Sofia the First (character)

Princess Sofia is the titular protagonist of the Disney Junior animated series of the same name.

Sofia is a little girl with a commoner's background until her mother marries the King of Enchancia and she becomes royalty. Sofia learns that looking like a princess is not all that hard, but behaving like one must come from the heart.

Background
Sofia is a young girl who lives with her mother Miranda. She becomes Royalty after her mother's remarriage to King Roland II. Being new to the entire Princess legacy, Sofia attends the Royal Prep Academy where Flora, Fauna and Merryweather show her the ropes about what being a Princess is all about. However, Sofia is caught between two messages—is being a Princess about material goods or having a good heart? It is up to her animals, led by Clover the rabbit, and a powerful amulet, to set her on the path of the heart.

Personality
Sofia is shown to have a two-sided personality: One side is that of a softhearted idealist. Sofia is shown to be very kind and compassionate. She is also shown to be loyal to her loved ones to the point of altruism. She is also willing to befriend people the large majority refuse to have anything to do with. She also believes in keeping promises no matter what. She also shows her affections by giving her loved ones warm hugs.

The other side of her personality is that of a hard-headed pragmatist. Sofia is shown to be a precocious girl who believes the proof is in the pudding. This fuels a side of her that is very investigative and skeptical. She tends to try to juggle more than she can handle, especially when it comes to her friends, and value making herself as multifaceted as possible. This side also gives her trust issues that make her go off on her own without telling anybody and keep secrets from everyone except her Aunt Tilly and her mermaid friend Princess Oona.

There is a smaller third part of Sofia's personality that she tries to hide: Her vulnerable, scared and worried part. Many times Sofia's vulnerable side has made her question if she truly belongs with her royal friends and family. She has a tendency to worry about her own self-worth and if she can handle being a princess. While she doesn't get scared often, when she does she will lose some of her confidence, which can cause trouble for her.

Physical Appearance
Sofia has shoulder-length wavy chestnut to sienna hair, great turquoise eyes, a mid brow, and fair skin with rosy cheeks. As revealed when she wears her Flying Derby outfit for the first time, Sofia is extremely small for her age. She speaks squeakily.

She usually wears a princess gown of a lilac bodice trimmed in two lines of pearls down the front and along the neckline and wings on the skirt, a pearl-hemmed and studded lilac petaled skirt with a row of great lace drops and trumpets each arranged like a four-leaf clover or cross on a nimbus, and a yellowish petticoat with a lilac band; a swirly tiara inset with pink sapphires, white pearls, and a turquoise diamond; violet slippers with bows and mid heels; and the royal family's Amulet of Avalor, a huge fire opal drop cabochon on a swirly silver backing topped with three sapphires and on a silver necklace wrapped over amethyst beans. In the pilot for her debutante ball her dress had elaborate lacework on the shoulders and fourteen scrolls and terminal cloverleaves about each nimbus.

During the crossover her amulet has turned pink and her dress turned into a violet gown like when she was a commoner, her Derby outfit, and sorceress robe, where her bodice now has white vines on a pink front between the only lines of pearls each clustered with eight smaller pearls and her sheer overskirt has shafts of four spade-like pairs of tendrils against beams all greater below the next over 15 drops arranged as daisy petals over the violet skirt with three white fan stripes between each shaft. She also wears purple slippers and white stockings. But earlier the Disney websites featured her in an intermediate glittery outfit of the lilac skirt with opalescent clover-nimbus motif, pink petticoat, and violet bowtie slippers, and stockings and a purple amulet, which she did not wear in the crossover, but more often in the episodes since "The Bamboo Kite". So both of her special outfits in the television specials did not become employed regularly instead of the simpler ones. Sofia's promotional art and merchandise broadly depart on the dress and amulet.

When she goes on outings she usually wears a violet equestrian suit for riding, of a cap with bow, jacket, trousers, and boots, but her shirt is lilac like her flying pony Minimus. When she has a Buttercups meeting she wears what essentially looks like a Girl Scouts uniform of the 1960s which, much like the Fireside Girls in Phineas and Ferb, has a beret with emblem, shirt, and skirt here of shades of yellow, but with uniform tan vests of badges, tan shoes, and red socks. Each Buttercup has also worn a green or red backpack. Otherwise when Sofia travels on foot she wears a long dress with three stripes at the bottom, a thick coat, sometimes a bow, and a narrow-brimmed hat with a headstrap and a band with her tiara emblem.

