).  

    Amber's concerns only grow when everyone changes into their nightgowns.  Ruby and Jade put pine cones in their hair and begin to dance around in a silly way while Ruby sort of raps (this episode tends to make everyone act in an over-the-top manner; I think the interaction between Ruby, Jade, Hildegard, Clio, and Amber is actually a lot more realistic in later episodes, but you can make the argument that later they simply are all more respectful of each other's preferences). When Sofia begins to join in, Amber and the princesses pull her aside and sing a song about how it is critical that everyone fit in.  (The song is yet another solid one from the early episodes, although it isn't quite as funny as Princess Things.)

    Sofia decides to help Ruby and Jade fit in by giving them princess makeovers, which her friends love.  They are given new nightgowns and hairstyles.  Ruby and Jade might look like princesses now, but they are still extremely exuberant, and don't fit in during a game of pin the tail on the unicorn and painting fans.   

    It's now time for Cedric's magic show (and his plan to steal the Amulet of Avalor).  However, Cedric can hardly begin before Ruby and Jade interrupt him and spoil his plot to have his puppets take Sofia's amulet.  In the commotion, Ruby and Jade spill chocolate from a fountain all over themselves and on Amber's dress, which makes the princess hysterical.  Even Clio is uncomfortable with Amber's reaction (this is an important character-establishing moment for her).  While they are getting cleaned up, Sofia reprimands her friends and they promise to try harder.

    However, being a restrained princess isn't to Ruby and Jade's liking and after watching the other princesses dance elegantly, they decide they aren't having fun.  After a short fight with Sofia, they decide to go home so they don't embarrass her any more.  (This argument also helps to establish Jade's kind of rash personality and Ruby's more conciliatory one.)  Sofia feels terrible.

    When Miranda comes to ask why Ruby and Jade are leaving, Sofia explains what happened.  Miranda then says that the only one who isn't being a princess is Sofia, who was rude to her friends. (I guess extreme snobbishness is forgivable in Amber and Hildegard, but a little snobbishness is totally unacceptable in Sofia.)  Sofia rushes after Ruby and Jade and convinces them to stay by saying she wants to have a slumber party like they used to in the village.  Her friends agree and they start to have fun in Sofia's room.

    Meanwhile, Amber and Hildegard are lying in their beds in the observatory politely discussing how much better it is now that it is quiet.  After a moment's pause, Clio remarks that things were more fun with Ruby and Jade around.  Hildegard and Amber exchange looks and the three decide they are bored.  They go to Sofia's room and after some hesitation ask to join the new slumber party.  Sofia agrees and everyone is shown having fun as the episode comes to a close.

    

Biggest Is Best: Amber is once again the sort-of antagonist in this episode, but a closer look shows this isn't Once Upon a Princess all over again.  Just like in Just One of the Princes, Amber is motivated by helping Sofia become the best princess she can be and fitting in with the crowd at Royal Prep.  Amber says she invites Hildegard and Clio because they are the most popular princesses at school and will help Sofia build standing.  She also tries to coach Sofia into throwing the party she thinks will most impress Hildegard and Clio (this isn't the last time that Amber will stress the importance of making sure those two are having fun and will come away saying nice things; even Prince Zandar is very concerned about making sure Hildegard has fun at any event she attends).  So while Amber seems like she is motivated only by being elitist, there are other factors at play.  Amber turns out to be wrong about what everyone will find the most fun, but that's just because she has yet to learn that Sofia has a preternatural talent for sensing what others will approve of and enjoy (in Just One of the Princes, Sofia correctly feels that a princess can be a success at Derby and the crowds that watch her are incredibly supportive).  It isn't unreasonable for Amber to assume that her greater experience at being a princess means her judgment is superior to Sofia's, it just turns out (once again) that she's wrong.

Don't Play Ball in the Castle: James is only in the episode briefly.  Ruby and Jade again swoon over him (much like in Once Upon a Princess), which is how they knock over the chocolate fountain.  James also tells Sofia that Amber's sleepovers are usually very boring and that Ruby and Jade should be allowed to have fun.  This isn't the last time James will try to balance out Amber's influence on Sofia.  As usual, he isn't very successful until after Amber goes too far (or things start to fall apart).

No One Thinks It Turns Out Very Well: Cedric makes his first appearance since the pilot movie and gets to reinforce both his desire to take Sofia's amulet and his resentment at the duties Roland thinks he is most suited for.  I've already criticized Cedric's plan, so let's focus on how Roland treats him.  At this point in the show, Roland is convinced Cedric is incompetent at being a sorcerer (and we've yet to learn why Cedric sometimes struggles), so he assigns him only the most mundane tasks.  Here, he wants Cedric to perform a stage magic show (something that wouldn't even take magical talent; the king even suggests Cedric learn to do card tricks, something we see him practicing as late as season 2).  Cedric thinks this is beneath him, and gets very resentful.  Cedric is mostly played for comedy when he puts on his puppet show, but this episode does a good job showing some of the reasons that Cedric continues to plot to take over the kingdom while not being quite as evil as those plans might suggest.  By the way, the disdainful way Cedric talks to the children is always hilarious (later, it becomes funnier when the children, especially Amber, start pushing back). 

