A Princess in Dis-Dress

	This article contains information that does not coincide with the main series canon.	(Similar)

“	From the moment I laid my big ol' eyes on your big ol' head, I knew you were my love.”
	— King Dedede • Practice proposal to Princess Rona

A Princess in Dis-Dress is the 19th episode (21st in Japan) of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. It features Princess Rona (disguised as Commander Vee), as well as the return of Sword Kirby.

Synopsis[]

One day, a princess from another planet visits Dream Land, and King Dedede falls in love with her, but Commander Vee is determined to keep him away from her. Vee later goes and meets Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby and decides to live a life outside of Castle Dedede with them.

Episode Summary[]

A Princess in Dis-dress 1 — Kirby, Tiff, and Tuff enjoy some storytime.

The episode starts out with Tiff reading a princess story to Kirby. As she reads the concluding sentence, Tuff complains to her that stories about princesses are "bogus". Sir Ebrum and Lady Like then enter the room to tell them that Princess Rona is coming to Dream Land. Tuff gets excited, causing Tiff to question him considering he was claiming princesses were bogus previously. Tuff retorts that princesses in fairy tales are, but princesses in Cappy Town aren't. Escargoon later learns about this and goes to King Dedede's room to let him know about the news, while Tokkori spreads the word to the citizens of Cappy Town. With the upcoming event, everybody prepares for the occasion.

A Princess in Dis-dress 2 — The townspeople eagerly prepare for Rona's visit.

When the time comes, Sir Ebrum, King Dedede, and the others watch as an egg-shaped spaceship arrives. In the ship is Princess Rona and her lady-in-waiting, Commander Vee. The two both introduce themselves to Sir Ebrum when King Dedede (since he has a crush on the princess) shows himself to Rona, who says she's pleased to make his acquaintance. During his introduction, he explains to her that she must be his bride. Afterward, Rona and Vee are invited to have a feast in the castle alongside Sir Ebrum's family and Kirby. Tuff thinks that he didn't know that girls could be so interesting until he saw Rona, hinting that he also likes the princess. Like Tuff, Tiff's feelings are the same, except she thinks about Commander Vee.

A Princess in Dis-dress 3 — Rona and Vee introduce themselves.

Vee gets up from his chair to greet Tiff and Tuff and asks who the little pink pet is. Tiff explains that he's a Star Warrior, not a pet. Realizing his mistake, he apologizes and greets him with a formal handshake like the others. He also tells Kirby that it's an honor to meet a Star Warrior. Suddenly, King Dedede bursts into the dining room with a large bunch of roses. Of course, Rona remarks shyly and he is impressed with her. Vee comes up to King Dedede to notify him that the princess needs a rest from the long journey to her destination. Escargoon tells Vee and Rona that Dedede knows where everything is so he doesn't get enraged. Vee does not wish to be shown where everything is at the time, but thanks them for their kindness. Despite this, King Dedede still feels impatient with the commander and decides to practice his ways of the proposal.

He practices in the castle by doing a musical-style play with Escargoon, who is dressed in make-up. Meanwhile, the cappies of Cappy Town are at the entrance saying hello to the princess while Vee, Kirby, and Tiff are alone with one another in the castle. Tiff comments that Kirby seem to like Vee a lot, causing him to reply that maybe it's because Tiff and himself are alike. Upon coming to a giant stone tile embossed with Dedede's face, Vee muses that their ruler is certainly in love with himself. He reaches out to touch it as Tiff warns him not to, but she is too late.

A Princess in Dis-dress 4 — Tiff introduces Vee to the villagers.

The three characters fall into the outdoors near a body of water. Tiff lands on Vee, making her blush in embarrassment as she apologizes, but he does not seem to notice. In fact, he was glad to be outside. He then requests Kirby if he would come with him to Cappy Town and Tiff goes with them as well. They reach Cappy Town to see that it is having a festival prepared for the visit of Princess Rona. Tiff stands at the entrance and introduces Vee to the Cappies in the town, but he is not important to them, making her feel that they are disrespecting him. She tries to make them understand that he is just as cool as Rona, but Vee tells her that he feels okay with how they think of him. As they are talking, Kirby gets hungry and eats all the food at the fair. Vee laughs at Kirby's voracious appetite, and then decides to try out some cotton candy. After praising its deliciousness, he attempts to pay some money to Mayor Len Blustergas, but the Mayor respectfully declines, saying that the cotton candy's "on Cappy Town".

A Princess in Dis-dress 5 — An out-of-control sheep named Fluffy runs after Kirby and company.

Once they leave the village, they decide to go fishing near the river. Kirby catches a huge fish for them and they go to Kawasaki's restaurant so he can prepare it for them. After that, Vee goes to sit near a tree. Tiff thinks that he should head back to the castle to look after the princess, but he thinks they should try and have as much fun as they possibly can. Tuff visits them, but complains to Tiff that Rona is boring and tells her that all she says is "how interesting". Vee laughs and tells Tuff that the princess was taught to be polite. He also feels that Rona's role is boring and angrily says that it is like having no life at all, causing Tiff to pause. Suddenly, a rampaging sheep named Fluffy comes charging out of nowhere towards Kirby. Seeing Kirby lag behind the group, Vee decides to turn around and rescue him, grabbing him and leaping over Fluffy, who continues to run off into the distance. Tiff runs to Vee to check if he is alright when his helmet falls off, revealing that Vee is actually Rona.