Sofia's amulet lets her change to the size of a rodent or wee sprite or into a mermaid. As a mermaid she has a violet tail, lilac top with sheer waist frill, bra of several pink scallop shells and amethyst-beaded strap, bracelet of starfish and seashells, and golden tiara of stars, a pair of seahorses, and some gems.

Powers and Abilities
Although a young girl, Sofia has displayed various skills, abilities, and magical potential.
 * The Amulet of Avalor: This magical amulet, gifted to her by her stepfather, grants Sofia the power to talk to animals (for which the amulet blessed her when she helped a baby bird back into its nest). When she helps Oona the mermaid out of a fishnet, the amulet blesses her with the ability to transform into a mermaid and gain everything that comes with it, including the ability to breathe underwater. The Amulet also gives her the ability to shrink herself at will; she can even shrink what she is wearing to scale. It also summons the Disney Princesses when she needs help.
 * Flying Horseriding: Sofia tried out for the Royal Prep Flying Derby team in "Just One of the Princes", with Minimus as her steed. After hard work and training, she managed to win her spot on the team, and became a skilled flying horse-rider. She uses those skills later to rescue Clover from Boswell, then to chase Wormwood, the latter event occurring in her regular dress. This leads to James desiring her as his teammate. Her skills have grown to the point where she can teach herself how to drive a flying coach and a flying sleigh and how to ride a griffin. However, this skill does not immediately translate well when it comes to flying enchanted objects--it takes a day for Sofia to learn to fly a carpet, this being exacerbated by the carpet being wild.
 * Magic: Sofia began lessons in magic and sorcery in "Cedric's Apprentice", first having trouble with a spell to turn things into rubies. But with help from her temporary sorcery-teacher, Cedric the Sorcerer, she soon masters the ability to cast spells although it requires a wand. This comes in handy later when she frees the fairies from their bubble. However, after her first try at spell-casting when she put everyone attending her first ball to sleep, she remains cautious about bold magical attempts, even in measuring magical plant food. However, her skill has greatly increased, allowing her to break a bubble trapping the headmistresses in one try. As Cedric's apprentice, Sofia got to clean Cedric's books, enabling her to know of a few spells, such as one concerning animal-human transformation that came up when she later turned into a cat. In a rare exception of recklessness around magic, Sofia tested Cedric's new Duplication Spell on herself, despite the food-loving Clover advising her to copy the apple she had tried it out on first four or five more times. This recklessness led to the creation of Sofia the Worst. Her magical skills and knowledge have grown to the point where she is the top student in Sorcery Class. She most recently learned some spells from Merlin.
 * Various Buttercup Girl Scout Skills: As a Buttercup Scout, Sofia has learned many outdoor skills, such as wood-gathering, identifying various herbs, survival skills, etc.
 * Leadership: Sofia displayed potential and competency as a leader, when she led her fellow Buttercups in making a sled so they could hurry an ill Baileywick to get treatment at the castle. When Roland was lost in a snowstorm, she ordered the animals of the woods to find him and bring back proof. When rescuing Clover from Boswell, she used strategy with Mia, Robin, Crackle and Minimus, tricking Boswell into choosing her for a magic trick and repeatedly impeding him from holding on to Clover for long until Crackle shook him off for good with a fiery blast. When defeating Miss Nettle with Cedric, she begins to develop her cunning by using Clover's chewing ability with Wormwood's wings to get a spare wand for Cedric when his original wand is damaged, then uses his Morpho Mirrors trick to trap Miss Nettle. When the island she is having a picnic with her mother and siblings is levitated, her quick wit is used again when she tries to pull them down to a neighboring island with her allies and a rope. Sofia, however, often has difficulty seeing other people's viewpoints, but if she knows those views, she uses them well to her advantage. She also, especially with Amber, is good at winning arguments over opinions on how things should be run. Sofia has recently proven to be good at thinking through how to solve difficult tasks, such as finding the answer to an ogre's riddle, then at figuring out how to make a good science project without Hocus Crocus. When James becomes King For The Day, she proves to be a competent Royal Adviser. Sofia, unlike James, easily takes advice and learns well from experience. Her physical prowess improves after taking Roland's advice and running a race course as a cat in "When You Wish Upon a Well". However, when around figures of authority, even her siblings, Sofia can be overpowered. This is due to her feeling insecure about lacking royal birth.