Jiggly Wiggly Pudding: Sofia is hosting her first slumber party and trying to blend her new and old friends together, so who in the family is most interested and invested in the party's success?  Baileywick of course.  However, King Roland and Queen Miranda do press Cedric to put on a magic show, and Miranda later becomes concerned enough when Jade and Ruby want to leave to put aside whatever it was she was doing and talk to Sofia about the importance of not being rude to her friends.  (What bothers me about this is that Miranda blames Sofia without giving her the piece of advice that would avert problems in lots of later episodes: Stop reflexively listening to Amber!)

Man of the Castle: Baileywick is only in the episode to facilitate the slumber party and its activities.  He does a great job arranging makeovers for Ruby and Jade on the fly and he is, as always, the hardest working person in the castle.  Baileywick does a lot more to help Sofia have a great party than either King Roland or Queen Miranda (although Miranda gets to swoop in at the end to give the supposedly key advice to Sofia). 

I'll Do Whatever Hildy is Does: This is our formal introduction to Princess Hildegard and Princess Clio, two very important characters from Royal Prep.  And everything that defines them is on display here.  Hildegard is even more of a snob than Amber, and everyone goes out of their way to please her (seemingly to make sure she doesn't say nasty things about them or pout too much).  Clio is Hildegard's best friend and seems most comfortable emulating Hildy as much as possible (this comes to a head in a later episode).  Clio is certainly nicer than Hildy (and Amber, actually) and warms to Ruby and Jade faster than her friends.  Of the two, Hildegard is the more interesting character.  She's a sort of Amber-on-steroids, and the show uses her to make Amber's positions seem unsympathetic while still letting the audience like Amber.  I like Hildegard for some of the same reasons I like Amber.  She isn't quite as funny (the show doesn't do nearly as much physical humor with her as they do with Sofia's sister), but some of her snarkier, cutting remarks are very well done.  On an unrelated note, the animation and dialogue make it seem as though Hildegard is older than Amber and Clio (and all the others).  I think this turns out to not be the case, but it's kind of hard to believe that she is only nine years old given how she looks and is portrayed.  If it had turned out she was as old as Hugo's brother, I wouldn't have been surprised.

Review: This isn't a bad episode by any means, but it was the first episode of the show that I didn't really enjoy that much.  It's super predictable, and everything plays out almost exactly as you would expect.  It might have been more realistic if the two slumber parties hadn't reintegrated at the end, so the princesses can have have their more formal, subdued party, while the village friends get to have the fun they used to before Sofia left for the castle.  As it is, later episodes kind of undo the premise that Hildegard and Amber like more raucous fun (this comes up during the giant play date later in the season).  The episode does gain some depth as the season goes on and you see Ruby, Jade, Amber, and Hildegard interact more together.  Everyone is a lot more respectful and open minded about each others' kind of fun and Sofia is a lot better at smoothing over any potential differences.  That's very clever development, even if it might be unintended.

Over all this is is a three out of five star entry in the series.

***

Just One of the Princes

 Brief Synopsis: In the first regular episode of the series, Sofia is excited to try out for Royal Prep's flying derby team, but is disappointed to learn that riding is not viewed as a "princess thing."

Recap: Sofia and family are in the carriage, hurrying to see the opening of the flying derby season.  They have been made late by Amber, who apparently had trouble finding her special Derby tiara to wear.  For Amber, the best part about going is wearing this tiara.  But Sofia is a big fan of the race.  We see the flying coach in action for the first time, as the driver deploys the wings and takes "the high road."

    While watching the race (which is essentially pegasi running an obstacle course), Sofia learns that her school has a derby team.  She is invited by James to watch practice for the tryout race.  Amber is going because she wants to ogle Prince Hugo, the school's best rider.  James protests that he is just as good as Hugo, only to be reminded by his sister that he couldn't even qualify for the team last year.  Sofia gets a faraway look in her eyes as she says she might come to practice.

    After school the next day, Sofia does, indeed, head to the stables.  But she isn't there to practice.  To everyone's shock, she tells the derby coach, Sir Gilliam, that she wants to try out.  Gilliam explains that princesses are technically allowed to, but Amber interrupts him to say that none ever do because it's not a princess thing to do.  She, Hildegard, Clio, Hugo, James, Gilliam, and another boy then proceed to sing a great song about the differences between what princesses and princes do.  (The highlight of the song is when Amber and her friends say that princesses "sing blissfully from windowsills.")  Sofia has two verses in the song where she argues that princesses can do anything princes can do.

    That night the animals ask Sofia about her day and she says that she was discouraged from joining the derby team.  To Robin's surprise, Clover is emphatic that Sofia should try out anyway. Sofia agrees and at dinner with her family announces that she will be trying out.  Amber is clearly annoyed.  Roland is about to say something (almost certainly he was about to either discourage Sofia or say how surprised he was) when Miranda makes it clear she is strongly in favor.  Roland agrees with his wife and then encourages James to help Sofia learn to ride.  Amber teases James about what the other boys will think.  James's last protest is that Sofia doesn't have a proper riding outfit, but Baileywick says one will be ready by morning.

