"A Royal Mess" is the fifth episode of the Disney Jr. animated series Sofia the First. It premiered on February 8, 2013.
Plot[]
The Goldenwing Circus has come to Enchancia, and Sofia is told how amazing it is by everyone through a lively song and dance. Inside the castle, King Roland is pleased with how the stained-glass window of his family has turned out and is eager to show it to Miranda. His children run up to him and ask if they can go to the circus and he says yes. James does some juggling as he tells Sofia about the circus jugglers while the song and dance resume. When it's all over, Roland reminds James that playing ball inside the castle is not allowed. But right after he leaves, James starts doing it again, despite his sisters' protests and one of the balls ends up smashing into the window. Sofia says they should tell their father what happened, but James knows he will not be allowed to go to the circus if they do that, so he suggests they try hiding the smashed part of the window behind a suit of armor. Sofia is unsure of this, but after some pleading from James, she agrees to help him. While pushing it towards the window, they hear their parents approaching and Amber goes to stall them. Sofia and James finish moving the armor in front of the window, but James accidentally knocks over the axe it's holding and it hits the window, putting a huge crack in it. Amber is playing the harp for her parents and the song she plays is so long Roland falls asleep out of sheer boredom and when she finishes, they attempt to leave quickly after she offers to play another, but she stops them and takes them to go look at her new tiara.
Sofia thinks it's time to tell their father what's happened, but James is determined not to miss the circus, even after Sofia tells him how none of his ideas for hiding the window will work. Sofia suggests Cedric could fix the window with magic. At first, Cedric doesn't want to help, but when Sofia's amulet catches his eye, he changes his mind. After ushering Sofia and James out, he finishes up a new potion that allows him to cast a spell that pulls small objects, with Sofia's amulet being his target, into his grasp, though in the case of large objects, like a bookcase, he is pulled towards the object instead. Cedric meets up with Sofia and James and instructs them to stand in front of the window to their confusion. He casts the spell, but Sofia quickly ducks out of the way so his spell hits the window and Cedric is pulled right into it. While Sofia frets over their worsening problem, Amber is showing her various tiaras to their parents. Roland in particular is getting restless and both he and his wife get up and leave with Amber chasing after them and failing to stall them because they now ignore her.
Sofia, once again, urges James to go tell their father what happened, but James decides to fix the window with magic. Sofia is against the plan, but James ignores her, causing her to cover her eyes and moan "I can't look!" James successfully casts a spell that frees Cedric from the window, but shortly afterwards, the entire window shatters just as Roland and Miranda arrive. James is about to tell his parents it was his fault when Sofia suddenly steps forward and takes the blame, to everyone's shock. As punishment, Sofia is banned from seeing the Goldenwing Circus and is escorted to her room by Baileywick while her family goes to the Goldenwing Circus. James, who can't understand why Sofia would willingly throw away her chance to see the circus by laying herself down for him, goes after her and asks why she took the blame for him. Sofia tells him she knows how much he loves the circus and she wanted to make sure he got to go see it even if that meant giving up her own chance to see the circus. A guilt ridden James joins his family in the coach and they head for the circus. While setting the table for tea in her room, Baileywick tells Sofia that he knows James was the one who really broke the window and she took the blame for him because he knows that she wouldn't play ball in the castle after her father said not to and James would. He also tells Sofia that taking the blame for James was very kind of her, but she still shouldn't have done it because lying, even to help someone stay out of trouble, is still wrong. At the Circus, James continues to feel guilty about letting Sofia take the blame, and not even the enjoyment of the Circus can ease his conscience. Finally, James confesses that he was the one who really broke the window, and that Sofia took the blame so that he could go to the circus. A few seconds later, Amber confesses that she had been trying to keep them from seeing it. Very disappointed, Roland and Miranda escort Amber and James home, leaving the Ringmaster a bit worried.
After returning home, the King and Queen express disappointment in their children: for James, he broke a castle rule and for all three of them, they tried to cover their mistake up by hiding it from them. Miranda tells them that families need to be honest and not keep secrets from each other, especially when things go wrong because that only makes the problem worse. Roland tells them that the next time something like this happens again, they should tell the truth from the start, and with that, the children learn their lesson. Just then, the castle is unexpectedly visited by the Ringmaster of the Goldenwing Circus. Since they left so early, he was concerned that the King and Queen didn't like the show but Roland assures him they love the circus and so do their children. All they had was a family matter to attend to. Relived that everything is all right, the Ringmaster offers to put on a special performance right on the castle grounds for the Royal Family. In the end, all five of them (including Baileywick) get to see the Goldenwing Circus and the broken window is magically restored by the circus Ringmaster.
Home video release[]
Song[]
Cast[]
- Ariel Winter as Sofia
- Sara Ramirez as Queen Miranda
- Tim Gunn as Baileywick
- Darcy Rose Byrnes as Princess Amber
- Zach Callison as Prince James
- Travis Willingham as King Roland II
- Jess Harnell as Cedric the Sorcerer
- Jim Cummings as Wormwood
Trivia[]
- This episode reveals that Roland is reluctant to say no to his children, under their emotional appeals. Unlike Miranda, who claims she says no to her children all the time, probably when the refusal is needed.
- This episode reveals that Amber can play the harp.
- Miranda mentions having celebrated Amber and James' birthday prior to this episode. This birthday would be celebrated again in "Two Princesses and a Baby".
- This is the third time Sofia's amulet was almost stolen by Cedric.
- If Cedric actually succeeded at magnetizing the amulet into his grasp, this would've triggered the amulet's safeguard which curses him.
- When Cedric looks at the amulet as Sofia is telling her problem, the amulet flashes briefly as a warning for Cedric to not steal it.
- Morals:
- Trying to hide your mistake only makes things worse.
- Take responsibility for your mistakes instead of framing someone.
- You should not take the blame for a misdeed someone else did, and vice versa.
- When you make a mistake, you should tell someone about it.
Screenshots[]
External links[]
