"Lord of the Rink" is the sixty-fifth episode of the Disney Jr. animated series Sofia the First. It premiered on December 4, 2015 and is the thirteenth episode of the third season.
On November 27, 2015, the episode was made available on the Disney Jr. app before making its television premiere.
Overview[]
Prince Hugo is shown to be a very talented ice-dancer. After seeing Sofia have trouble learning to ice-dance, Hugo joins her ice-dancing class, to help her. But Hugo finds himself getting butterflies in his tummy because his father and friends think ice-dancing is a female sport. Hugo's father thinks it's time to spend more time with his son, so he becomes the new assistant coach for the hockey team. This poses a problem since the ice-dancing class happens at the same time as hockey practice. Sofia teaches Hugo to listen to his heart.
Plot[]
At Royal Prep, the princesses are learning enchanted ice dancing. Amber, Maya, Clio, and Lakshmi have gotten the hang of it, but Sofia is having trouble. Nearby, the princes are doing ice-hockey practice with Sir Henley on the other side of the rink. To the annoyance of Amber and James, both the ice hockey team and the enchanted ice dance class have to share the rink, and it seems to be causing problems. Hugo shows interest in the ice dancing class. Prince Derek takes advantage of Hugo's distraction to steal the puck, but Hugo steals it back and scores. When Sofia tries to do the Stargazer Spin, she falls into the hockey net and Hugo comes to her rescue and helps her up. Sir Henley decides the ice rink sharing idea isn't working out and lets Flora have the rink for the day, so he can take the princes out for a run. Hugo, however, stays behind after seeing that Sofia is still having trouble with her skating. She nearly falls again, only for Hugo to save her. Sofia notices how interested Hugo is and asks him if he would like to do it. Hugo refuses stating boys don't ice dance and Amber states that is because it's too hard for them. Offended, Hugo takes the challenge and, after Flora gives him some enchanted ice dancing skates, shows the remarkable talent that wows Flora and the princesses. Flora asks him to join the class, but Hugo refuses because it is not for boys. Sofia assures him it is for anyone who wants to do it. Hugo states there are no boys in the class. Sofia understands Hugo's feelings as she herself has gone through this experience before. There were no girls on the flying derby team until she came along, but she loved the sport so much that she joined. Through a song, Sofia encourages Hugo to give the class a try, and Hugo happily agrees.
Hugo and Sofia agree to be partners
The next day, Sofia informs Hugo of where they're having ice-dancing class. The other princes are shocked, with Derek voicing it by asking "You're doing ice dancing? Isn't that for girls?" Hugo lies by denying it, and then pulls Sofia aside and tells her he doesn't want his friends to know he's doing enchanted ice dancing because they might make fun of him. When Sofia reminds him that ice hockey practice is at the same time as the enchanted ice dancing class, Hugo tells his friends he will not be coming to practice because he's sick.
Flora takes Hugo and the princesses to the pond for ice-dance class, and she freezes the pond solid so the students can skate safely. She announces that the dance class will be performing an ice-dancing recital. Hugo is really nervous about being the only boy in the recital until Flora reveals that the recital is next Friday at 3 o'clock, much to his relief. He tells Sofia that it's the same time as hockey practice, so his friends can't see him. Sofia and Hugo both agree to skate together in the recital. Sofia is still having trouble with her skating, but Hugo helps her out, and she gets the Stargazer Spin down. He then invites her to his castle so they can practice on his outdoor ice rink. Upon arriving, Sofia is wowed by the rink and can't wait to start practicing. Suddenly, Hugo's father King Garrick shows up. When he asks what they're doing, Hugo lies by saying he's teaching Sofia how to play ice hockey. Garrick puts on Hugo's skates and decides to show Sofia his hockey skills with them, to Hugo's horror. The skates' magic kick in and make him do a flip that makes Garrick realize these are enchanted ice dancing skates. Hugo says the skates actually belong to Sofia and Garrick grabbed them by mistake, which relieves Garrick. For a moment, he thought his son was taking up enchanted ice skating and states that it is only for girls. Sofia tells him she knows a few boys who ice dance, but Garrick tells her that the boys in his family only play rugged sports. He wants to spend some quality time with his son, which Hugo agrees to do so after Sofia heads home. Sofia tells Hugo he should tell his father the truth, but Hugo cannot because he doesn't want to see his father's reaction.