     Wearing a cute purple riding outfit (which is totally out of place if Enchancia exists in the equivalent of our world's late 18th century), Sofia tells Sir Gilliam that she is going to try out.  A very unenthusiastic Gilliam then tells Sofia that there is only one horse left, a small, purple one named Minimis.  Sofia loves him and, using her amulet power to talk to animals, tells Minimis he's perfect.  Unfortunately, Sofia's riding skills are not.  After being laughed at by Prince Hugo (who now becomes the real face of opposition to Sofia's participation), James gives Sofia a very lackluster lesson, which results in Sofia continually falling off Minimis as she tries to fly (my daughter absolutely loves this sequence, giggling uncontrollably every time we watch it).  When Hugo becomes even meaner, James now takes his role as teacher more seriously.  Sofia joins James on his horse and he shows her how to fly.  Then she follows suit on Minimis.  While she is now able to ride and fly, she is unable to complete the course.  The end of the race involves flying to the top of a steeple and ringing the bell.  Minimis and Sofia simply can't make it to the top.  Despite her progress that day (which, frankly, is nothing short of miraculous), Sofia is depressed when she heads home.

    At home, Amber approaches Sofia and encourages her to quit.  The blonde princess watched Sofia nearly fall off Minimis while trying the steeple, and is very worried that Sofia will get hurt.  (Amber seems sincerely worried about Sofia.  She's come a long way since the pilot, although she will frequently revert to some of her earlier feelings about her sister.)  When Sofia tells her animal friends, they encourage her to keep practicing.

    And she does, getting up very early the next day.  While singing the episode's second standout song, Sofia gradually gets better and better at the course, but she just can't get Minimis to the top of the steeple.  Minimis urges Sofia to get a better horse, but she only wants to use him.  Hugo again taunts Sofia for her inability to finish the race. (So he's gone from saying she can't do it at all to she can't do it perfectly . . . on her second day.  Hugo is, frankly, a jerk.)  

    Because she can't finish the course, Sofia decides to quit.  She tells her mom when she returns from practice.  Queen Miranda doesn't agree.  She says that Sofia can do it and that the whole family is coming to watch the race the next day.  Sofia still isn't sure, but agrees to go.

    An enormous crowd turns out the next day to see if a princess can make the team.  They are overwhelmingly encouraging to Sofia (showing that the only people who don't want her on the team are Hugo and, maybe, Gilliam; this mirrors the pilot movie, where the only person who didn't want Sofia around at Royal Prep was Amber).  Hugo taunts James and Sofia again before the race.  There are five total riders and the top two will make the team (it's pretty easy to see where this is going).  Amber and her friends are in the Royal Box to cheer on Hugo (she even, bizarrely, has a fan made with Hugo's face on it; I guess Miranda and Roland think it's okay for a nine-year old girl to be obsessed with a boy).  

    The race starts and Sofia struggles at first, while James and Hugo leap out to the lead.  However, the crowd is thrilled as Sofia starts to make up ground, passing the two nameless princes to move into third.  Hugo now decides to knock Sofia out of the race, and when the course leads them over a small cottage, he deliberately pulls up in front of Sofia, causing her to fall off Minimis and land on a pile of hay.  Amber is furious and destroys her Hugo fan (she now roots for Sofia). James flies back and helps Sofia back on to Minimis to resume the race, much to the announcer's and crowd's delight.  

    Showing just how awful the other two riders are, Sofia and James quickly pass them, and even make up ground on Hugo (which isn't terribly realistic, but Hugo is shown briefly gawking at Sofia again, so maybe he wasn't trying his best).  At the steeple, Sofia encourages Minimis and they make it over for the first time. Hugo is so surprised, he nearly flies into a tree, allowing Sofia and James to make it a dead heat for the finish.  Hugo is not able to recover, and James and Sofia cross the finish line first, making the team (I think Sofia wins, but it's very hard to tell).  Amber and company are thrilled and Sir Gilliam (and two nameless twin princes) award James and Sofia their team jerseys.  

    Everyone comes to congratulate Sofia and James.  On the way, Amber deliberately snubs Hugo.  James gives Sofia credit for their win, saying all the extra practice made him a better rider (tying back into Roland's point earlier that James didn't practice enough in the past).  Amber says she is now Sofia's biggest fan and, disdainful of the derby jerseys, gives Sofia her special derby tiara.  It's a pretty nice moment between the (still) new sisters. James protests that he won too, and Amber indifferently replies, "I know."

Biggest Is Best: Amber is shocked that Sofia wants to try out for the derby team and tries to push Sofia to stick to princess things (this is part of a series of episodes in the first season where Amber does her best to help Sofia fit in, only to learn that Sofia fits in best by being herself and following her own instincts).  "Princess Things" is a very funny song, even if you aren't supposed to agree with its message, and Amber really shines in it.  Amber's obsession with Hugo is a little creepy to the father of a three-year old (me), but by the end she seems completely cured of it.  Viewers aren't supposed to sympathize with Amber when she tries to get Sofia to quit, but the show actually makes this moment a little deeper by having Amber be completely sincere in her concern about Sofia's safety.   

