Sofia the First is an interesting Disney Junior television series, taking the classic Disney Princess genre and giving it a twist for a new generation of little girls. The show is about a young girl named Sofia, whose mother marries a King, making her an instant princess overnight. Much like the little girls who watch this new cartoon, Sofia is a normal little girl and the show demonstrates how she learns how to become a princess.
Now, while this could be seen as a way to show little girls that the best way to be a good person is to be like a princess, but that is not what this show does. Instead, Sofia teaches the other princesses and her new step-siblings that sometimes it is better to be humble than to be regal.
There is also a magical thing about this show because, during her journeys, Sofia encounters real Disney princesses such as Arial, Jasmine, Aurora and Snow White. They help her on her missions when she is in danger and she learns from them as much as she learns from anyone. She also has a magical amulet that allows her to talk to animals and some of her closest friends are woodland creatures that only she can hear talk.
This DVD release is headlined by the feature “The Curse of Princess Ivy,” and the special appearances by the Disney princesses was felt here. In the feature presentation, Sofia’s step sister Amber learns about the powers of the amulet and then steals it from Sofia. She tries to summon a princess with it, but ends up summoning the evil Princess Ivy instead. This is because anyone who uses the amulet for selfish purposes is cursed and Princess Ivy is the curse.
It is then up to Sofia, who learns what happened, and Amber to stop Prince Ivy from destroying their world when she gets the amulet from Amber. The two of them have to work together and Amber has to learn how to be humble and unselfish to save her father’s kingdom. It is a great life lesson, and that is why Sofia the First might be the best animated television cartoon on TV today for little girls.
As with all Disney Junior DVDs, this is reasonably priced, features extra episodes (3 in this case) but no special features.