The next day, Hugo and Sofia are walking to class, thinking of moves for their routine. Hugo thinks they should end with the Spinning Dragon. Sofia states that nobody in class can do that move, and Hugo assures her that they'll be the first. Suddenly, King Garrick shows up and tells Hugo he has found a way to spend more quality time with his son: He asked Sir Henley to make him the assistant coach for the ice hockey team so he can come to all of Hugo's practices, much to Hugo's horror. Sofia urges him to tell his father the truth, but Hugo simply plans to switch back and forth between ice hockey practice and enchanted ice dancing class and do both. Sofia doesn't think it will work, but Hugo insists it will. He executes his plan and, so far, all goes well. He arrives at hockey practice, and the other boys realize Hugo is seemingly better. When Hugo gets the hockey puck, he hits it so hard that it flies into the distance. Hugo sees this as an excuse to sneak to the ice-dancing class. As Sofia tries to explain the routine, Hugo suggests she work on her spins and heads back to hockey. Realizing he didn't really look for the puck, Hugo covers this by claiming that he couldn't find it in the snow. After hitting another puck into the net, Hugo is so happy that he unintentionally performs an axle, to everyone's shock, especially Garrick. Embarrassed, Hugo claims that his blades slipped and decides to sharpen them. He really just weasels his way back to ice-dancing class. Hugo gets back in time to catch Sofia in his arms. Sofia feels she will never get the Fireball Flip down. Hugo assures her he will not let her give up and, with his help, she finally gets it down. While the girls go inside, Sofia decides to keep working on her Fireball Flip, and Hugo gives her a demonstration. However, the other princes catch him. Hugo tries to come up with a cover story, but since they already caught him, there's no point in trying to trick them. At Sofia's urging, Hugo tells them the truth. Derek decides to make fun of Hugo, but knowing Derek will seriously hurt Hugo's feelings, James stands up for him. He tells the hockey team that he's okay with Hugo ice-dancing because he remembers that his younger sister went through this experience. Sofia tells the other boys that there's nothing wrong with doing your own thing. Remembering how Sofia went through this and realizing there's nothing wrong, the whole hockey team tells Hugo that they're okay with him ice-dancing. Hugo is relieved, but he still doesn't want Garrick to know, so the hockey team decides to help by telling Garrick that his son is sick. Sofia assures him he can probably tell his father, but Hugo is still too scared to do it.
Hugo and Sofia perform at the recital
On the day of the recital, Hugo and Sofia are ready for the recital. Hugo demonstrates a twirl for Sofia, unaware that Garrick is coming up behind him, and freezes when he realizes that his father saw him. Garrick doesn't reprimand Hugo, but he sees this as a sign that his son is feeling better and escorts him to ice hockey practice. Sofia shows up and urges him to tell his father the truth by doing an ice dance. Hugo tries to stop her because people are staring at her. However, Sofia does not mind, stating "I love ice dancing and I'm not going to let anyone stop me for doing what I love. And neither should you." This convinces Hugo to finally tell his father the truth and he leaves with Sofia. Once they arrive, Flora gives Hugo a handsome blue tuxedo to go with Sofia's beautiful blue ballerina dress. King Garrick, Sir Henley, and the other boys arrive in time to see Hugo and Sofia do the most spectacular duet at the recital. Sir Henley tells Garrick that Hugo is the best ice-dancer he has ever seen; he has even judged ice-dancing competitions. The other boys are so impressed that they want Hugo to teach them how to ice-dance, and King Garrick tells Hugo how proud he's of him, and that he's only furious that he didn't tell him the truth sooner. Garrick then asks Flora to make him the assistant coach for the enchanted ice dancing class, so he can still bond with his son. Hugo and Sofia congratulate each other, and when they see that the other boys are having more trouble than she did, they decide to help them.
Cast[]
- Ariel Winter as Princess Sofia
- Grayson Hunter Goss as Prince Hugo
- Darcy Rose Byrnes as Princess Amber
- Tyler Merna as Prince James
- Olivia Grace as Princess Maya
- Connor Wise as Prince Derek
- Keith Ferguson as King Garrick
- Barbara Dirickson as Flora
- Trevor Devall as Sir Henley
- King Roland II and Queen Miranda have non-speaking cameos.
Song[]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 1.234 million viewers on its premiere.[1]
- Although this episode aired in Season 3, it was produced as the Season 2 finale.
- This is the second episode to air in Season 3 and be produced at Season 2, following "Minimus is Missing". This is also the reason those two episodes are listed as being part of Season 2 on Disney+.
