Prince Hugo is a character who appears in the Disney Junior animated series Sofia the First. He is a prince and the best flying horse racer in flying derby at Royal Prep. Throughout the first season, he was portrayed as a bully and a minor antagonist until he reforms in the second season episode "The Flying Crown".
Background[]
Personality[]
Due to his success, Hugo was very rude, egotistical and was a bully. He made fun of Sofia at every opportunity. He teased James when he helped Sofia. He was also a cheater, as he cheated during the race and caused Sofia to fall off of Minimus.
Hugo relishes in the fawning and admiration he receives from the Princesses, mainly Princess Hildegard and Princess Clio. The person he used to like the most was Princess Amber, who adored him until she saw him make her younger sister fall off Minimus. He was disliked by the other Princes because they found him annoying. The person he used to dislike the most was Princess Sofia, mostly because she chose to be his competition instead of one of his fawning fans like the other Princesses and because he blamed her for his fall from grace after the tryout race. While everyone else including her siblings tried to discourage her interest in joining Royal Prep's Flying Derby team because it was traditionally a Prince only thing at the time, his reason for doing so was because he secretly saw the small and quiet former provincial as a rival: He saw that unlike her older brother and sister, she is a hard worker who could commit to the training and who was just as determined to become a Flying Derby champion as he was. Meanwhile, Sofia herself used to dislike him because she regarded him as an obnoxious bully and for the stunt he pulled on her during the tryout race and was the only Princess at Royal Prep who wasn't wowed by him.
In the episode "The Flying Crown", it's revealed that his personality stems from the pressure of trying to live up to his family's legacy and the frustration at always failing to do so. When James sprained his wrist before the championship race, Hugo found himself paired with Sofia, and it didn't seem to bother her. The only trouble was that Hugo refused to work with her because his pride wouldn't allow him to be anything but number one, which resulted in him temporarily quitting when he couldn't do team plays. With a little help from his horse Electra, along with Sofia, James and the rest of Royal Prep, he competed in the championship, helping Sofia to win the race, thus winning the Flying Crown for the first time for Royal Prep, not to mention for his family. When his older brother, Axel, said that it was thanks to him that Sofia and Hugo won, he happily replied it was thanks to Sofia, showing that he'd become a much better person and is now friends with Sofia and has abandoned his dislike for her.
It was revealed in "Lord of the Rink" that Hugo loves Enchanted Ice Dancing, and like Sofia, he doesn't like to let down the people he cares about. Hugo also doesn't like being made fun of and therefore, also like Sofia, is vulnerable to peer pressure and has a habit of keeping secrets and bottling up his feelings. It's also implied that Hugo has become affectionate toward Sofia and appreciates her encouragement.
Role in the Series[]
As the best racer in the Flying Derby team at Royal Prep, Hugo was greatly adored by the princesses, especially Princess Amber, Princess Hildegard and even Princess Clio. When Sofia decided to race, Hugo, as well as Amber, told her she shouldn't because it was a Prince only thing at the time. Sofia decided to try out anyway, which Hugo didn't like at all because he secretly saw her as a threat because of her work ethnic and determination especially after she became skilled at riding a flying horse in just one day. He taunted her at every chance he got in an attempt to discourage her enough to make her give up or anger her enough to provoke her into doing something that would get her disqualified and became increasingly angry when she kept ignoring him and did neither action. After one of Sofia's many failed attempts to finish the course, he tells her there's no point starting a race you can't finish and that she should go back to where she belongs: with the other princesses and be one of his fawning fans. When he tells her this, he almost found out her secret when he walked in on her talking to Minimus, but he was so caught up in making fun of her that he didn't even notice. During the tryout race, he purposely brings his horse to a sudden halt, making Sofia fall off Minimus and onto a haystack. However, both Sofia and James catch up to Hugo and beat him in the end. Hugo is also now disliked by Amber, who witnessed the stunt he pulled on Sofia during the race.
Hugo returned as a protagonist in the episode "The Flying Crown" in which he is paired in the flying derby with Sofia and taught the meaning of teamwork. With a little help from Sofia and his flying horse Electra, Hugo learned to overcome some of his selfishness and arrogance in order to learn what a true Flying Derby racer means and after they won the Flying Crown, the pair became friends.
In "Lord of the Rink", during hockey practice and enchanted ice dancing class, Sofia learnt that Hugo loved ice dancing, and was shown to have great talent for it. Flora was so impressed that she offered him to join the class. At first, Hugo declined because to him and his friends ice dancing was for girls and not for boys. But with some encouragement from Sofia, and a reminder of how she became the first princess to be in the flying derby, he accepted. However, afraid of what his friends and father might think, he chose to keep it a secret, despite Sofia's assurance that there was nothing for him to worry about. During his first class, Flora revealed they would be hosting an ice dancing recital for the whole school. Hugo and Sofia chose to skate together in the recital and the two of them practised hard together. Each time Sofia failed to pull off a dance move, Hugo helped her out and she got each move right after a second try.
Hugo's father, King Garrick, felt like it was time to have more father-son time with him, so he decided to be there for him by being the assistant coach for the hockey team, which horrified the young prince. Not wanting to let down his father or Sofia, Hugo tried be in two places at once. At first, it seemed to go well until he was eventually caught in the act by his friends. To his surprise, his friends accepted his choice of doing ice dancing but his father remained unaware of it and Hugo still didn't have the courage to tell him. On the day of the recital, Hugo reluctantly went to do hockey for his father instead of ice dancing with Sofia. With more encouragement from Sofia, Hugo finally revealed his passion for ice dancing to his father and then left the rink to join Sofia. Hugo and Sofia did a most spectacular duet at the recital and Garrick was proud of him.
Trivia[]
- In the episode "The Shy Princess", Hugo is seen in the front row, cheering loudly for Prince Zandar and James' cannon castle. It is revealed in the same episode that he is right-handed, and it is also the first episode where he does not actually speak.
- Hugo is similar to Prince Hans from Frozen. Both have older brothers and are handsome, but inside they are rude and villain-like. However, unlike Hans, Hugo reforms.
- In his debut appearance, he also shared similar characteristics to Gaston as both are proud of being the best and many girls often swoon over them. Also, unlike Gaston, Hugo reformed.
- Hugo's original voice actor, Colin Ford, was promoted to voice his brother, Axel, while Grayson Hunter Goss is taking over the role as Hugo himself.
- Hugo's older brother, Axel, mostly refers to him as "Baby Bro" while their father, King Garrick, refers to him as "Champ".
- Hugo's signature outfit is his flying derby clothes. In "The Shy Princess", he was seen in his practice clothes without his black helmet for the whole episode. But in "The Flying Crown", Hugo is first seen wearing a black jacket with a tan vest and a red bow tie. He is seen wearing this outfit in later episodes.
- As revealed in the episode with the same name, Hugo is the first in his family to ever win the Flying Crown.
- Hugo appears to have bigger eyes than Axel does, despite being younger than him.
- In his debut, Hugo was proven to have a distaste for when it came to princesses being his competition instead of his fans when Sofia decided to try out for the flying derby team. However, he got over it in "The Flying Crown" after he became friends with Sofia.
- It's quite possible Hugo may have inherited this from his father, who used to have a distaste for boys ice-dancing, especially the boys in their family.
- Hugo is the fourth character whom Sofia reformed.
- Hugo is seen in the game "Royal Bubble Rescue", where he is one of the students trapped inside a trouble bubble.
- In "Just One of the Princes", Hugo states that he has a little sister. However, he may have been sarcastic since he was making fun of James when he made this statement.