 * Sofia's Heart: Many times, Sofia has shown compassion, kindness and resolve, all of which have helped her overcome the challenges that she has faced as a princess, as well as helping others. She never gives up, always finds a way to succeed and the goodness of her heart has helped others in ways that only kindness and patience can. Her heart is her most prized feature, valued by her allies, especially Fauna and Clover. Her corset and tiara, as well as her chest with her possessions that she had as a cobbler's daughter, have heart designs. Her heart, like all gifts, has its downsides—One of her biggest weaknesses is that though she asks why things are the way they are, she does not want her own world to change. This becomes clear in her feeling left out when Ruby and Jade play with Amber. It links to her being very protective and possessive of people and things she values. Sofia can be flexible, but it is hard to do. Sofia wants to please everyone and make the best impression, making her vulnerable to peer pressure. She dislikes being alone, for when she is alone, her inner vulnerability often surfaces. Despite being claimed as independent, Flora's drawing of her in RPA to help her learn the school motto shows a significantly different outcome for her in the end. Sofia is selflessly willing to help Amber out after she cheats in the RPA Halloween costume contest by using Cedric's magic and needs the Amulet of Avalor to remove her butterfly wings, for instance. Sofia's heart does not blind her cunning, which she uses to guide the cowardly Desmond and discover Amber's sudden desire for the amulet. Despite appearing to be gullible around Cedric, Sofia is very intuitive of trouble when Miss Nettle is around. Sofia's heart has led to her favoring group over individual effort, as shown in her dislike of her friends' competitive behavior in "Enchanted Science Fair". It has also helped her handle dangerous animals with the Amulet by talking to them, as shown in her mediating with Wilbur the Wombeast and the Jade Jaguar.
 * Sofia's Mind: While Sofia's greatest assets are the power of her heart and the moral strength that comes with it, Sofia prefers to rely on knowledge and patience. This is because after her first attempt at casting a spell, she came to value the slow and steady approach. Sofia places a lot of faith in books she has read, usually thinks things through, and, contrary to what her family and Admiral Hornpipe believe, she is a hardheaded pragmatist who does not believe that something is so until she knows for sure that it is so and is very practical and realistic. She has a hunger for knowledge that makes her find out stuff that other people, especially Roland, usually overlook, like the fact that the "troll attack" King Gideon supposedly stopped was in fact a huge misunderstanding. This has also given her superb detective skills that enabled her to see through the lies of most people and realize when something is up. Sofia values careful planning and is very resourceful. She is able to plan very far ahead, is very cunning, and is very good at riddles. Sofia is a very fast learner. Sofia also values quick thinking and being able to improvise. She is able to come up with plans on the spot and is very creative.
 * Athletic Prowess: Despite initially being clumsy, Sofia has shown that she possesses superb athletic prowess. She was strong enough to fling Prince Hugo off his horse and into the haystacks and the RPA fountain, despite the fact that Hugo is bigger. This physical strength is due to her sportsmanship and, for her arm strength, her fencing and wand-waving. She also possesses great stamina as shown when she marched through a jungle all the way to the Jade Jaguar's cave, a feat that easily tired out Amber and Jun. Her prowess was heightened when she retained the cat reflexes she gained after Amber accidentally turned her into a cat. Her athletic prowess has grown to the point where both the Dunwiddie Ducks and Royal Redhawks wanted her to be on their team for the King's Cup. Most recently, she was able to airlift a grown man wearing armor.
 * Enchanted Ice Dancing: Sofia had trouble learning to ice dance in the beginning. When Prince Hugo saw this, he decided to help her out, and she got every move down. Although she became one of the best ice dancers at Royal Prep, she tells Hugo that she still needs help with her royal round-off.
 * Discipline: Sofia has shown throughout the series to have an unusually high level of maturity and self-control for a child her age. She is able to remain calm in most situations and rarely loses her temper. It is revealed in "Stormy Lani" that Sofia achieves this by thinking "sunny thoughts".
 * Frigid Temperature Tolerance: Unlike the other members of her family, Sofia is shown to have a remarkable tolerance to the cold, as shown when she dressed up in a cloak whereas the rest of her family had to wear fur coats, and when she was the only one who was not shivering in the coach when she and her family were caught out in a blizzard.
 * Swordsmanship: Sofia is shown to be skilled with a sword. It is revealed that this is due to taking Fencing Class at Royal Prep.
 * Mechanical Skill: Sofia has shown remarkable mechanical ability in "In a Tizzy" when she built a really fast go-carriage from parts she salvaged from Enchancia Castle's junkyard.
 * Sewing: Sofia is shown to be a very talented seamstress. This is especially relevant in the episode "Princess Butterfly" in which she is able to expertly craft her own swan costume.
 * Enchanto-Zoology: Sofia's love of magic and ability to talk to animals has given her extensive knowledge of Enchanted Creatures.
 * Magical Knowledge: Sofia love of magic has given her superb knowledge of magical things. She uses numerous spells in the episode "Substitute Cedric". She is able to perform a spell to make a copy of herself in the episode "Sofia the Second", however the spell goes awry. In the episode "Make Way for Miss Nettle", Sofia is extremely skilled at using magic to grow enchanted flowers. Sofia has at least a basic understanding of magical spells.

Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess
Sofia first appears with her mother on the way to Enchancia Castle to deliver slippers to King Roland II. When her mother and the King marry, Sofia becomes Enchancia's second Princess and the Royal Family's youngest member. Sofia says good-bye to her friends Ruby and Jade before heading to the castle. Sofia is warmly welcomed by everyone at the castle except Amber, who is jealous of her, and Cedric, who is annoyed that she cannot say his name right. Later, her new father announces that she will have A Royal Ball in honor of her Royal Debut and gives her beautiful necklace that she must promise to never take off. The next day at Royal Prep, all the other kids take an instant shine to Sofia. Amber convinces James to give Sofia a ride on the Enchanted Swing Set. The swing sends Sofia into the RPA Fountain. Sofia runs away and stumbles across a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest and puts it back. Her necklace glows and she hears the birds say "thank you". When she gets home, Cedric reveals that her amulet is magical and the next day she discovers she can talk to animals. For the next few days, Sofia struggles with her studies. At Dance Class Amber tricks her again and when she gets home she asks Cedric for a spell. When it puts everyone to sleep, Sofia's amulet summons Cinderella. At Cinderella's urging, Sofia and Amber reconcile and fix everything. She then dances with her new father and then her whole family.

Sofia the First
As the protagonist, Sofia is a major character throughout the series. As a neophyte Royal, she struggles to find her place among the world of Royalty and prove herself worthy of her new status. She also must learn the responsibilities that come with being the bearer of the Amulet of Avalor and its powers. She also finds herself caught between things she wants to do as a free spirit and what she must do as a Princess.

Sofia reveals to love sports such as the Flying Derby. Her love of sports leads to her trying out for the RPA's Flying Derby team despite everyone telling her it is a Prince only thing. Sofia quickly proves to be a prodigy when she becomes able to ride her horse Minimus and tackle most of the race course in just one day. She eventually wins the tryout race and makes the team. She becomes so good that she is able to win the Flying Crown for Royal Prep for the first time in a hundred years and teach herself how to ride a griffin and drive both a flying coach and flying sleigh. She also loves athletic activities that are considered Princess only things like Enchanted Ice Dancing. It is revealed that most of her physical prowess comes from the real world experience she has gained as a Buttercup Scout. She has also learned spell casting, a skill that has grown to the point where she is the top student in sorcery class. Sofia also goes out of her way to help Amber and James learn important life lessons. She helps Amber learn to not be afraid to try new things and commit to rescuing missions with help from Princess Jasmine and Mulan. She also teaches James how to be a good sport and that some things are more important than winning. Sofia learns about her amulet's third ability the hard way after it places a curse on her for bragging to her friends about being chosen to be the Anthem Singer. With help from Belle, she is able to break the curse. Sofia also shows that she is loyal to her loved ones to the point of being altruistic as shown when she took the blame for James for what he did to the window. She is also shown to have superb detective skills. However, Sofia is also shown to have flaws of her own. Sofia has trust issues that make her keep secrets, a tendency to go off without telling anybody and be vulnerable to peer pressure. These traits tend to annoy or anger some of her loved ones like James and Jade. Most recently, Sofia has taken on the job as the Storykeeper of the Secret Library of Enchancia. At first, she does not think she can do it but thanks to her Aunt Tilly and Merida, she has gained the confidence she needs to accept the job of finishing all the stories in the Library and giving each one a happy ending.

