"Principal Dance Socks" is the eleventh episode of the Disney Channel animated series Kiff.
Synopsis[]
Helen knits a pair of magical socks for Principal Secretary so he can beat a rival school's principal in a dance battle, but this newfound talent quickly goes to his head.
Plot[]
Kiff, Barry, Candle, Reggie, Renée, and Trevor are on a field trip to the Table Town Aquarium, chaperoned by Principal Secretary. Another class from the affluent prep school Tuft Pierre is also there, and throughout the day they use their wealth to receive special treatment at the aquarium, including being allowed to skip the line to get inside, getting to swim with dolphins, and reserving the entire front-row VIP section at a marine show. At the show, the Table Town Middle School students cannot see anything because their view is obscured by a pillar, and when they try to move up front, they are insulted by the Tuft Pierre students.
Later, Kiff and the gang are petting animals at the petting pool, but the Tuft Pierre students arrive and pay to have the pool to themselves. Fed up, Kiff calls out the Tuft Pierre students for their snobbish behavior, and the students of both schools end up arguing over whose school is superior. The argument turns to the topic of who has the better principal; when one Tuft Pierre student mentions that their principal, Principal Swan, appeared on Dancing on the Tables, Kiff replies that Principal Secretary could easily outdance her. The students decide to settle their debate by having their principals compete in a dance-off.
Back at Table Town Middle School, Kiff and her classmates see Principal Secretary in his office and tell him about the dance-off. He agrees to participate to defend the school's honor, but it becomes apparent that other than some basic steps he learned as a child, he has no dancing skills. Kiff explains the situation to Helen, a skilled dancer, and asks for her assistance. Helen, who loathes Principal Swan for having beaten her for the position of third alternate on Dancing on the Tables due to an unspecified "incident", agrees to help. She gives Kiff a pair of magical dance socks for Principal Secretary to wear.
Kiff returns to Principal Secretary's office with the socks, but Barry, feeling Principal Secretary needs a confidence boost, stops her from revealing that the socks are magical. Principal Secretary puts on the socks, while Helen stands outside and puts on two finger sleeves, allowing her to magically control his legs using her fingers. With Principal Secretary now a skilled dancer, he and his students meet Principal Swan and the Tuft Pierre students in an alley for the dance-off, while Helen hides in a nearby garbage can. Principal Swan dances impressively, but Principal Secretary, controlled by Helen, gives a far more spectacular performance and decisively wins the dance-off.
Refusing to accept their loss, the Tuft Pierre students announce that they will be planting a false cover story in the Table Town Tribune, which is owned by one of their parents, to make all of Table Town believe that Tuft Pierre won the dance-off. Just as all hope seems lost for Table Town Middle School, Candle says that they can foil Tuft Pierre's plan by telling the real story on Dancing on the Tables, which is produced by her father Roy. Principal Secretary sees Helen in the garbage can and greets her without acknowledging her help, which makes her realize that he thinks he is dancing unassisted. Kiff promises Helen that he will be told the truth.
On the set of Dancing on the Tables, Table Town Middle School is preparing to stage a song telling the full story of the dance-off. Principal Secretary lets his confidence get to his head, leading an angry Helen to tell him that she is doing the actual dancing for him. When he refuses to believe her, Helen threatens to quit the production, so Kiff promises to acknowledge Helen's contribution after the song is performed. During rehearsals, however, Principal Secretary continues acting arrogantly, so Helen convinces him of the truth by causing him to dance erratically. Backstage in their dressing room, Kiff manages to get the two to patch things up by reminding them of their common goal of defeating Tuft Pierre.
The entire island of Table Town tunes into Dancing on the Tables that night. The song goes well until the show broadcasts a pretaped interview with Principal Secretary in which he credits himself for his dancing skills, enraging Helen, who is unaware that he taped the interview before learning the truth. She sabotages his performance by causing him to flail uncontrollably and wreck the entire set. Kiff then admits to the audience that Table Town Middle School cheated in the dance-off and that she was foolish to have been so fixated on beating Tuft Pierre in the dance-off, when Table Town Middle School is already superior to Tuft Pierre in something far more important: having character and pride. Kiff's classmates, Principal Secretary and Helen join along in the song, and soon the live audience, as well as those watching on TV, are also singing along. Principal Swan, who is watching the performance on TV with her students, is likewise moved and announces that she is resigning as Tuft Pierre's principal. As the performance ends, Helen is recognized by security as "the witch from the incident" and chased offstage.
Cast[]
- Kimiko Glenn as Kiff Chatterley
- H. Michael Croner as Barry Buns and Tuft Pierre Poodle
- Nic Small as Principal Secretary, Timmy Table, and Kenny
- Lucy Heavens as Helen
- Eric Bauza as Reggie, Roy Fox, Billiam, and Tuft Pierre Duck
- Vella Lovell as Candle Fox and Tuft Pierre Horse
- Mary Mack as Renée du Bedat
- Nichole Sakura as Terri Buns
- Tom Kenny as Trevor Angstrom
- Brooke Dillman as Biker Lady
- ??? as Principal Swan
- ??? as Gerard
Songs[]
- "He's Still Dancing"
- "Character and Pride"
Trivia[]
- Opening Sponsor: Dancing On The Tables.
- The reality show itself is a parody of the dance competition TV series Dancing with the Stars. The Dancing on the Tables intro sequence parodies those of two other competition TV series, America's Got Talent and American Idol.
- This is the first episode in the series to be full episode instead of in segments.
- A preview of the episode was shown in the middle of Disney Channel's "2023 Kickoff" promo.
- On April 12, 2023, the episode was released early on Disney+.
- The episode's title card references the "He's a Dream" dance sequence from the 1983 film Flashdance.
- The songs were left completely undubbed in the Cantonese dub, the Chinese Mandarin dub, and the Taiwanese Mandarin dub.
- It is revealed in this episode that Principal Secretary took dance lessons as a child, though his skills have since regressed; and that Helen and Principal Swan are "dance adversaries" who were in competition for a spot on Dancing on the Tables.
Continuity[]
- Characters from previous episodes like "Road Trip", "The Five Pigeons of the Acapellapocalypse", "Club Book", and "Two for One Hot Dogs" reappear in this episode.
- Pat Chatterley also makes a cameo appearance in this episode before he speaks in "Fun Uncle Pat".
- According to it's Production Code, this episode was supposed to air before "Hat"/"Lost and Found".
- This episode was numbered as Episode 10 in Africa, the Arab World, the Baltic States, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic & Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Greece & Cyprus, Hungary, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania & Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, and Sweden. While "Hat"/"Lost and Found" was numbered as Episode 11 in Africa, the Arab World, the Baltic States, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic & Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Greece & Cyprus, Hungary, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania & Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, and Sweden.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Concept art[]
International Premieres[]
- May 10, 2023 (Australia & New Zealand) (Disney+)
- June 14, 2023 (South Korea) (Disney+)
- August 16, 2023 (Brazil & Latin America) (Disney+)
- September 1, 2023 (Africa, Arab World, Greece & Cyprus, Baltic States, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia)
- September 15, 2023 (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg)
- September 30, 2023 (France & Monaco, Switzerland, Haiti, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Wallis & Futuna)
- May 4, 2024 (Quebec)
- October 13, 2023 (Bulgaria, Romania & Moldova, Poland, Czech Republic & Slovakia, Hungary)
- October 18, 2023 (Portugal)
- October 26, 2023 (Spain & Andorra)
- November 18, 2023 (Japan)
- December 24, 2023 (Israel)
External links[]
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