Don't Play Ball in the Castle: James solidifies his place as Sofia's brother by helping her learn to ride and fly.  He also learns a valuable lesson about the importance of applying yourself to meet your goals (this lesson is undercut by Sofia being instantly proficient at riding once she learns how; so the lesson is really be either supernaturally gifted or be prepared to work to get good at something).  He does a good job standing up for Sofia in response to Hugo's bullying.  The absolute best James moment of the episode occurs when Sofia is continually falling off Minimis.  To this point, James has basically just been watching Sofia struggle, without really putting much effort into his teaching.  When Sofia asks what she is doing wrong, a very blank-looking James shrugs and says, "I don't know.  We can stop if you want."  That's James in a nutshell.  Only Hugo's repeated taunts toward Sofia push the prince to actually try to figure out how to properly teach Sofia.  His first effort is pretty lazy.

A Little Bit of Food: Clover, Robin, and Mia encourage Sofia to keep trying and it's Clover's strong push that counteracts the message of "Princess Things."  Clover is already far along the path of being Sofia's best friend in this first episode. 

Jiggly Wiggly Pudding: Roland and Miranda are a little more involved in this episode than usual.  Miranda's support for Sofia's tryout clearly changes Roland's mind and both parents do their part to help Sofia succeed.  Roland pushes James to help his sister and Miranda gives Sofia the final pep talk she needs to show up at the race.  Miranda also demonstrates a remarkable ability to sit down on the castle steps while wearing her usual enormous pink gown, something which almost qualifies as a super power.

Man of the Castle: Baileywick has only one scene in the episode, but it's a nice one.  When James is trying to say that Sofia can't race because she doesn't have a riding outfit, the steward immediately pipes up that she will have clothes in time for practice.  He reaches at least 100 years into the future to get Sofia's outfit, which is quite impressive.

I'll Do Whatever Hildy is Does: Hildegard and Clio are both introduced in this episode, but they aren't named.  They are shown as part of Amber's clique, accompanying her to watch Hugo practice and then to the race itself.  They support Amber's position that derby isn't a princess thing, with Hildegard disdainfully calling attention to Sofia's near fall while trying the steeple.  Both of these characters (particularly Hildegard) will play a bigger role going forward, with Hildy becoming more and more of a presence when the show needs a snob as Amber is made more sympathetic. 

Leaving Me With a Score to Settle: Prince Hugo passes as the villain in this episode.  At first he is just part of a chorus of princes who encourage Sofia to stick to princess things, but he later becomes basically the only person who is strongly against her joining the team.  He taunts James and Sofia, and then tries to sabotage her efforts.  Hugo is supposedly the best rider at the school, but his focus on ruining Sofia's chances actually keeps him from making the team.  It's not really clear why Hugo is so determined to keep Sofia from even trying and that kind of hurts the episode and simplifies its message.

Review:  My daughter simply would not move on from this episode when we first started watching Sofia so I've seen it a lot.  It's a solid start to the real first season (Once Upon a Princess was a movie pilot so this is our first regular-length show).  It's not clear how long has passed since Sofia moved into the castle, but everyone seems quite comfortable as a family.  Sofia is still learning basic things about her school and her role, but she is already starting to reset some of expectations for what it means to be a princess.  It's definitely arguable that 2013 is a little late for a show's message to be "girls can do anything boys can do", but I'm not going to dwell on things like that.  My only real problem with this entry is that Sofia makes progress as a rider far too quickly.  She is basically proficient with everything after the first day, except the steeple.  And during the race, she is shown to be a significantly faster rider than everyone (including James and Hugo).  The only things that makes the race close are Hugo's attempt to cheat and Minimis's struggles to get to the top of the steeple.  James had been working for at least two years to get on the team, and  Sofia does it in a few days (I do like that the show attempts to explain some of this by saying James doesn't practice).  A more sophisticated show would probably have had Sofia take pride in just finishing the race, while James qualifies after all of the practice he put in.  I'm not a fan of shows where everything comes super easy for the characters (it's why I hope my daughter never gets into Olivia).  

 

Overall, it's another four out of five star entry.

****

Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess

Brief Synopsis: A young girl becomes a princess over night when her mother marries the king of Enchancia.  She struggles to adjust to royal life and her new family, until she receives some help from an unexpected source.

Recap: The fairies from Sleeping Beauty (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, in slightly updated looks) introduce the viewers to the story of Sofia, a peasant girl living in a village near a large castle.  Sofia is excited because today is the day she will move into the castle and become a princess.  Her mother Miranda, a village shoemaker, had the good fortune to be summoned to make a pair of shoes for the king of Enchancia, Roland II.  The pair fell in love, got married, and now are going to blend their families together, ala The Brady Bunch (they also put about as much thought into how to manage this process as Carol and Mike).  As Sofia leaves for the castle, her friends Ruby and Jade wave goodbye and wish her good luck.  Somewhat strangely, a rabbit, squirrel, and two birds stow away on the carriage with Sofia and Queen Miranda (we will come back to this later).  As they are riding to the castle, Miranda reveals that she and Sofia will now have their own rooms (something which delights them both).

