The Book of Rannells: Princess Power: Season 2, Episode 1 – “The Princesses and the Frosty Fruitdom Fiasco” (2023)

Circling around back to this kids’ show again. The premiere of season 2 is a double-length episode, 30 minutes instead of 15, and Princess Power resumes its pleasant enough blend of Girl Power! entertainment and light lessons.

It’s the day of the kiwi “fruitdom’s” tricentennial celebration. (Side note: I guess it’s probably just a way to avoid the patriarchal connotations of “kingdom,” but I will always put “fruitdom” in quotes because it’s such a goofy word.) Kira and her family are preparing for the festivities when their land is hit by a freak snowstorm. When it turns out the snow has an artificial, accidental cause, the other princesses pitch in to help, trying to stop the snow and get everything fixed in time for the celebration.

The longer episode gives the story a little more space, plus there’s a bit more music. I appreciate the lesson that, even if something is “just” a mistake, that doesn’t mean it can’t have wide-reaching consequences. Penny and Bea had an inadvertent hand in the snowstorm, and it’s not enough for them to simply say they didn’t mean it. Kira is really upset—as she points out multiple times, her “fruitdom” will only every have one tricentennial, and the snow has thrown a wrench into all their celebration plans.

As usual, the power of friendship and working together is key, and the four princesses bring their individual talents to the task at hand. But again, this mistake has pretty big consequences, and it’s not as simple as “stop the accidental snow and everything is fine again!” The girls have to readjust their expectations and accept that their teamwork isn’t enough to accomplish anything they set their minds to.

Very brief appearance from Andrew Rannells in this one. King Barton pops up in the flashback where we learn the origins of the snowstorm. Bea’s other dad Sir Benedict is there too, so we get Rannells in a scene with Tan France, which is nice. Not much of note here, but, although it’s more about the animation than the voice acting, I do enjoy a cute bit at the end of the two of them ice skating in the background of a scene.