Elena and the Secret of Avalor
It is here Sofia learns the great mystery behind her Amulet from Alacazar: Princess Elena of Avalor has been trapped in her Amulet for forty-one years. Believing she cannot tell her family the truth, Sofia convinces them to spend the Royal Family's summer vacation there. With her powers, Shuriki's wand, and help from the Jaquins and Alacazar's grandson Mateo, Sofia frees Elena, who sets off to defeat Shuriki on her own. When this fails, Sofia and Elena team up and together they free their families during which Sofia finally reveals the truth about her Amulet to her family and admitting that all of her secret intention was to protect them. They then rally the Citizens of Avalor and defeat Shuriki. Freeing Elena also turns her Amulet pink. Afterwards, she is rewarded with a new dress.

Disney Parks
Sofia made her theme park character debut during the taping of the Walt Disney World segments of the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade special at the Magic Kingdom on December 1, 2012. The fully-costumed character is part of the Disney Junior Live theme park meet and greets at Disney California Adventure, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney Studios Park. Her first appearance away from the theme parks was at the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll along with Jake.

On February 22, 2016 (together with Baymax in the same day), Sofia had began meet-and-greet sessions in Fantasyland at Hong Kong Disneyland, as part of its 10th anniversary celebration.

Disney Junior Live!
New segments in the Disney Junior Live! show featuring both Sofia and Doc McStuffins replaced Handy Manny and Little Einsteins in February 2013 at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure.

Trivia

 * Despite being a princess and being directly affiliated with Disney Princesses in her show, Sofia is not part of the official line-up because she is too young.
 * Similar to Cinderella, she has a rags-to-riches story and a stepsister who was once antagonistic, but became softer in the climax. Unlike Cinderella, Sofia's stepsister has been a princess her entire life.
 * Unlike Cinderella, Sofia moved into her stepfamily's home instead of the other way around.
 * Sofia is the first princess to have a stepfather rather than the typical stepmother. Plus her stepparent is not wicked and neither are her stepsiblings, though Amber is briefly jealous and struggles with materialism. Amber and Sofia frequently quarrel over this difference in values, though they resolve these arguments, very often with Sofia winning.
 * Sofia is one of the few protagonists who is not aware of the antagonist.
 * Also, Sofia is the first princess to have to deal with more than one main antagonist, though Ariel, Belle and Jasmine all got new foes in sequels and shows.
 * Sofia is the third princess with side-parted hair—the first was Ariel and the second Rapunzel.
 * She is the fourth heroine to be transformed magically—Cinderella was the first, Ariel the second, and Tiana the third. So far she has been transformed into a lizard, a mermaid, a cat, and most recently a rabbit, a raven and a bulldog, making her the only heroine to have taken at least six distinct forms besides her human form throughout her depiction.
 * Each Disney Princess she has met has taught her something important. Cinderella taught her about forgiveness, Jasmine demonstrated to her not to be afraid to take charge and try something new, Belle showed her that actions speak louder than words especially when it comes to making things right. Ariel helped her learn empathy and to see through others eyes and create teamwork based on that. Aurora reminded her that people can ask others for help. Snow White taught her to trust her instincts. Mulan taught her to find her courage. Rapunzel actually helped Amber understand why Sofia was mad and how to fix the curse on her. Tiana explained that true gifts come from the heart. Merida advised Sofia to always believe in herself and that she can accomplish anything if she does.
 * Sofia's transformation into a mermaid is almost similar to Madison's from the 1984 film Splash. When her feet make contact with the water, they turn into a mermaid tail. This is also a reference to the mermaid Marina, whom Ariel Winter voices in Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
 * As shown in the later film Elena and the Secret of Avalor, Sofia just needs to wish to become a mermaid, without having to wet her feet before.
 * Sofia is frequently compared to birds for some reason, possibly because of her often being between home and travel. This reason may be due to her being the teacher's pet of Fauna, which is thanks to her having the gift of song, like Princess Aurora.
 * In Sofia's stained-glass portrait, she interestingly is not wearing her Amulet, it being substituted by a cloak pin. She is also not drawn wearing the Amulet in Flora's picture of her.
 * Sofia, like her peer, Princess Vivian, can play multiple instruments, being the mandolin and later the recorder, as revealed in games.
 * Sofia has six tiaras in the pilot, then seven after "Just One of the Princes", when Amber gives her the Derby Tiara.
 * Sofia shows throughout the second season starting with The Enchanted Feast that she has gained magical knowledge and detective skills.
 * Sofia may not have been a strong swimmer before she gained the ability to transform into a mermaid because in The Floating Palace, Miranda stated that Sofia is not supposed to go swimming by herself. Later in "Cool Hand Fluke", during the Mantacorn chase, Sofia stated she cannot swim very fast.
 * Sofia is very good at solving riddles.