The show was originally pitched to Disney Channel itself in 2010 and not Disney Junior. When Disney wasn't interested in adding another cartoon to its' lineup, note This was during the era when Disney Channel would screw over anything that was animated in favor of their kidcoms, with said shows usually moving to Disney XD. they asked them to retool it as a Disney Junior show. note Though given how adored Disney Junior shows would end up becoming by the network, this was probably for the best. On top of that, it would've been in direct competition with Tangled: The Series.
The show was originally called "Little Princess" and focused on multiple girls becoming princesses, with the Disney Princesses as their mentors.
The show had two different artstyles before the final one was decided upon. The first one used a 2D-animated style and had had Whatnaught replaced by a chipmunk and Robin replaced by a deer and younger-looking versions of the other animals, while the second used very different CGI from the actual product that looked more cartoonish. Both prototypes also had Sofia's royal look being different, with a simpler flower pattern on her dress and the heart at the center of her tiara being bigger. The second version of the prototype designs appear in a teaser trailer attached to the 2012 DVDs and Blu-rays of Finding Nemo and Brave.
Word of God says that Pocahontas was supposed to be in an episode, but the writing team couldn't find a way to work her in.
An episode where Miranda re-opens her shoe shop was planned, but the network believed that children wouldn't be interested in stories about the adults.
According to artist Whitney Pollett, Sofia was originally going to have a unicorn buddy, but that later evolved into Minimus, her pegasus friend.
Craig would've revealed the fate of Roland's first wife and Sofia's father on Twitter if this couldn't be done in the show.
Some of Cedric's possible exclamations included "Cleopatra's cucumbers!", "Plato's peanuts!", and "Dante's donuts!".
According to Craig Gerber, Sofia would have had a chance of getting a Disney Infinity figure if the franchise hadn't met its premature end.
Craig Gerber: [Asked if Sofia and Elena could appear in Disney Infinity] They would have had a shot if Disney Infinity [Disney Interactive Studios] didn't just close up shop. Too bad.
John Pomeroy posted 2 pictures on Instagram. For the one that's about Tale Of The Noble Knight , the dragons were meant to have more comic like, zany designs. For The Mystic Isles , Skye was originally named Sylvan, who was originally unable to use his wings until much later in the episode.
The fairy godmothers from Sleeping Beauty were not part of the original pitch for the show.
Storyboards from Eugene Salandra showed that Cedric would've appeared in "Holiday In Enchancia", but his scenes were cut for time. Jess Harnell is still in the episode, but as a different character.
John Pomeroy's instagram showed how Prisma had different designs. She had a more obviously evil design, such as more unkempt, jagged hair and a less sleek design.
Another initial design for Skye showed that he would've had longer hair and fluffier wings.
Prince Hugo was originally supposed to be from Rudistan, which would've made him King Magnus's son, but Craig Gerber didn't like the idea.
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