    At the royal castle, Sofia's new family are waiting to greet her.  A thoughtless remark by Sofia's new stepbrother James suddenly makes his twin sister, Princess Amber, start to wonder if she should be jealous of her stepsister.  (As an aside, everything about how this scene is shown implies that this is the first time that Sofia is meeting Princess Amber and Prince James.  In a twitter exchange, one of the showrunners said that wasn't the case.  The new siblings met at the wedding but hadn't had time to get to know each other because of the whirlwind romance between Miranda and Roland.  Seems reasonable, but it really doesn't fit what is shown on screen.)  Miranda gives gifts to James and Amber, saying she wants to shatter the stereotypes about stepmothers.  We are also introduced to Cedric, the royal sorcerer, who botches a relatively simple spell, showering the gathered assembly of royals, nobles, and servants with flowers.  Sofia is still very impressed with Cedric.  As the crowd cheers, James and Amber give subdued royal waves, contrasting with Sofia's more exuberant reaction.  (It's a cute moment that is later part of the show's intro song.)

    As they are entering the castle, Amber tells Sofia to follow her lead, pointedly making Sofia walk behind her.  Tensions are already rising, although Sofia doesn't seem to pick up on it (she's not the only one; at no point during this entire movie do Roland or Miranda ever consider that the new siblings might not immediately like each other).  As she is following behind Amber, Sofia becomes distracted telling Cedric (whom she calls "Mr. Ceedric") how much she loved his spell.  Cedric, in a character-establishing moment, bemoans his duties as a waste of time.  When he disappears, Baileywick, the castle steward, fetches Sofia and gently tells her she should be in the dining room.

    During her first meal with her new family, Sofia is told by the king that there will be a ball in her honor, and she will be expected to open the dancing with him.  Amber asks why she never had a ball, and Roland says the ball for Amber and James occurred when they were born.  (Miranda's welcoming event was apparently the wedding.)  Sofia starts to become nervous when she imagines dancing in front of everyone.

    Baileywick shows Sofia to her room, which she finds enormous.  Despite Baileywick saying it is standard size, the fact is that the room is huge (and, frankly, kind of cold looking; the animators do a good job with lighting here making it seem unwelcoming).  He then wishes her a good night, leaving an eight-year old girl alone in a enormous room.  (The very first time I saw this scene, I cried out to my wife, "Where is Miranda?")   Struck suddenly by loneliness, Sofia sings an excellent song about not being ready to be a princess and tries to find Miranda's room.  Her mom ultimately finds her crying in the hallway.  Miranda and Roland (who is clearly in the process of undressing, a very nice way of implying that he and the queen do share a room, at least sometimes) try to comfort Sofia.  Roland then gives her a welcoming present, a special amulet that she has to promise to never take off.  This, of course, is the Amulet of Avalor and this is one of the key moments in the show (and Sofia takes this almost offhand promise to Roland extremely seriously, as we see over the course of the first season and beyond).  He also assures Sofia that her best should be good enough for everyone and that tomorrow she will go to Royal Preparatory Academy, a school that teaches young royals.  Why Sofia is learning about this new school only the night before is anyone's guess.  In another excellent bit of parenting, Roland and Miranda send Sofia back to her room alone (I guess they were really eager for their first night together in the castle).  On the way, she bumps into Cedric, who instantly recognizes the amulet (setting up how he will interact with Sofia in the future).

    Sofia isn't completely reassured (shown by the fact that she sleeps in her windowsill, not her bed).  When she wakes up the next morning, the birds, rabbit, and squirrel from earlier seem to be trying to help her dress.  Baileywick enters and chases them off (weirdly, considering how he treats them from this point forward).  He tells Sofia it's time to get dressed and head to school.  Soon she is in her usual purple dress and riding off to school with James and a sullen Amber.

    The fairies are the headmistresses of Royal Prep, and they introduce Sofia to the school with a long, boring song.  Sofia is still nervous, but that is offset by the fact that almost all of the students instantly like her.  A few of the other princesses fawn over Sofia during what I guess is recess, making Amber even more jealous.  Amber then convinces James to talk Sofia into trying an enchanted swing set.  Apparently this a prank he plays on most every new student.  The swing propels itself and once Sofia is sitting on it, picks up speed until it throws her into a fountain (why the fairies created this swing is, again, anyone's guess).  James instantly feels bad and is chided by Prince Zandar (later shown to be his best friend), who helps Sofia get out of the fountain.  Soaking wet and embarrassed, Sofia scurries off.  She helps a baby bird back into its mother's nest, making a poignant remark implying she wishes she were alone with her mother again.  Her amulet glows during this act of kindness.  As she walks away, she clearly hears both birds say thank you, startling her.

    When she is back at the castle, Cedric intercepts Sofia, feigning an interest in her day.  Cedric talks about his own troubles adjusting to royal life. (Although Cedric is mostly insincere in this scene as he attempts to get Sofia to trust him, this little bit of background is true, and is a major part of his character.)  Cedric, who knows the Amulet of Avalor is magical, tries to convince Sofia to take it off and let him examine it.  She refuses, saying a broken promise can never be glued back together.  Cedric then ushers her out, although he does begrudgingly say she should ask him for help if she needs it.

