Sofia the First S1 E1

## Plot

The entire family is heading to the Flying Derby, a racing competition like the Kentucky Derby, but with pegasi instead of horses. Then again, pegasi in this series are referred to as flying horses, and unicorns also have wings, even though that would make them alicorns. Anyways, Sofia and James are really excited about the Derby. Miranda recalls a time where Sofia used to pretend to be a rider and used their old mop as a flying horse. James tells Sofia that Royal Prep has a Flying Derby team too. There's a tryout race next week. He invites her to the stables after school to see him practice for the tryout. Amber is going too, but only to admire Prince Hugo, the team's star rider. He beat James for a spot on the team the previous year. The next day, Amber and her two friends, Hildegard and Clio, come out to watch the boys practice. Sofia comes too, but not to watch. She wants to try out for the team. However, no girl has ever tried out for the Flying Derby team before, which is seen as a boys only sport by everyone, including other girls and the coach. There's no specific rule against it though, so no one can stop Sofia from trying. Also, parts of the song "Princess Things" reminds me of the High School Musical song "Stick To The Status Quo", with the absurd belief that people can only like, do, or act like whatever their stereotypical group is. Jocks can only like sports, not baking or singing. Adrenaline junkies can only like snow boarding, not music. Geeks can only be really smart and have high IQs, not be singers or dancers, etc. Anyways, Sofia announces to her family that she is going to try out for the team. Roland and Miranda are supportive of her, but James and Amber aren't. James points out that she doesn't know how to ride a horse. Roland says that James can teach her, as well as get in some more practice of his own. It'd be the kind of thing that a good brother would do. James is worried that the other princes will make fun of him. Everything else is settled though. Baileywick even makes sure that Sofia has riding clothes by the next morning. The next day, Sofia meets her horse, a small purple one named Minimus. He's nervous and not very confident in himself. He worries about everything. The coach explains that only the first 2 riders to cross the finish line will make the team. James helps Sofia when she has trouble. They practice just outside the track, where no one can see them. She keeps trying, but keeps falling off. James is determined to teach Sofia when Hugo makes fun of them both. After teaching her how to fly, he teaches her how to race. She's able to keep up with James for most of the course. However, Minimus is unable to reach the top of the steeple. Amber talks to Sofia that night. She's worried that she'll get hurt. She saw her almost crash that day when she tried to get over the steeple. Sofia wants to keep practicing, but she only has one day left before the race. No matter how much she practices though, Minimus just can't reach the top of the steeple. He advises her to switch horses, but she refuses. She does consider giving up though. Her mom reveals that she and Roland will be watching the race the next day, and that it's important to believe in herself and never give up. She thinks that Sofia can make the team, but what's really important is what Sofia herself thinks. The next day, lots of people turn up for the race. This is surprising, considering the fact that it's just a tryout race. They came out to see if a princess could make the team. Hugo starts out in the lead, with James right behind him, and Sofia in last. Sofia is able to catch up to them though. Hugo decides to cheat to make sure that Sofia doesn't make the team. He has his horse come to a hard stop right behind Sofia. Minimus is forced to stop, and Sofia falls onto a hay bale. She decides to give up, but James convinces her not to. Amber no longer has a crush on Hugo, since she saw that he did it on purpose. Sofia and James are able to catch up to the pack, pass them, and catch up to Hugo. Minimus is finally able to make it over the steeple. Sofia and James pass Hugo and tie for first place. Sofia thanks James for all his help, and vice versa, since if James hadn't practiced with her so much, he also wouldn't have made the team. Everyone congratulates them and they're given team jerseys.

## Review

I can definitely relate to this as a woman. I really love soccer, and I kept noticing a pattern, from the local level to the World Cup: The girls team is just… better. At my school, it was common for the girls' team to go undefeated, something the boys' team came close to doing once, but had never actually done. I watch the men's team during the World Cup, and I don't see a team, I see a bunch of sweaty guys making fools out of themselves who aren't even really trying. I watch the women's team, and I see a real team that's giving it their all, who really wants to win. What about during March Madness? Everyone fills out a bracket… for the men's teams. And my dad is one of the assistant coaches for a college women's team. Division III. They won the championship in 2006 and 2022. There are sports that some people think are only for boys, and vice versa. "Girl sports" might not even be seen as real sports: Ballet, figure skating, gymnastics, cheer-leading, ultimate frisbee. Also, male cheerleaders, figure skaters, ballet dancers, gymnasts, and ultimate frisbee players *do* exist, and I think they're all pretty cool. "Baseball is for guys, softball is for women." For example, in *Andi Mack*, the title character joins her middle school's ultimate frisbee team, but only because her crush, Jonah Beck, asked her to. He told her that he hates it when people don't take ultimate frisbee or himself seriously, as a sport and captain respectively. One time during gym class, our hapless substitute allowed us to go outside and play touch football. The boys played their own game on one side of the field, and us girls played our own game on the other side. None of us knew how to play football, so neither team made much headway, but it was still fun. Until the sub, who was an older woman, saw that the boys and girls weren't playing together, and there were more boys than girls. So what did she do? She added some boys onto our teams. Instead of teaching us how to play better, they just tossed the ball between themselves, while we stood around doing literally nothing. Later, when we wanted to play ultimate frisbee, all the girls wanted to, but none of the guys did. The sub decided to do it the "democratic" way, and there were more boys than girls in the class, so we didn't get to do what we wanted. Ah yes, democracy. The form of government that, like all the others, decided to screw women over for hundreds of years. Things like this are why I hate playing with guys at most "traditional sports". I swear, those cocky, arrogant b\*\*\*\*\*\*s only trust themselves to throw, shoot, or pass the ball, score a goal, make a touchdown, etc. It's like they're constantly showing off. You want co-ed bathrooms with urinals and stalls, fine. I'd actually like not having to run to the other end of the school just to pee or handle my period. Seriously, is just another minute or two of passing time too much to ask? This might be why I latch onto sports that most masculine guys wouldn't participate in, like volleyball or badminton. I feel like I could beat them on fair ground. In sports like those, it doesn't seem *as* relevant about how tall or strong or fast you are. To me, those are more endurance sports. Craig Gerber even created this show for his son, after an unpleasant experience at a Target where he tried to buy a *Dora the Explorer* DVD for him. True, a male equivalent, *Go Diego Go*, does exist, but I liked both shows. One was about a Latina girl and her random adventures while the audience learned basic Spanish, and the other was about a Latino boy going out on adventures to rescue animals while the audience learned animal trivia, and sometimes Spanish. I think. It's been awhile since I've seen either show. Basically, Craig wanted Sofia to be a hero for his own son, and all little kids. I'd say he's greatly succeeded in that goal. Some episodes even smash traditional gender roles.