- The episode's title is a pun on the franchise The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and its namesake trilogy movies of Warner Brothers.
- This is the second time Sofia and Prince Hugo work together, with the first being "The Flying Crown". This is also the second episode where Sofia helps Hugo, the first being the mentioned episode.
- This episode is a reversed version of the first season episode "Just One of the Princes", where everyone told Sofia that flying derby is only meant for princes.
- This episode reveals that Prince Hugo likes ice dancing. This is also the first time he is seen participating in a sport other than flying derby.
- This episode introduces the ice hockey sport and enchanted ice dancing.
- This episode premiered at 9:10am due to the Disney Channel premiere airing of Frozen Fever at 9:00am that day. Both were part of Disney Jr.'s "Magical Holidays" event.
- This is the third episode to have a winter setting as well as feature a winter-themed closing sequence, followed by "Holiday in Enchancia" and "Winter's Gift". And in addition, is the first winter episode which is not a Wassailia episode.
- Sofia's original ponytail returns for the fourth time in this episode.
- This episode has been inspired by the movie Billy Elliot; a boy who expressed his desire and natural talent to dance, much to his father's dismay.
- This is the second time Hugo learns something (that you can be yourself even if others tease you), the first being "The Flying Crown" (the value of teamwork).
- This is the third time Hugo doesn't wear his usual outfit for this episode, the first being "Princess Butterfly" and the second being "Sidekick Clio".
- The name of Hugo's father is revealed to be King Garrick.
- Garrick implies that he spends more time with Hugo's older brother than he does with Hugo himself.
- Hugo's castle is seen for the first time in this episode.
- This is the eighth episode that doesn't take place in Enchancia.
- This is the first episode to focus more on Hugo than Sofia.
- Princess Maya is seen with a different hairstyle for the first time in this episode.
- She also wears a suit in this episode for her performance in the recital, further strengthening the theme of defying gender stereotypes.
- This is the second time Amber has a different hairstyle.
- Hugo looked at the camera when Garrick caught him twirling and said it was time for hockey practice.
- During the ice-dancing recital, Queen Miranda is wearing the same red dress she wore in "Holiday in Enchancia".
- Morals:
- Listen to your heart and don't be afraid to pursue your passion, no matter what others will think.
- Saying anything that is a lie won't solve a problem, no matter what reason you have.
Goofs[]
- King Garrick was able to put on Hugo's skates despite the fact that his son obviously has smaller feet than him.
Sofia's amulet missing.
- Before Hugo and Sofia perform their final duet, Sofia's amulet is missing.
- Sofia was having trouble ice-dancing until Hugo helped her out, but strangely she was able to skate perfectly during the song "Take a Leap".
- When Sofia and Hugo were about to get started on practicing on his ice rink, he had his ice-skates in his hand. But when Garrick showed up, Hugo didn't have his skates; in other words, he may have dropped them when he was surprised to see his father, but they should've been in front of his feet.
- Maya was standing between Amber and Clio when Sofia said that Hugo wasn't coming to the recital. But then, Maya mysteriously disappeared when Flora said, "It is a shame that Prince Hugo won't be joining us, but the show must go on."
- Hugo was able to perform a perfect axle in his hockey skates, despite hockey skates not being designed for ice dancing.
- Flora had her wand in her hand when she flew up to Garrick and Hugo, but the wand was gone when Garrick asked Flora if she needed an assistant ice-dancing coach. Then, when Sofia asked if the whole hockey team can learn to ice-dance, Flora's wand mysteriously reappeared in her hand.
Hugo's helmet on a pine tree and Hugo wearing the helmet's strap.
- Look closely: When Garrick was putting on Hugo's skates, Hugo's hockey helmet can be seen on one of the pine trees. Not only that, but Hugo looked like he was wearing the strap from his helmet!
- Ice-dancing class is supposed to meet at the same time as hockey practice, but Sofia was the only one on the pond when Hugo switched from hockey to ice-dancing.
- When Garrick came to see what Sofia and Hugo are up to, he was carrying ice fishing gear. However, when Hugo asks "What are you doing out here?", the fishing line is in place, but the pole itself is just gone. When Garrick says that he came to see what his son is up to, the pole is in his hand.
Transcript[]
International premieres[]
- September 27, 2015 (Mexico, Brazil)
- November 1, 2015 (Taiwan)
References[]
- ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 7, 2015). Updated: Showbuzz Daily's Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.4.2015. Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2024.