"The Beginning of the Friend" is the first episode of the Disney Channel animated series Hailey's On It!
Synopsis[]
After learning that her to-do list will save the world, Hailey attempts to ride every ride at the county fair.
Plot[]
Hailey Banks is a girl who is afraid of trying new things for fear of failing at them. On New Year's Day, she and her best friend Scott Denoga decide to have resolutions to try something new. While Scott is someone who will fully commit to things, such as making his own parkour fails, Hailey constantly talks herself out of the things she wants to do. To make up for this, she writes her plans down in her to-do list book, though nothing is ever checked off in it. After Scott falls off the roof of Hailey's house, a small robot appears and grabs the to-do list and attempts to destroy it, only for a purpled hair woman (simply called The Professor) to arrive and destroy it.
The Professor tells Hailey that the robot, called a Chaos Bot, came to destroy Hailey's to-do list because she is important and will help save the future. The Professor proves this by revealing a recorded message of Future Hailey telling her to complete the list. The Professor explains that after completing the list, she is given the title of person of the year, which gets the attention of President Serena Williams who gives her a grant, thus allowing her to build a device that reverses climate change. Hailey is excited at the prospect of being important and examines the things she has checked off in the future, but is shocked to find that among is is "Kissing Scott Denoga", which she claims was a joke. The Professor does not care and orders her to complete it before disappearing.
When Scott returns, Hailey fills him in on what happened and manages to destroy another Chaos Bot on her own. Hailey also gets a futuristic phone that includes an AI named Beta whose job is to aid Hailey on her quest to complete her list. Because he does not have a body, he is placed inside of a small pink teddy bear. These events result in Hailey and Scott completing #195 on her list "Free Sid the Psychic Squid" from a pair of radio hosts. Afterwards, Hailey privately confides in Beta about kissing Scott and comes to the realization that she does indeed love him. Thinking she can change the item on her list to "Kicking Scott Denoga", she experiences a brief rip in time, with Beta telling her that the list must remain as is if the future is to be secure.
Beta suggests #239 "Ride Every Ride at the County Fair", which Scott loves, but Hailey is frightened of. Despite this, the two of them manage to go on every ride, even though Hailey has a weak stomach, and the two end of enjoying themselves while Beta gest mistaken for a fair prize and is literally left hanging. The two get on the last ride, the Zero Gravitron, which Hailey calls her "White Whale", only to run into Kristine Sanchez, the most popular girl at her school and her influencer. Hailey considers her a nuisance, even though she is incredibly nice and polite. They get on the ride, but a Chaos Bot messes with the wiring, causing the ride to literally spin out of control. With Scott's help and Kristine's scarf, Hailey manages to turn off the machine and save everyone.
Using her wrist watch device, Hailey learns that there is still one ride she has not gotten on, the Tunnel of Love. Scott reluctantly urges her to get on it and the two have a good time. However, just as the two of them are about to mutually kiss, Hailey throws up. The two of them get cleaned up and Hailey is about to tell Scott about the list when Kristine pulls her aside. She reveals that she she wants to ask Scott out as they have similar interests and wants to know if it is okay. Hailey reluctantly says yes and passes up telling Scott about his part to play in the future. Another rip in time occurs, which Beta warns her about, as two Chaos Bots enter. Hailey deals with them in expert fashion, only to accidentally drop a mallet on her toes.
Cast[]
- Auli'i Cravalho as Hailey Banks
- Manny Jacinto as Scott Denoga
- Gary Anthony Williams as Beta
- Sarah Chalke as The Professor
- Amanda Leighton as Kristine Sanchez
- Kyle S. Moore as Zoot
- Cooper Andrews as Kai Banks (cameo)
- Julie Bowen as Patricia Banks (cameo)
- Judy Alice Lee as Becker Denoga (cameo)
- Grey DeLisle as Carnival Mom, Carnival Girl
- Adam McArthur as Zero Gravitron Operator
- Nick Stanton as Born Shorts
- Devin Bunje as Tunnel of Love Operator
Additional Voices[]
- Barbara Goodson
- Ted Lewis
- H. Michael Croner
- Terry Klassen
Trivia[]
- The title is a reference to The Beginning of the End.
- Ryan Seacrest makes a cameo getting hit in the head by a bird and Serena Williams is mentioned as having become president in the future.
- The scene where the robot fish in the Tunnel of Love squirted water like fountains during the song “Kiss Your Friend” was reminiscent to the song "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid.
- The pilot episode was essentially adapted faithfully with a couple of minor changes. The biggest two being Hailey's design and Scott's last name which was initially "Federman".
- The Calamity Box from Amphibia and Eda Clawthorne's wanted poster from The Owl House were supposed to make cameo appearances in the episode, but were cut due to time.
- Kai Banks, Patricia Banks, Becker Denoga, Jonathan and Thad all make a cameo in this episode.
- This episode and “I Wanna Dance With My Buddy” are the only episodes in the show to not feature the theme song.
- Interesting, both episodes focus on a potential shift on Hailey and Scott’s friendship from platonic to romantic.