A Princess in Dis-dress 6 — "Vee"'s true identity is accidentally revealed as the real Princess Rona.

Tiff and Tuff are confused and wonder why Rona had switched places with her lady-in-waiting. She explains to them that she had done that because she felt that princesses never had normal lives like everybody else, and so she dressed as Vee so she could get away from her royal lifestyle and see what real life was like. Tiff and Tuff understand how Rona feels and they hand her back the helmet. They offer to take her around on a tour some more, but she tells that she has to go back to her home planet soon and do her duties.

A Princess in Dis-dress 7 — The real Vee, still disguised as the princess, respectfully declines King Dedede's proposal.

Sir Ebrum and Lady Like are dining with the fake Princess Rona when the lights go out and King Dedede sings to her and admits to her that he wants her to be his bride. Reassuming her identity as "Vee", Rona comes back in her commander disguise to explain to Dedede that the "princess" does not want to marry him, and Dedede angrily tells her to stay out of it. As such, Rona orders the Fake Rona to speak for herself, and she confesses that she cannot accept Dedede's proposal. Dedede's rose shatters like glass and he wails. However, his sadness quickly turns into anger and throws one of his formal white gloves to Vee's face and challenges her to a battle. She confidently accepts and Tokkori notifies the villagers of Cappy Town right away.

A Princess in Dis-dress 8 — Rona and Dedede duel.

The arena just outside of the castle is prepared. All the Cappies are at the battle event to see what happens. Tiff is worried that Rona will get injured. Rona knows that she is risking herself, but still wants to pretend to be Vee for a little longer and have some fun in her duel with Dedede. This is because she will soon become queen and, knowing she won't have any fun at all after that happens, wishes to have as much fun as she can before she does.

A Princess in Dis-dress 9 — Susshi makes its way towards Rona.

It is time for King Dedede and Princess Rona to duel. They begin with a simple sword fight, but King Dedede quickly runs out of stamina and his disarmed. Scared, King Dedede dashes off the stage, with Mayor Len commenting on his cowardice. Dedede possibly expected this to happen, so he introduces the "main event presenting his secret weapon" by sending out a giant eel monster named Susshi. The Cappies accuse him of cheating, and he replies asking if they ever knew him to play fair before he and Escargoon get slammed by its tail.

A Princess in Dis-dress 10 — Sword Kirby joins the fight.

Rona fights Susshi, but struggles. Worried, Kirby goes over to assist her but Vee says he's too small to battle such a opponent. Kirby attempts to inhale the monster, but to no effect, and instead swallows Dedede's sword he dropped and becomes Sword Kirby, much to Rona's astonishment. Dedede accuses Kirby of cheating but Tiff reminds him that using monsters is the real act of cheating. Kirby attacks Susshi and discovers that his sword isn't doing very big damage. Susshi swats him with its tail, but he quickly recomposes himself and Rona resolves to join him in fighting together as friends and fellow warriors. Susshi leaps towards them both, but they both dodge it quickly. Tiff and Tuff suggest looking for another way to defeat it, and Kawasaki suggests that Kirby and Rona chop it up into pieces of sushi. Together, Rona and Kirby team up and defeat the evil beast by slashing its tail, causing it to break apart into large pieces of sushi that fall on Dedede and Escargoon. Everyone cheers as Kirby and friends celebrate their victory. Rona is proud of Kirby, thanks him for helping her, and calls him a noble warrior.

A Princess in Dis-dress 11 — The Elder Pipi clears up the situation.

After a long day, Rona's ship comes back. Her grandfather, the Elder Pipi, calls her name, revealing to the others that she is actually Rona in disguise. Rona begs everyone their pardon for her subterfuge and explains that she and Vee switched places with each other and that she enjoyed the fun she had immensely. Tuggle says that King Dedede's wedding won't be catered. Dedede complains that his dreams are shattered and wants to know how he'll fill the emptiness inside him, and Escargoon suggests having seven cheeseburgers.

A Princess in Dis-dress 12 — A group photo in memory and celebration of Rona's visit.

It is finally time for Princess Rona and Vee to go back home. Both have now switched back to their real outfits, and Rona thanks Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby for all they had done to help her have a great time. Rona almost gives Kirby a medal provided to her by Vee as his reward for loyalty and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds, but decides it is too formal. Instead, she gives Kirby a little kiss, much to his and other's surprise. Rona and Vee go into the rocket and blast off back to their planet as Kirby, Tiff, and Tuff watch, with Tuff hoping that Rona lives happily ever after. The conclusion of the episode ends with a sepia portrait photo of Tiff, Tuff, Kirby, Professor Curio, Mayor Len, Tuggle, Kawasaki, and last but not least, Princess Rona.

