The Book of Rannells: Princess Power: Season 1, Episode 3 – “A Whale of a Princess Tale” (2023)

Another animated Netflix series. This is very much a kids’ show, complete with super-earnest songs about girl power and teamwork. Andrew Rannells is in a handful of episodes, although, in this first one, there’s very little of him to be had.

Four princesses—Bea, Kira, Rita, and Penny—are a cheerful, tenacious problem-solving crew. When Bea discovers a beached whale on the shore, she teams up with her friends to help them get back out to sea.

There isn’t much more that needs to be said about the plot. Each modern-day princess has certain skills that they bring to the table, and they work together to find a solution for the whale. There are some nice details here and there. Not knowing the whale’s gender, the girls automatically use they/them pronouns for them. There’s some casual disability inclusion as well, with Bea wearing a leg brace. One of the princesses made me smile when she proudly proclaimed, “I’m a genius with outerwear,” as she made her contribution to the whale’s predicament. And after recognizing the voice of one of Bea’s dads, I checked IMDb and confirmed that he’s played by Tan France, which is nice.

A few things on the show itself. While some animated kids’ shows tell two stories in each half-hour episode, Princess Power skips the pairing and just gives us 15-minute episodes. IMDb tells me that each girl’s alliterative surname is also the name of a fruit (Bea Blueberry, Kira Kiwi, and so on,) and they refer to their kingdom as a “fruitdom”—not sure what’s that about or if it matters in any material way. There are songs, but they’re corny and over-earnest. The theme song repeatedly, emphatically announces, “These princesses wear pants!”, and another song later in the episode utters the line, “Whatever the challenge, we’ll princess it better / When we’re in harmony.” Goofy, but I imagine it’s decent enough for kids who are into it.

Rannells plays Bea’s other dad, King Barton. He doesn’t show up until the very end and has maybe one or two episode-wrap-up lines. So, basically nothing to say about him so far. I’m curious to see if Rannells will get to sing at any point.

First impressions:

Recommend?

In General – A soft maybe for kids who like to mix science, sports, and adventures with their princesses, but this isn’t a “fun for the whole family” sort of show. Definitely aimed at children.

Andrew Rannells – Too soon to tell.

Warnings

Nothing, really.