The preschoolers are playing in the preschool yard. A small basketball court has been set up. D.W. and Emily talk to Amanda in the playhouse. Both are wearing large tiaras.
D.W.: And then, Princess Perky jumped from the tower.
Emily: And used her magic tiara to call a unicorn.
D.W.: And they flew right into the arms of the prince. It was...
D.W.+Emily: Funbelievable!
Emily: That's what Princess Perky always says. Here, we got you a tiara.
She hands Amanda a tiara and Amanda puts it on.
D.W.: Hey, you look just like Princess Perky.
Emily: No, she looks like Princess Proper. You look like Princess Perky. I'm Princess Peppy.
Lydia rolls in front of the basketball hoop in her wheelchair and blows a whistle.
Lydia: Okay, kids, gather 'round.
The preschoolers and Miss Morgan gather around.
Lydia: I'm your substitute basketball coach for today. Prepare to learn some awesome new moves.
Tommy: Ooh, a substitute.
Timmy: Let's show her our moves.
They run onto the court. Timmy tries to snatch Lydia’s ball, but she evades him and dribbles on the other side of her wheelchair.
Lydia: Oh, can't wait to play, huh? How about a little game of two-on-one?
She passes to Tommy.
D.W.: They're gonna run rings around her.
Emily: I can't watch.
She covers her eyes. Lydia charges at the Tibbles. When Tommy wants to pass to Timmy, she intercepts.
Kids: Whoa!
The Tibbles try to block Lydia. She moves past them while the Tibbles fall on top of each other.
Timmy+Tommy: Oof!
Lydia scores.
Kids: (cheer)
D.W.: No, she's funbelievable.
Lydia helps Tommy up.
Lydia: Nice effort, guys. Okay, now that that's over, let's learn how to dribble. Oh, but one rule before we start: No tiaras! Ugh! I can't stand that princess stuff.
D.W. and Emily look at each other in shock.
~~~
Title Card: Lydia has given D.W. a book
~~~
D.W. takes a DVD out of a box labelled ‘Princess Platoon’ and puts it in the Reads’ DVD player. Arthur sits on the couch, next to a Princess Perky doll. Lydia in her wheelchair sits next him.
D.W.: At first, I didn't understand. How could anyone not like princesses? But when you said you've never seen Princess Perky, I got it. Prepare to be amazed!
She sits down on the couch.
Arthur: Or to have a very nice nap.
D.W.: Don't you have somewhere else to be?
Arthur: I'm good.
Lydia: Go ahead, D.W. Show me what I've been missing.
D.W.: This is Princess Perky and the Tower of Trolls... one of my favorites.
Arthur: (sighs)
The video shows a dark castle with a high tower. Princess Perky and two large trolls stand in a bedroom high in the tower.
Troll: Give us your magic tiara, Princess Perky, or else!
Princess Perky: Never, trolls! I need my Abra-tiara to rule my kingdom, protect all the little animals in it, and keep my hair just so. (giggles)
She strokes her long, pink hair and winks at the audience
Troll: then, enjoy the view... forever!
Crows fly around the tower and the trolls close the door behind them. A key turning in a lock is heard.
Princess Perky: (sings): “Is it a curse? Is it bad luck? /This perky princess keeps getting stuck / captured by villains who want my tiara with powers.” Hey, wait. You're a magical crown.
She runs to the window.
Princess Perky: (sings): “I'll make a rainbow so I can slide down.”
A rainbow bursts from her tiara and winds around the castle to the ground. She slides down.
Princess Perky: (sings): “Now, maybe one day, I will learn to steer clear of towers…”
D.W. is standing in living room, imitating Princess Perky’s pose.
D.W.: (sings:) “Steer clear of towers.” (sighs)
She wipes a tear from her eye.
D.W.: Now do you see, Lydia?
Lydia is asleep in her wheelchair.
Lydia: (snores gently)
D.W.: Arthur, something's wrong with your friend!
Arthur is asleep on the couch.
Arthur: (snores loudly)
D.W.: Everyone, wake up!!
Arthur: Aah!!
Lydia: Huh?!
D.W.: You both slept through the greatest movie of all time!
Lydia: I'm sorry, D.W., but... Princess Perky's just not my cup of tea.
D.W.: How about Princess Peppy or Princess Proper or Princess Penguin? And that's just the P's.
Lydia: The truth is I've just never seen a princess like me.
D.W.: Have you seen Princess Prancia and the centaur? She has red hair like yours.
