Buttercup Amber

"Buttercup Amber" is the fiftieth episode of the Disney Junior animated series Sofia the First, which premiered on July 8, 2015.

Plot
At the castle, the Royal Family is gazing at the stars. Roland tells his kids about star stones, star shaped stones that glow, and how they are only found on Swamp Rock Hill. Sofia tells her family that her Buttercup Troop is going there next week and invites Amber to come along because of her love for astronomy. At first, Amber doesn't want to because of her distaste for the outdoors but her parents agree with Sofia and she relents. On the day of the hike, Amber, against her mother's advice, arrives wearing a fancy outfit with the maids bringing a suitcase. Helen tells Amber that servants can't come and hands her a backpack full of camping gear. After taking something out and putting some gowns, jewerly, and perfume in, Amber learns they are walking the whole way to Swamp Rock Hill, to her horror.

On the hike, Amber discovers that being out in the wilderness is tougher than she thought. Meanwhile, Ruby and Jade become obsessed with finding Mossy The Swamp Monster so they can become famous. Amber is horrified to hear about the swamp monster until Sofia tells her that Mossy is just a legend and no one has ever proven that the swamp monster is real. Suddenly, Amber steps on a rock and breaks one of her pump shoes. Helen hands her some boots to replace the broken pair. Amber doesn't want to until Sofia tells her they're better for her feet and helps her put them on. Sofia also hands her a trouble whistle and tells her to use it for emergencies. Amber suddenly blows the whistle but her "emergency" is just that she's wearing boots that don't match her outfit prompting Sofia to tell her that's not an emergency. The other Buttercups find it hilarious that Sofia has such a silly and frivolous papa's girl for a sister. When Sofia tells her they are camping out in tents for the night, Amber begins to fret about the feather bed, silk comforters, and harpist to sing her a lullaby that she needs to sleep, to the amusement of the other Buttercups who can't believe that Amber is such a big baby. After seeing the Buttercups put up their tents, Amber realizes that the something she took out of the backpack and left behind was her tent and tells Sofia who, through a song, teaches her big sister how to improvise. Taking Sofia's tip, Amber makes a tent out of her gowns and makes it smell nice with a sweet skunk that sprayed her earlier while the troop was eating Floating Fruit. Thanks to the stars, Amber's finally starting to enjoy herself.

The next day, Amber and the troop finally arrive at Swamp Rock Hill. While looking for the star stones she came for, Amber falls in the swamp and, after hearing the troop mistake her for Mossy, throws a temper tantrum and storms off with Sofia going after her. Suddenly, Mossy appears and Ruby and Jade give chase in a way that gets the entire troop stuck in a bog prompting Helen to blow her whistle to alert Sofia. After hearing the whistle and realizing the troop is in trouble, Sofia tells Amber she can go home if she wants to and goes off to help her friends. Sofia soon runs into Mossy and Amber appears behind her stating she'll help. The two girls soon realize that Mossy's harmless and gets her to help them rescue their friends. Mossy then leads them to where the star stones are and, after getting them, the troop head back with Amber now an official Buttercup wearing both the uniform and the tent making badge she earned the night before.

Cast

 * Ariel Winter as Sofia
 * Darcy Rose Byrnes as Princess Amber
 * Tyler Merna as Prince James
 * Diamond White as Ruby Hanshaw
 * Isabella Acres as Jade
 * Fiona Bishop as Meg and Peg
 * Viola Davis as Helen Hanshaw
 * Kari Wahlgren as Mossy
 * Sara Ramirez as Queen Miranda
 * Travis Willingham as King Roland II

Songs

 * Improvise

Trivia

 * The Buttercups appear for the third time in the series. The first time was "The Buttercups" and the second time was in "Mystic Meadows", but this is the first Buttercup episode to feature Amber.
 * This is the first time the episode opens at night.
 * Helen Hanshaw appears for the third time in the series. The first time was in "The Buttercups" and the second time was in "Four's a Crowd".
 * Roland shows that he has come to accept that outdoor experiences can be a good thing.
 * This is the third time Sofia wears her Scout uniform.
 * This is the second time Sofia gets covered in mud. The first time was in "The Princess Test".
 * This is the first episode where Baileywick doesn't accompany the Buttercups.
 * This is the fifth time the plot focuses more on Amber than on Sofia. The first time was "Princess Butterfly", the second was "Two Princesses and a Baby", the third was "When You Wish Upon a Well", and the fourth was The Curse of Princess Ivy.
 * It's revealed that Amber wears bloomers.
 * Among the various dresses Amber packed, some are from past episodes:
 * Her ballgown from the premiere and "The Silent Knight".
 * Her peacock dress from "Blue Ribbon Bunny".
 * Her first Wassailia dress from "Holiday in Enchancia".
 * Her sun dress from "Enchanted Science Fair".
 * Her hootenanny dress from "Sofia the Second".
 * Her wedding and second Wassailia dress from "Mom's the Word" and "Winter's Gift", respectively.
 * This is the first time Amber's name appears in the title.
 * Sofia references the lessons Amber learnt from Jasmine and Mulan in "Two to Tangu" and "Princesses to the Rescue!".
 * Amber gets over her distaste for the outdoors.
 * This is the first time Amber willingly gets filthy.

Goofs

 * In "A Tale of Two Teams", Jade needed glasses because her eyesight went bad. But here in this episode, she's not wearing any glasses.
 * She might have only needed those glasses while playing sports.