    The next morning, the animals are back. This time, Sofia can understand them, which shocks everyone.  She puts together that the amulet has granted her a blessing for helping the bird yesterday.  This prompts the bunny, Clover, to sing a song explaining why they want to help Sofia (and other princesses): They enjoy the food princesses can give them.  Sofia has a quick breakfast, and Clover tells her to keep her eye on the royal ball.  She then resolves to be the best princess she can.  Although she learns a lot at school, she doesn't feel quite right, and still feels like she can't trust James or Amber.  

    After Baileywick shows Sofia the preparations for the ball and talks about how excited he is to see her dance (Baileywick is another character that instantly likes Sofia), Miranda takes her daughter outside, where Ruby and Jade are waiting.  Sofia is thrilled to see her old friends and they have a tea party to catch up.  James resolves to join them, and even though Sofia doesn't want him around at first, they ultimately make up. (Ruby and Jade also seem to be smitten with James, which is interesting.)  James shows Sofia how to pour tea (something she struggled with at school) and assures her that she will learn how to dance at school with Professor Popov.  

    Unfortunately, Amber sees this reconciliation between James and Sofia and resolves to do something else to set her sister back.  At the dance class the next day, Amber sabotages Sofia by tricking her into wearing shoes that make her move around erratically.  This spoils any chance Sofia has of learning to dance before the ball (which is that night).  Amber gives Sofia a fake apology, but at this point Sofia is more than aware of how the older princess feels about her.  She storms off when the three arrive back home. 

    Sofia makes her way to Cedric's tower, where she asks him for help.  He agrees, giving her a spell he says will make her a good dancer.  When the princess leaves, he reveals to his raven, Wormwood, that the spell will actually put everyone at the ball to sleep.  Cedric won't wake them up until Sofia gives him her amulet, which he will then use to take over the kingdom (this first scheme of Cedric's is just as ridiculous as all of his other attempts to get the amulet).  

    Before the ball, James confronts Amber and says he is ashamed of her.  This stings and as Amber is rushing after him, she tears her ballgown.  When she tries to find help, she hears the maids complimenting Sofia.  Feeling both guilty and jealous, Amber runs off her to her room and does not go to the ball.

    Sofia, feeling confident because of the spell that Cedric gave her, arrives at the ball to much fanfare.  She takes the king's hand and just before the music starts, recites the spell.  It does not make her a good dancer, but it does succeed in putting everyone to sleep.  A gloating Cedric doesn't seem to realize he is in the ball room, and he is also put into the trance before he can escape.  Sofia now finds herself surrounded by people she cannot wake up, including her mother.  She runs crying into the hallway, yelling for help.  As she is about to give up, her amulet glows and a figure appears behind her.

    It's Cinderella, the movie's high point.  Cinderella, like all future Amulet-related guest stars, explains that the Amulet of Avalor summoned her to help Sofia.  The young girl explains the problem and asks Cinderella to undo the spell.  The older princess can't do that, but thinks she knows the real problem Sofia is facing.  Cinderella then sings an excellent song while guiding Sofia upstairs.  The song concludes outside Amber's room.  Sofia, who had earlier recognized where they were going and started to resist, doesn't want to ask Amber for help.  But Cinderella convinces her that she will regret it if she doesn't try to make up with her stepsister.  (I've seen this song about a thousand times, and I'm still struck by watching Sofia transform from awestruck in the presence of Cinderella to annoyed that she is being taken to Amber's room.)

    When Sofia explains to Amber what happened, Amber feels incredibly guilty.  Amber admits that the whole situation is her fault.  She tells Sofia her fears of being overshadowed, and Sofia reassures her.  Sofia says she was excited to be Amber's stepsister, and Amber corrects her and says they are sisters.  The two hug, but they are still faced with the problem of everyone being asleep.  Amber is sure Cedric has a counter spell in his tower and Sofia knows where the key is.  However, when they try to enter, Wormwood attacks and they quickly close the door.  Sofia then decides to ask her animal friends for help.  Clover, Whatnaught, Mia, and Robin arrive.  In a  funny sequence (highlighted by Mia being surprised they have a plan), they manage to subdue Wormwood with help from a broom-wielding Amber (my daughter finds Amber with the broom hilarious).  Sofia and Clover then trick Wormwood into revealing the location of the counterspell book.

    Before casting the spell, Sofia fixes Amber's dress, and a chastened Amber then teaches Sofia how to dance a waltz.  The counterspell works and everyone wakes up, not realizing that anything has happened.  The King and Sofia dance, Cedric fumes and disappears, and Cinderella's carriage is shown speeding away from the castle.     

Biggest Is Best: This will be the section of the reviews that talks about Princess Amber, Sofia's new sister (much like the show, I won't bother with the step prefix unless it has some plot significance).  There are two breakout stars of Sofia, and Amber is one of them.  This is her first appearance, obviously, and some of the character traits that make her both exasperating and hilarious are on display.  She is the real antagonist of Once Upon a Princess, as her jealousy (foolishly incited by James) drives her to try to embarrass Sofia throughout the movie.  The movie isn't Amber's best episode by any stretch, but you still get to see a number of the facial expressions and habits that make her entertaining (I particularly like the clever use of her fan when she's trying to convince James to play a prank on Sofia).  Like in many of her other appearances, Amber does finally repent of her actions and she's almost as eager as Sofia to make up at the end.  She redeems herself by fully accepting Sofia as a sister at the end and even seriously exerts herself to protect her sister from Wormwood. Amber will frequently cause Sofia problems throughout the show, but this is the last time (as far as I've seen so far) that she actively questions Sofia's place in the family or it isn't assumed that the two are basically friends.