Concept Artwork[]

Changes in the dub[]

Scene Changes[]

After Chef Kawasaki is praised by Commander Vee for his sushi, Tiff comments on the fact since he spends his days with Princess Rona, he must be able to have luxurious food very often. While this is subtly confirmed, he claimed the sushi was better since it wasn't forcibly elaborate, to which the chef is grateful for his compliment as he brings the trio green tea. This entire scene was removed from the English dub.
After that scene, the camera pans across a plain. The next scene shows how Commander Vee is calmed by the tranquil atmosphere Dream Land has to the point of wanting to live out his days there, much to Tiff's happiness as they overlook said plain. This entire scene between the camera panning and Tiff reminding the guard about his work was completely removed from the English dub.
After the scene where the Cappies are shown to be approaching the castle, the camera zooms in on the stage at two angles; one facing the judges, and another at an angle. The first angle was removed in the dub.
When Dedede reveals Commander Vee's true opponent, Gengu shouts that it's unfair. In the English dub, 4Kids added a commercial break here and add in a closeup of Susshi's face before Gengu's line.
This segment was later used in the Dedede: Comin' at Ya! opening in Cartoon Buffoon. The scene remained in the English version of the episode.

Script Changes[]

In the original version when the Cappies are preparing for Princess Rona's arrival, no scripted lines were spoken. In the dub, one of the children could be heard saying, "Daddy, I can't wait for the princess."
When Commander Vee is first seen, King Dedede and Escargoon are clueless as to whom it is, but the latter concludes that he must've been a bodyguard. In the dub, they both automatically assume that he's supposed to be the princess, albeit tomboyish.
In the original version after King Dedede proclaims that Princess Rona would be his bride, Escargoon tries to change the subject by offering tea. In the dub, he just concedes that he's in love.
When Dedede interrupts the introduction between Kirby and Commander Vee, his laughter was added into the dub.
- In the original version, he asks her to dance with him later that night. In the dub, he professes his love to her and just wants to spend time with her.
  - Commander Vee, in the original version, declined on the princess' behalf since it's against the rules for her to dance with someone "unsightly". He defers to Kirby about rules being rules and subtly reminds the princess to thank the king for his offers. In the English dub, he just says it's getting late and thanks them on her behalf for everyone's hospitality.
Profanity was removed from the dub.
During the proposal rehearsal, Escargoon comments that reality and musicals aren't the same. In the dub, he gives his kudos to the king just for his presentation.
When Commander Vee activates the trap door, he comments on how he's tired of Dedede's "ugly face". In the English dub, that sentiment was removed, thus it seemed like he touched the door for no reason.
When Kirby is seen eating food from the venues, Commander Vee comments about his carefree nature. In the dub, he comments on his appetite.
- When trying cotton candy for the first time, Commander Vee said the flavor was exquisite, much to Tiff's confusion about his formality. In the dub, he asks about what food he's eating and she tells him it's cotton candy.
As Princess Rona and her Lady in Waiting depart, Tiff has an inner monologue. She admits that she may never understand the restricted life royalty might lead, but vows to never forget her time with the princess. In the dub, this monologue was completely removed.
In the Japanese original, after Susshi is defeated and Rona reveals her ruse, Dedede bemoans the fact that he almost married a guardsman while Escargoon declares that the marriage plans have been cancelled. In the dub, Dedede is instead complaining about the taste of Susshi's dead remains in his mouth.

Cosmetic/Sound Changes[]

In the scene where the Cappies are preparing for Princess Rona's arrival, there's a banner that reads, "POPCORN" on it. This was airbrushed out in the dub.
In the original version, there's a huge, yellow sign that reads, "Welcome Princess Rona" in red, white, and blue font. These words were airbrushed out in the dub.
When Dedede tosses his glove at Commander Vee, the collision against his face could be heard in the English dub.
At the end when the star iris-wipe closes in on the group photo, it makes a sound of a camera snapping of a picture. In the English dub, the SFX were removed.

Trivia[]

The original title is based on the movie Roman Holiday, where a princess pretends to be someone else to escape the constraints of royal life.
This is one of the three episodes where someone falls in love (the others are A Fish Called Kine and The Flower Plot).
This episode is most likely based on the classic fairy tale, The Prince and the Pauper.
This was the only episode to have music from the original Japanese version, most notably in the scene where King Dedede sings.
When the monster Susshi is revealed, Chief Bookem pulls out his pistol. This was not removed in the dub.
This is one of the few episodes of the series in which Meta Knight does not appear in.

Other languages[]

Language	Name	Translation	Airdate
French	Une princesse à Cappyville	A princess in Cappyville	Unknown
German	Verliebt in eine Prinzessin	In love with a princess	December 10, 2003
Italian	La principessa Rona	Princess Rona	July 31, 2006
Korean	왕녀 로나의 휴일/공주의 방문	Princess Lona's Holiday/Princess' Visit	February 7, 2005
Spanish (Latin America)	Una princesa de incógnito	A princess incognito	August 25, 2003