''Nella the Princess Knight'' is an American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

created by Christine Ricci Ph. D., premiering on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

on February 6, 2017. Toys produced for the series are manufactured by

Vivid Imaginations Vivid Imaginations is a British toy manufacturer, distributor and wholesale company, based in Guildford, Surrey. Founded in 1992, one of the company's first toy lines it manufactured was Captain Scarlet, which has since been followed by Thund ...

Plot

''Nella the Princess Knight'' is about Princess Nella, a girl who saves the citizens of her parents' kingdom by turning into a princess knight whenever there is catastrophic trouble. She goes on missions with Trinket, Sir Garrett, and Clod. Together they go on quests, solve mysteries, and learn valuable lessons.

Episodes

Characters

Main

* Princess Nella (voiced by Akira Golz in US and Zaris-Angel Hator in UK) is a biracial fun-loving princess who goes in the way of a knight in order to protect her kingdom. Nella is a fearless, confident, and a sweet girl. Her exploration of various hobbies and other interests are the basis of several episodes. Originally Nella was a normal Princess who dreamed of being a knight and received her magical necklace that allows her to transform into a Princess Knight after saving and befriending the unicorn Trinket. * Trinket (voiced by Samantha Hahn) is Nella's talking unicorn and best friend who loves fashion, making her very stylish. She is supportive and encouraging of her friends, and will be serious if the situation calls for it, in order to help Nella solve problems. Nella befriended Trinket after saving her when Trinket became trapped in slime while looking for a magic pendant inside a cave, which the unicorn later gave to Nella as a "trinket" for saving her. Since Trinket's unicorn name was impossible for Nella to pronounce she gave her the name "Trinket" as a nickname. * Sir Garrett (voiced by Micah Gursoy) is a knight who tags along with Nella on her quests. He collects Knightly

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...

s that identify different types of magical creatures. He is very smart and offers his intelligence to help the kingdom as well. * Clod (voiced by Matthew Gumley in US and Joe Attewell in UK) is Garrett's talking steed, who has two horns on his head. He is best friends with Sir Garrett, and is also on good terms with Nella and Trinket. Quite often, Clod is the

comic relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

of the gang.

Antagonists

* Badalf (voiced by Chris Critelli) is a wizard who wishes to steal all of Castlehaven's fancy things. Though he tends to cause trouble with his magic or steals important magical items for himself he can be friendly at times and in one episode is falsely accused of freezing Trinket at a carnival though Nella later discovers it was all a misunderstanding and Badalf was innocent. * Terry is Badalf's loyal pet goat whom often assists Badalf in his schemes. While he does not speak, Badalf can apparently understand his vocalizations. * The Frostbite Brothers, three ice dragons known as Snowpuff (voiced by Pierce Cravens), Freezy (voiced by Chuck Lewkowiecz), and Frozey take Santa's sack of presents. * Stella is a female Dragon who stole things from Castlehaven around the time Nella befriended Trinket. Stella accidentally kidnapped Trinket when she stole the Unicorn's sleeping bag forcing the young Princess Nella to go on a quest to save her best friend. Nella's courage in confronting Stella who had a fearsome reputation allowed Nella to transform into a Princess Knight for the first time. However though Stella stole things and appeared intimidating she felt terrible when Nella revealed she had taken Trinket and revealed she only stole things to decorate her cave. Nella, Trinket, and friends Nella made along her quest helped decorate Stella's cave. Thankful Stella returned what she stole from Castlehaven and apologized for her behavior causing King Dad to knight Nella for her bravery.

Recurring

* King Dad (voiced by Ty Jones) is Nella and Norma's dad who is the ruler of Castlehaven. Despite being a king, he's surprisingly an average dad and is pretty down to earth. He is supportive of Nella and was responsible for knighting her after she bravely confronted the dragon Stella to rescue Trinket. * Queen Mom (voiced by

Rebecca Soler Rebecca Soler is an American voice actress based in the New York City area. She has voiced on several audiobooks; her most notable voice work has been the narrator for ''The Lunar Chronicles'' series by Marissa Meyer. In anime, she voiced title ...

in Season 1 and Alex Covington in Season 2) is Nella and Norma's mom. She is a kind and supportive mother. Like Nella, she was quite adventurous in her youth and was active in sports. * Princess Norma (voiced by Courtney Shaw) is Nella's baby sister. Nella gets along well with Norma and often helps her parents care for Norma. * Sir Blaine (voiced by Evan Christy) is a mean and bossy 9-year-old knight who thinks that he is the best at everything he does. Quite often, his ego causes trouble for himself, and he must ask for help. * Olivia (voiced by

Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (born March 21, 1987) is an American stage and voice actress, best known for voicing List of Pokémon anime characters#Bonnie, Bonnie, List of Pokémon anime characters#Nurse Joy, Nurse Joy, and List of Pokémon anime chara ...

