Press Release
DISNEY PRESENTS ITS FIRST LITTLE GIRL PRINCESS
IN “SOFIA THE FIRST: ONCE UPON A PRINCESS,” AN ANIMATED TELEVISION
MOVIE PREMIERING SUNDAY, MAY 19 ON DISNEY CHANNEL
AND MONDAY, MAY 27 ON DISNEY JUNIOR
Classic Disney Princess Cinderella Makes Special Appearance
All-Star Voice Cast Includes Ariel Winter, Sara Ramirez,
Wayne Brady and Tim Gunn
Manila, May 4, 2013: Disney will introduce its first little girl princess with the debut
of “Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess,” an enchanting, music-filled animated Disney
Junior television movie for the whole family, SUNDAY, MAY 19 at 11.00am on
Disney Channel and MONDAY, MAY 27 at 1.00pm on Disney Junior. A “Sofia the
First” television series will premiere in July 2013.
Set in the storybook world of Enchantia, the movie introduces Sofia, an average girl
whose life suddenly transforms when her mother marries the king and she becomes a
princess, Sofia the First. Sofia must learn to navigate the extraordinary life of royalty
while holding on to her own hopes and dreams. Her journey to being the best she
can be also paves the way for those around her to realize how special they each are.
Disney’s Cinderella makes an appearance in the movie to offer Sofia some words of
wisdom – princess to princess.
Sofia’s royal adventure begins as she prepares to move into the castle with her mom,
starting a new family with her step-father, King Roland II, and step-siblings, Amber
and James. Helping Sofia in her journey are the three headmistresses of Royal Prep
Academy – Fauna, Flora and Merryweather (the beloved fairies seen in Disney’s
classic “Sleeping Beauty”) and royal steward, Baileywick, as well as a group of cute
woodland creatures led by a wise-talking rabbit, Clover. Sofia soon discovers that
looking like a princess isn’t all that difficult, but displaying honesty, loyalty, courage,
independence, compassion and grace is what makes one truly royal.
Created for kids and their families, the stories of “Sofia the First” communicate positive
messages and life lessons that are applicable to young children. While she lives in a
captivating world of castles, wizards and flying horses, Sofia remains a relatable peer-
to-peer princess who is experiencing many of the same social situations as young
viewers at home including learning how to fit in, making new friends and mastering
new skills.
Alongside the debut of “Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess”, Disney Channel and
Disney Junior will launch the DisneyChannel-asia.com and DisneyJunior-Asia.com/Sofia
website featuring a fully immersive royal experience. Kids can get creative, creating
and personalizing their own prince or princess avatars with the Royal Me game,
dressing up Sofia’s room or just having fun with the many activity pages and videos
available on the site.
“Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess” stars the voices of Ariel Winter (“Modern
Family”) as Sofia; Sara Ramirez (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Queen Miranda; Wayne Brady
(“Let’s Make A Deal”) as Clover; Tim Gunn (“Project Runway”) as Baileywick; Darcy
Rose Byrnes (“Desperate Housewives”) as Amber; Zach Callison (“Land of the Lost”)
as James; Travis Willingham (“Ultimate Spider-Man”) as King Roland II; Jess Harnell
(“Doc McStuffins”) as Cedric; Ashley Eckstein (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”) as Mia
the Bluebird and Meghan Strange (“Special Agent Oso”) as Robin. Disney Legend Russi
Taylor (Minnie Mouse), Barbara Dirickson and Tress MacNeille (Daisy Duck), bring
Fauna, Flora and Merryweather, respectively, to life. Jennifer Hale provides the voice of
Cinderella.
Craig Gerber (“Pixie Hollow Games”) developed the movie and serves as co-
executive producer and story editor. Jamie Mitchell (“Special Agent Oso”) is executive
producer and director. John Kavanaugh (“Winnie The Pooh: Springtime with Roo”)
serves as songwriter/music director and Kevin Kliesch (“Tangled Ever After”) is the
composer. “Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess” is a production of Disney Television
Animation.
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About Disney Channels Southeast Asia
Disney Channels Southeast Asia is responsible for the management, creative
development and commercial operations of Disney owned channels across all media
platforms in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Brunei, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines). Its flagship service
Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps
into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Disney Channel
is available to millions of viewers around the world via basic cable and satellite. Disney
Channel is part of the Disney/ABC Television Group.
