First aired: November 18, 2012 | Last episode: September 8, 2018
Sofia the First is a princess for everyone, assuming you are 5 and under.
What's in this review
Sofia the First Basic Plot
The premise of Sofia the First is simple. She was a girl. Check. She was living in a village. Check. She was doing alright. Check. But then, she became a – SPOILER ALERT – princess overnight.
Of course, the series simply has to follow her as she learns how to do it right. After all, there is so much to learn and see.
Thankfully, she has a whole Royal Prep to teach her the ways of being a princess. And if that fails, nearly every adult is kind, morally grounded, and willing to teach Sofia important lessons about being a good person.
Never mind the speculation that her mother is likely a power hungry vulture manipulating the king so she can sit on the throne. Oddly enough that plot line never gets developed.
But don’t worry, just because the queen is not shown as mad with power, there are still plenty of action and adventure to be had. In a nutshell, Sofia the First features:
- a magical amulet that let’s her talk to animals and summon other (more) famous princesses like Mulan, Ariel, Jasmine, and so on
- Cedric the Royal Sorcerer who goes from trying to over throw the kingdom to being Sofia’s bestie for the restie
- many mythical creatures like Wee Sprites, ghosts, witches, trolls, and so on
- many moral lessons that relate to modern day kids
- action and adventure – Sofia saves or helps save many kingdoms including Elena of Avalor
Things to consider when watching Sofia the First
- Why the hell is every single one of the princess’ heads gigantic? Seriously, they look like they have some rare, unknown genetic disorder that causes just their heads to engorge. If this was a horror movie, I swear you might see this one’s head explode.
- I’m not saying Queen Miranda is a gold digger, but she ain’t messing with no broke villager… just saying, something is a bit off here. How is she not plotting to take over?
How did Sofia the First become a Princess?
If you need this question answered, you seriously have attention issues. The theme song literally says: “I was in the village doing alright,” – now here’s the part – “before I became a princess over night.”
Seriously though, I’m pretty sure its because her mom is what Kanye West would refer to as a “Gold Digger.” In a made for TV movie that kicks off the Sofia television series, you learn the story of her first days as a Princess.
Where can I watch Sofia the First?
If you are actively looking to watch Sofia the First for some reason, you can watch it on lots of different platforms. Yeah. It’s that popular.
You can watch Sofia the First on DisneyNOW or Netflix. You can also rent or buy from streaming services such as Amazon, Hulu, Google Play, or iTunes. Where it is available may change. It used to play frequently on Disney Junior, but now it is hard or possibly impossible to find. Instead, you can watch a much more irritating T.O.T.S. (review here).
How many seasons does Sofia the First have?
The show has 4 seasons. If you let your toddler binge the show when you just need a break, it won’t take long for them to cycle through all the episodes. Good luck.
Sofia the First or Sofia the Worst?
Name: Sofia the First
Description: Sofia the First follows the story of a young girl who becomes a princess when her mother marries the King. The series follows how she learns about being a princess in the land of Enchancia.
Overall
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Plot lines
(4)
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Song Quality
(4.5)
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Bingeable
(4)
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Holds child's attention
(4.5)
Dad's Thoughts
As Disney Channel and Disney Junior in particular shows go, Sofia the First is actually tolerable. I mean, it is not the slow descent through the nine layers of hell that Mickey Mouse Club House or Mickey and the Roadsters are. And there are enough seasons and episodes to take a while before you start repeating them.
On the positive side, there are some good morals and lessons akin to 90’s-esque family sitcoms. Sofia is always learning or help teach others lessons about:
- being a good friend
- helping others
- how to marry into royalty
- being a good sister
On the other hand, she can get kind of preachy. Though, I will admit, she is not the worst offender of being on a moral high horse.
Also a positive (and negative) a lot of the songs in the show are annoyingly catchy. Hell, the theme song is catchy, though it didn’t take long before my juvenile mind changed Sofia the first into Sofia the worst. What can I say? I’m original like that.
Of course, I almost died laughing when the episode entitled “Sofia the Second” came out. Sofia clones herself and her clone literally says “I’m Sofia the worst.” It’s as if the writers knew every sophomoric parent out there would be silently (or in my case, blatantly) replacing “first” with “worst” in the theme song and then decided to have some fun with it. I mean, I would have done that if I were them.
There are some good cast members as well. Tim Gunn (Project Runway, Smurfs) and Wayne Brady (Who’s Line is it Anyway, How I Met Your Mother) both play regular characters on the show. The other cast members also give generally good performances that really suck me into the action too.
For young viewers, the morals of stories are wrapped in fantasy elements and plots. There is magic, adventure, talking animals, and so on. Sofia also eventually becomes a Protector of the Mystic Isles. Most children should get lost in the adventure and fantasy of the series and not even realize they are being taught moral lessons.
Finally, there is also decent character development and arching. Cedric transforms from a crown stealing, plotting bad guy into a hero that Sofia trusts with her life. Sofia transforms into a Protector. And King Roland remains a tool. They can’t all be winners after all.
But, there are issues with the show that I can’t overlook. For example, Sofia’s voice sort of sounds like a chipmunk who was just neutered with no local anesthesia. King Roland sounds like the type of tool bag that wouldn’t realize Queen Miranda is a gold digging wench out to steal his throne. Of course, her scheme won’t be revealed until the spinoff series Miranda Rides Her Way to the Top (working title) is approved. But I have faith it probably won’t happen.
Some story elements feel forced like a way to pull in other Disney Princesses. Like, “I can’t solve this problem, but you know who can? Ariel! She faced a similar problem to this when she wanted to marry a prince at age 16.” Maybe not quite that bad, but pretty close.
Still, Sofia the First is probably one of the best shows that Disney Junior had to offer. It takes a long time before you repeat episodes, an important feature if your kid wants to watch multiple episodes in a day.
Pros
Morals are present but often not over the top
Plot lines are often decent enough
Good casting choices overall
Sofia is a good role model for young girls (and boys)
Cons
Songs are too catchy and get stuck in your head easily
Sofia’s voice is irritating
King Roland sounds like a tool
King Roland IS a tool
Queen Miranda’s plot to take over the throne is never fully developed (sigh)
All of the princesses look like they suffer a rare disorder that causes their heads to become unusually enlarged
Your daughter may (or may not) make you pretend to be Cedric or King Toolbag and talk like them in regular conversation… not that I’ve done that… more than a few hundred times..
How much will you:
- Hate your life:
- Need a drink:
- Regret watching:
- Feel your brain cells dying:
- Feel like the moral is beating you over the head:
- Want to throat punch King Roland:
She’s so cringe and pathetic it makes me wanna kill the stupid show and destroy the servers that broadcast this show.
@Nathan Grimshaw, over a kids show? You can’t be serious. Nobody is forcing you to watch it so why even complain?
I gather he truly believes Sofia is, in fact, the worst.