Don't Play Ball in the Castle: This will be James's section.  Although James appears in a lot of episodes, he isn't often that integral to the plot.  In fact, whenever I think of James, I can't help but be reminded of poor Ron Weasley (particularly because of how Amber frequently treats him, and also just because if you consider the three siblings a trio like Harry and Co., Ron is the natural analogue to James).  James does have a lot to do in the pilot.  He doesn't seem bothered by Sofia when she joins, but he also doesn't really take his role welcoming her very seriously until he tricks her onto the enchanted swing.  From that point, he is helpful and he pushes Amber to understand just how mean she is being.  At the end, he has a nice moment with Queen Miranda.  The pilot shows that James isn't the type for deep thought, which tends to make him reckless (we will see this a few times in the first season).

No One Thinks It Turns Out Very Well: Our second breakout star will have his section here.  Cedric was my daughter's favorite character from the start and in the episodes in which he doesn't appear, she frequently asks "Where's Cedric?"  It's actually hard to say why he has such appeal because there are some serious problems with his characterization (which we will get into as the season goes on).  But, frankly, he's very funny and steals most of the scenes he is in.  Cedric is the nominal antagonist of the film because of his absurd plot to steal Sofia's amulet, but his silly schemes are much less threatening than Amber's actions.  For whatever reason, Cedric has an issue with directly taking the amulet from Sofia, so he always comes up with some convoluted way to make Sofia or someone else give it to him.  In the pilot, Cedric intends to blackmail Sofia into removing it after his clumsy attempt to convince her to do it voluntarily fails.  We are also introduced to Cedric's nervousness, which makes his spells go awry and his sense of being underappreciated.  Cedric is among the more nuanced of Sofia characters, although frequently this is just the result of him being erratically written.  Still, the voice actor is amazing and nitpicking his motivations isn't nearly as fun as just enjoying his absurdity.  

A Little Bit of Food: Sofia's animal friends make their first appearance.  Most Disney princesses have animal friends, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see Sofia having a little gang.  Sofia is the rare princess who can actually talk to and understand her friends, giving them more to do and more character depth (well, except Whatnaught, the squirrel).  The film tries to explain why so many Disney princesses have animal friends, but it isn't all that convincing to me (how often do you see Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel, etc. actually feeding their companions?).  The song is also the weakest part of the movie and I frequently trick my daughter into skipping it when she wants to see this episode again.  There is one point about the animals that needs to be made.  At the beginning of the movie, they are in town and stow away with Miranda and Sofia.  I assumed this meant they knew Sofia before she became a princess, but this turns out not to be true.  When they are breaking into Cedric's tower, Amber remarks that Clover and company look like the animals that used to help her clean her room.  Could this be true?  If so, why did Clover et al stop (it's not like Amber is too old; she is nine and Sofia is eight)?  And why were they in the village at the beginning?  And why does Baileywick try to chase them out as though they are vermin?  Just a strange inconsistency.  Clover the bunny is the most important of the animal friends and he is the one who most frequently has a major role in the story.

Jiggly Wiggly Pudding: I need a better name for this section, but the reality is that King Roland and Queen Miranda are usually most notable by their absence.  As should be apparent in my recap, the king and queen's absentee style of parenting is front and center throughout the show, and it's on display right from the start.  Neither of them even bother to show Sofia her new home (leaving that to Baileywick).  They take no time to introduce Sofia to Amber and James or make sure the three of them are getting along.  When Sofia reveals she is nervous about being a princess and dancing, Roland just tells her she will learn what she needs to know at school and Miranda says nothing (even though she knows how to waltz).  The king and queen are certainly in love and the scene that implies they share the same room is actually very interesting for a Disney movie.  

Man of the Castle: Baileywick is the castle steward and the hardest worker among the royal family's intimates.  In this episode, he arranges Sofia's initial reception and seems to be the only one doing any planning and oversight for the ball.  He doesn't have any spectacular moments in Once Upon a Princess, but there is a touching moment when he encourages Sofia to enjoy her time to shine and says how much he is looking forward to her first waltz.  Baileywick is a good character and breaks out of the cliched stuffy major domo type in so many fairy tales.  My daughter was briefly upset when she found there were no Baileywick toys to be found.

I'll Do Whatever Hildy Does: My favorite quote by a Royal Prep supporting character (and the name of this section) isn't for a few more episodes, but we are introduced to the school and a few of its inhabitants in the pilot movie.  Frankly, though, there isn't much to say.  The Hogwarts-like nature of the school (teaching only niche subjects of very little use outside of the little community in which Sofia finds herself) isn't as front and center as in later episodes and the fairies' individual personalities are shown more in the introduction than in their scenes at Royal Prep.  You do get to see Professor Popov in his usual ridiculousness.  A few background princesses have lines, but Hildegard, Clio, Vivian, etc. aren't introduced yet.  Only Prince Zandar, later shown as James's close friend, is introduced here.  He does have a good line reminding James how to be a good brother.  The important takeaway from Once Upon a Princess is that Sofia is instantly popular and accepted at her new school, which helps to reinforce Amber's jealousy.  