) is Sir Blaine's princess-obsessed cousin who often causes trouble for Nella and her friends as she is somewhat stuck-up though deep down she is a good person who often focuses too much on appearances. She admires Nella for being a Princess however was at first dismissive of the idea of a Princess Knight though she later came to be more accepting of the idea after Nella saved her. She tends to take advantage of Nella's less glamorous friends such as Smelgly and Minatori causing trouble for them, herself, and Castlehaven, though usually learns important lessons even befriending Smelgy and Minatori in the process. Like her cousin, she and Nella occasionally work together. * The Knight Brigade (voiced by

Tyler Bunch Tyler Bunch, also known as H.D. Quinn, is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, director, and actor. Career In addition to his work for the Jim Henson Company, Bunch has created and performed puppets for PBS, Nickelodeon and Disney's The Mu ...

) is a group of clumsy but well-meaning knights who guard the royal castle. * Willow (voiced by Maya Tanida in the U.S. and Kimani Arthur in the UK) is a shy 7-year-old farmer who has green hair and knows how to cultivate plants. * Fidget is a purple and white raccoon. * Fickle is a pink owl. * Gork is an Orc. He has expressed instances of gender non-conformity. * Polkadottie is a pink polka-dotted dragon who is initially referred to as Mrs. Dragon. She is the mother of a dragon that Nella finds. Her young children later become playmates of Princess Norma with Pokadottie becoming friends with Queen Mom. * Minatori (voiced by Rivki Bench) is a friendly female minotaur. Like the classic minotaur of Greek myth, her home is a labyrinth. * Tilly is a rabbit. * Cici is a cyclops who has bad eyesight and must wear glasses. She befriends Nella and her friends after they teach her the importance of wearing her glasses so she can see properly. * Smelgly is an awkward dragon who has trouble making friends. Despite being a dragon she dreams of being a knight. * Sir Coach is an armored schoolteacher of Castlehaven and an experienced knight. He mentors Nella, Sir Garrett, and Sir Blaine in being knights. Like Sir Garrett, Sir Coach collects knightly trading cards. * Flutter is a messenger falcon who often delivers mail for Princess Nella. * The Unicorn of the Lake is a wise and powerful unicorn introduced in Season 2 whom Trinket idolizes and admires.

Production

''Nella the Princess Knight'' is produced by

Brown Bag Films Brown Bag Films (BBF) is an Irish television CGI and computer animation production studio owned by Canadian production studio 9 Story Media Group and based in Dublin with 2D and 3D animation facilities based in Bali, Toronto and formerly Man ...

in the United Kingdom. The series was renewed for a second season on May 24, 2017.

Broadcast

''Nella the Princess Knight'' debuted on

in the United States on February 6, 2017. The series aired on

Treehouse TV Treehouse TV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel for preschoolers aged 2 to 5 that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from YTV's former preschool block, " The Treehouse". The channel is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of ...

in Canada on May 6, 2017. The final three episodes of the second season were released on

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

on July 21, 2021.

Home media

, and

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

released a DVD of the show on January 30, 2018. *

, and

released a second DVD of the show on July 3, 2018. *

, and

releases on third DVD of the show on February 5, 2019.

Reception

Critical response

Emily Ashby of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

rated ''Nella the Princess Knight'' 5 stars, stating the series is "a lot of fun, filled with funny moments and messy encounters in a place where berry bushes can pelt people with their fruits and volcanoes spew sudsy concoctions." Many have praised the series for its biracial main character and lack of gender roles.

Awards and nominations

Books

A book, ''Nella's Unicorn Rescue'', was released on March 7, 2017.

References

External links

* * {{Former Nickelodeon original series 2010s American animated television series 2010s American black cartoons 2010s American science fiction television series 2010s Nickelodeon original programming 2020s American animated television series 2020s American black cartoons 2020s American science fiction television series 2020s Nickelodeon original programming 2017 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated musical television series American children's animated supernatural television series Animated television series about children English-language television shows Fictional unicorns Nickelodeon original programming Nick Jr. original programming American preschool education television series Animated preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series Television series by Brown Bag Films Television series about princesses