Lydia: Yes, princesses have red hair. I know that. I'm talking about this.
She points at her wheelchair.
D.W.: Your wheelchair?
Lydia: I've never seen one movie princess who's in a wheelchair or blind or deaf or-or disabled in any way.
Arthur: That's true. Neither have I.
D.W.: But...
Lydia: No offense, but I'll go to a princess movie when one of them looks like me.
D.W.: But there has to be a princess in a wheelchair. There's a princess for everyone. Look, the doll says so.
She pulls a string on her doll’s back.
Princess Perky Doll: There's a princess for everyone. Funbelievable!
D.W. looks sad.
~~~
D.W. and Emily play with their princess doll’s in Emily’s room in front of a trunk labelled ‘Princess Platoon’.
Emily: Of course there's a princess for everyone. Sid you tell her about Princess Prancia's red hair?
D.W.: Yes, but she wants to see one who's in a wheelchair.
Emily: That doesn't sound very princessy. But I'll check my trunk.
She takes stuff out of the trunk.
Emily: Princess Perky bubble bath. Princess Proper magic hand mirror. Oh, here it is... the collector's edition lunchbox. It features all the princesses in the princess platoon.
The lunchbox shows princesses Perky, Prancia and Proper.
D.W.: Lydia was right. There's not one in a wheelchair. Or even on crutches.
Emily: Well, it makes sense. How could a princess escape from one of those towers if she can't walk?
D.W.: Maybe she could make a rainbow ramp with her magic tiara.
Emily: Yeah. But look, that's just not how it works. Princesses are perfect. That's what makes them princesses. Get it?
D.W.: Not really.
Emily takes a dress out of the trunk.
Emily: Oh, look my old Princess Perky costume. I bet it would fit you. You could wear it to my tea party this Saturday .
D.W.: You're having a tea party? Since when?
Emily: Since right now. It'll be a princess themed tea party. You'll come, right?
D.W.: Sure.
Emily: Yay! Oh, wait it needs the final touch.
Emily takes out a tiara and turns on a switch so the glass jewel starts blinking. Then she puts the tiara on D.W.’s head.
Emily: (sighs) You really do look just like Princess Perky.
D.W. looks at herself in the hand mirror.
~~~
Some days later, D.W. plays in leaf pile in the yard. She is wearing a princess costume with the tiara and pulls Uni out of the leaf pile.
D.W.: Abra-tiara! I summon a unicorn.
She looks at Arthur and Lydia who are shooting hoops in front of the garage. She walks over to Lydia.
D.W.: Hey, Lydia.
Lydia: Nice crown.
D.W.: Oh, this? It's… uh… nothing.
She turns the blinking lights off.
D.W.: Oh, by the way, you were right. I checked with Emily and there aren't any princesses who are in wheelchairs or anything like that.
Lydia: Actually, that's why I came over. I was at the library the other day and look what I found.
Lydia hands D.W. a book that reads "Ana de Mendoza." The cover shows a lady with an eyepatch.
D.W.: A princess with an eyepatch?
Lydia: She's Doña Ana. She was a real princess in Spain and she was half blind.
D.W.: I've never seen one of her movies.
Lydia: Because she doesn't have one. You want me to read a little of this to you?
D.W. nods. She sits down on the grass. Lydia starts reading.
Lydia: "When Doña Ana was a young girl, she lost her eye in a sword fighting duel.”
~~~
D.W. and Emily sit in the preschool sandbox. D.W. is holding Lydia’s book.
D.W.: And then, she tried to overthrow the bad king. And she hid out for years disguised as a nun.
Emily: I don't know. She doesn't seem very princessy.
D.W.: Yeah, but she really was one. See? it's all in this book.
Emily: Well, you can't believe everything you see in a book.
D.W.: I think I might come to the tea party as Doña Ana.
Emily: What?! You can't. This Doña Ana person isn't part of the princess platoon and she doesn't belong at my party.
D.W.: Emily, what are you saying?
Emily: I'm saying, come to my party as Princess Perky or don't come at all.
She walks away in a huff.
D.W.: Well, maybe I don't even want to come to your crummy party!
~~~
At night, D.W. lies in bed holding the book. She dreams that she is in the room from the movie, trying to wrestle the Doña Ana book from the two trolls.
D.W.: (strains) Tug all you want! You're not getting this Doña Ana book!
Princess Perky walks into the tower. The trolls let go of the book.