Your Amulet Brought Me Here: Sofia starts off with about the biggest guest princess it can: Cinderella, the most recognized Disney princess of all time.  Cinderella is also the classic example of someone becoming a princess quickly.  And, of course, Cinderella had to deal with the consequences of a blended family.  She's the perfect guest star for the opening film.  And, frankly, she's amazing.  She is far better animated than most of the other characters (with lots of detail on her gown), has a great voice actress (Jennifer Hale) who evokes the original while sounding a bit stronger, and sets the standard for Amulet princesses guiding Sofia without doing everything for her.  My only criticism is that Cinderella is being far too kind to Anastasia and Drusilla in her song.  Her stepsisters were unrelentingly cruel and petty, with no redeeming features in her film.  If Cinderella's one regret is not having a better relationship with them, then she is having a pretty charmed life with the Prince.  She really should not want anything to do with Lady Tremaine's family.  I've seen questions raised about why Cinderella reappears in her carriage after the amulet makes her disappear, but this happens with other guest princesses as the show goes on, so it isn't all that inconsistent.  

Leaving Me With a Score to Settle: Amber and Cedric are the villains of the pilot, so we have no guest villains to discuss in the first review.

Final Thoughts: So this is an incredibly long post.  Sorry for that, but it's a long movie with no clear divisions for a part 1 and part 2 (like the later Merroway Cove and Princess Ivy two parters).  Over all, the movie is a great beginning to the series.  It has some very good songs (I'm Not Ready to Be a Princess and True Sisters) and the best amulet guest star of all.  It also introduces a lot of the concepts that led me to want to write reviews to begin with (the style of parenting, Cedric, and Amber).  I don't have a lot to add in this section other than a comment on the animation.  I initially resisted watching Sofia because of the simplistic, 3D style.  To me, it looked like CGI from a relatively low budget video game.  This is true in a lot of ways (I'm particularly bothered by the fact that Cedric's bow tie frequently moves separately from his cravat, leaving him with a floating yellow bow that makes no sense).  However, the style does eventually grow on you.  There are still moments that make me cringe (sometimes the princesses seem to float instead of walk in their gowns), but the show is definitely watchable.  I will say that I wish Sofia, herself, was animated as realistically as some of the other characters (like Amber or Hildegard) and I wish the show would decide how tall the children are (sometimes they seem to only come up to adult characters' waists).  These are minor quibbles.  Later Final Thoughts sections will have to more to say as the show develops.

Over all, out of five stars, I give the pilot a solid four:

****

Welcome and Introduction

Hi all,

I'm the parent of a three-year old who recently got very into the Disney Junior show Sofia The First.  Part of our evening routine has been watching episodes of Sofia before she goes to bed.  This helps give my wife a bit of a break and lets me fulfill my evening parenting responsibilities in the easiest way possible.

Although I'm a Disney fan, I knew very little about Sofia before my daughter got a book featuring the story of the first episode last fall.  We still didn't really watch the show for a few months, even though she was very interested in the book (and another one, which was an alphabet book that introduced a lot of characters).  I finally broke down and showed her an episode after she was able to sit through all of Mickey's Christmas Carol this past Christmas.  And a new evening routine was born.

As I watched Sofia, I became kind of fascinated about a lot of aspects of the show.  And because my daughter has trouble moving on from episodes she likes (or just the last one she's seen), we tended to watch the same ones over and over.  I started to fancy myself kind of expert on everything that was happening in each episode.

And, so, why not start a blog?  Doesn't everybody blog?

I'm a huge fan of somewhat tongue-in-cheek episode reviews of some of my favorite shows (particularly the cartoons I grew up watching in the 80s, like Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, and Transformers).  And I also like the somewhat more serious rewatch blogs for shows like Star Trek on sites like Tor.com.  So I thought I would give this a go.

Now for a few disclaimers.  I've never maintained a blog before (although I've written for one at work), so I will apologize in advance for the primitive look of the page.  I also am writing these reviews as my daughter and I move through Sofia for the first time (at the time of this writing, we've almost finished the first season . . . after watching one to two episodes per night for almost three months; this shows the pace we are keeping).  When I'm writing the reviews, I don't have any knowledge of what happens to the characters or the show in later seasons. So hopefully my takes will be somewhat fresh.  I also have never read another blog about Sofia or done much "research," except occasionally looking up a character name for my daughter on the Disney wiki.  

I will try to be responsive to comments and post reviews at least at the rate of two a week (or until my reviews catch up to where we are in the show).  

Emulating the Star Trek rewatch blogs at Tor.com, I think I'm going to divide each post into a section including an episode recap, sections on each of the characters that appear, and then my final thoughts.  I will do my best to do thorough episode recaps each time because I appreciate that when I'm reading other blogs of this type, but it is also the most tedious part of doing this so we will see how that goes.

So with that all out of the way, enjoy, comment, and thanks for reading!