D.W.: Princess Perky! Thank goodness. Help me!
Princess Perky gestures to the trolls and they leave without a word and close the door behind them.
Princess Perky: How quaint. You remember my name, huh?
She takes the book and flips through it.
D.W.: Hey, what are you doing?
Princess Perky: Checking out the competition. So, after all these years, you want to replace me, hm?
D.W.: I just thought you'd like a new friend in your princess platoon.
Princess Perky: Sorry, no can do.
D.W.: Why not?
Princess Perky: Don't you see? Being a princess is a wish come true. And who would wish to be like her?
She tears out a picture of Doña Ana.
D.W.: I'll tell you who would... me! Cause she and Lydia are way more than peppy, perky or proper: They've got guts! Now give me my book back!
She pulls at the book. Princess Perky lets go and D.W. stumbles backwards towards the open window.
D.W.: No!
The dream ends.
D.W.: Hh!
~~~
D.W. walks up to Arthur, who is still in bed, and hands him the phone.
D.W.: You need to call Lydia for me. We've got a party to crash.
~~~
In the Reads’ living room, Lydia sews an eyepatch for D.W. D.W. puts it over her left eye. Lydia puts it over the right eye, like Doña Ana.
Next, Lydia draws a sword on a piece of cardboard and D.W. cuts it out.
Eventually, D.W. is wearing a Doña Ana costume complete with a small tiara, a high hairdo, a scarf, eyepatch and sword. Lydia gives her the thumbs-up. D.W. looks thoughtful, then she runs and gets a chain of colored electric lights.
~~~
On Saturday, Emily and Amanda are standing inside a bouncy castle in the Leducs’ yard. Both are dressed like Princess Platoon princesses and swaying to and fro.
Emily: Whoa! Oh! Hh!
She leans out of the window.
Emily: Timmy, Tommy, stop rocking! You're supposed to be trolls standing guard.
Timmy and Tommy are disguised as trolls. They are shaking the bouncy castle.
Tommy: Standing guard is boring.
Maryann, James and Bud are also at the party, dressed as princesses and princes.
Bud: Why do I have to be a prince. Can't I be a space cowboy instead?
Emily: No, this is a princess party. I'm Princess Peppy and she's Princess Perky, and we're imprisoned in the tower. Princess Perky uses her abra-tiara, I use my wish wand and we leap out of this window and... (strains) ...we slide down the... (strains) ... down the... Uh-oh. I'm stuck. I'm stuck!
D.W. and Lydia arrive. Lydia looks like Princess Leia from Star Wards and her wheelchair is decorated with colored lights. D.W. is dressed like Doña Ana.
D.W.: Oh, look, Princess Prophecia, a party! Let's show them what it really means to be funbelievable.
Emily: Help! Help!
Lydia: I think she's outgrown her bouncy castle.
Tommy: Hey, Timmy, maybe we can bounce her out.
The twins throw themselves against the castle, making it shake worse than ever.
Emily: (wails) Make it stop!!
D.W.: What should we do?
Lydia: What would a princess do?
D.W.: Attack those trolls!!
D.W. jumps on Lyria’s wheelchair and they charge the castle.
Timmy: A pirate princess!
D.W. jumps onto the castle making the twins fall down.
Timmy+Tommy: Ugh! Oof!
Lydia: Doña Ana, quick, give me one end of your scarf!
She ties one end of the scarf to her wheelchair.
Lydia: Now, give the other end to Princess Yucky.
Emily: It's Perky!
D.W.: Hold tight, m'lady.
She takes Emily’s hand while holding on to the scarf with the other hand.
Lydia: And I'm Prophecia, Princess of the Future.
Lydia pulls with her wheelchair.
D.W.: Hrrrr!
Emily: Whoo!
Emily pops out of the window and slides down the side of the castle. D.W. helps her up and they smile at each other.
Emily: Thank you. Thank you both. How can I ever repay you?
D.W. and Lydia exchange looks.
~~~
Shortly afterwards, D.W. and Lydia are eating sandwiches while Emily works on her lunchbox.
D.W.: Is it done yet?
Emily: Almost.
She shows them the Princess Platoon lunchbox to which she has added drawings of Doña Ana and Prophecia.
Emily: Doña Ana and Prophecia are now officially members of the Princess Platoon. At least according to me.
D.W.: We're on a lunchbox. Not bad for a day's work.
Lydia: I know. Now I can't wait for the movie.