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Cedric the Sorcerer is the former main antagonist of the Disney Junior series Sofia the First. He is the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia.
Background
Personality
- “Soon they'll see I'm meant to be King Cedric the Great!”
- ―Cedric in Song
Cedric is a bumbling sorcerer whose spells often do not work very well. Despite this, he takes great pride in his abilities and often brags about them. He wants to steal Sofia's Amulet of Avalor, hoping to use it to take over the kingdom and reign as a dictator-like king. In order to achieve this, he often tries to trick Sofia into giving it to him, though his attempts usually fail, due to his bumbling nature. Sofia used to mispronounce his name as "Cee-dric" rather than "Said-Rick", which annoyed him to no end. However, this stopped occurring once the show's second season began.
Though his motives may speak otherwise, Cedric is not truly evil. He desires power merely to prove to those that mock him that he is capable of greatness and it has been revealed that Cedric is very much aware and hurt by how poorly others regard him. One of the main reasons most of his spells fail is actually shown to be due to how easily he gets nervous, especially in the presence of King Roland and the main reason his plans fail is because he never thinks things through.
Also, despite having the looks and desires of his mother, he has a code of morality—he will not directly harm anyone, though he does manipulate, and he does not let anyone unnecessarily suffer and will always pay back debts, or at least try to. Cedric also hates cheating, although he's fine with lying. He also is easily and heavily ashamed when he does things wrong.
While Cedric is devious and conniving, he is not without a heart. In fact, it was during the episode "Cedric's Apprentice" that Cedric was visibly touched by Sofia's kindness towards him and was grateful when she purposely spilled a potion on herself during a performance in order to help him display his magical abilities before King Roland and the visiting King Magnus. At this point, he declined to use an invisibility potion that he had brewed to steal the amulet, instead, using it to show off his magic more. Later, he stated to Wormwood that they could always take over the kingdom tomorrow. In episodes following this, he is indeed shown to still be plotting ways to steal Sofia's amulet for the purpose of taking over the kingdom.
When he finally got the Amulet, he intended to use a rare potion to pluck specific powers from the Amulet to help him take over the kingdom but made the mistake of putting it on before using the potion, thus enabling him to be cursed. Throughout the episode, Cedric's good side clashed with his bad side. As much as he liked helping people and getting powers, his desire to take over the kingdom proved stronger, getting him constantly cursed. Later on in the episode, he returned the amulet to its rightful owner. It is unknown if he did this to prevent getting any more curses or if he did this because it was the right thing to do. Whatever the reason, he returned it without Sofia realizing that her amulet had been stolen. He renewed his interest in the amulet after Sofia told him about the change to her amulet and discovering its new powers. Though he showed visible distress when Grimtrix tried to steal it from Sofia, indicating he values Sofia's safety more than the amulet.
In the episode "Day of the Sorcerers" the climax of his inner struggle finally came out. During a secret meeting with Grimtrix and his Order of the Wand, Cedric was hesitant to take his chance to finally see his evil dreams come true only to go through it with it. He and Wormy revealed their past actions to a horrified Sofia who hurried to the rescue of her family. She confronted him insisting this wasn't really what he wanted. He could not bring himself to harm the only friend he had leading to his capture.
When Roland demanded an answer, he unleashed his hurt and pent-up feelings. Talking about growing up in the castle and that no one noticed him when he did something right, only when he made mistakes talking about how he was treated with no respect or kindness, only belittlement and disappointment that he wasn't an exact copy of his famous father. He also pointed that his sister and Roland had also made mistakes, but they could do no wrong in the eyes of his family and Roland's father. He was taken to the dungeon despite Sofia's protest.
Later, after he helped Sofia stop Grimtrix, he apologized for his actions. Roland still wanted to banish him from the kingdom. Sofia and Miranda intervened, pointing out he deserved a second chance and that if they were more encouraging and nicer to Cedric there wouldn't be a repeat incident. Cedric was given back his old job and was happy to put on a magic show with his apprentice Sofia.
In the episode "Through the Looking Back Glass", Sofia and Calista witnessed, "The Incident", a moment Cedric and Cordelia's past that changed not only their relationship but the way each was treated and seen. During Cordelia's Sorceress ball, she accidentally knocked a hair potion into a smoke serum that Cedric used to help her make her grand entrance. Instead, it lead to the loss of her natural hair and left her with green spikes of hair. Cedric was blamed for the incident and afterwards was treated poorly and teased. It wouldn't be until years later that his name would be cleared and Cordelia would apologize for the way she treated him.
In the episode "In Cedric We Trust", it is shown despite his best efforts, King Roland and a majority of the castle staff, still don't trust Cedric despite his many attempts to show them his change of heart. Throughout the episode Roland continues to mistrust and look for reasons to distrust him though Cedric refuses to give up. He was finally able to prove he was trustworthy when he saved Sofia at nearly the cost of his own life.
Physical appearance
He is tall and thin, with a long pointed nose and pale skin. He has black hair with light gray front bangs and wears a long purple robe and a large yellow bow-tie. He is always seen wearing a pair of fingerless gloves.
It is revealed in "Through the Looking Back Glass", that he gained his light gray front bangs in a spell mishap that gave his sister, Cordelia, green spiky hair.
Powers and abilities
Though magical, his spells often do not go very well. The strength and accuracy of his spells depend on his self-confidence, which could be the reason he usually messes up his spells. His childhood and lack of encouragement only added to this problem, especially after his sister's Sorceress Ball when he was called a bungler. This was the moment that started Cedric down his path to take over the kingdom. It has been noted when people believe in him or treat him with respect his spells work perfectly. Surprisingly, Cedric is a very good teacher as he was able to teach the Royal Prep students, without being able to wave his own wand due to a sticky spell. Once Cedric earned his Family Wand, his magic greatly improved. This gave him confidence, which led to him earning more respect from Roland and ultimately leaving his tower. After being given a second chance after taking over the kingdom only to save it, people started to treat him much nicer and gain a little respect at a time.
Role in the series
Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess
Cedric first appears after Sofia and Miranda arrive at Enchancia Castle. Cedric shows instant annoyance with Sofia due to her inability to get his name right and is the only person at the castle beside Amber who doesn't give the new Princess a warm welcome. Later, he recognizes Sofia's new necklace as the Amulet of Avalor and begins plotting to steal it from her so he can usurp the throne. The next day, he takes Sofia to his workshop and reveals the truth about her amulet and asks her to let him have a look at it but she refuses. Cedric instantly realizes her underestimated the little Princess' precociousness and leads her out. Days later, Sofia comes to him to ask him for a dancing spell. He writes a spell down. After Sofia leaves, he tells Wormwood that the spell is really a sleeping spell and after it's cast he plans to blackmail Sofia into handing over the Amulet. However, Cedric didn't think things through and after the spell is cast he falls under the enchanted sleep as well. When he wakes back up, he instantly discovers his plot failed.
Sofia the First
Cedric serves as an antagonist for most of the series due to his desire for Sofia's Amulet. His plots normally fail due to his incomplete knowledge of Sofia's Amulet, his failure to factor everything, a fatal lack of foresight, and his inability to think things through.
It is revealed in "Cedric's Apprentice" and "Mystic Meadows", that his resentment of his lot in life and his desire for power and glory came from a desire to live up to the standards of his father Goodwyn the Great and that most of his slip-ups happen because being around King Roland makes him nervous and because his father interrupts him whenever he tries to cast a spell in a way that makes him mess it up. Thanks to efforts and encouragement from his first-ever friend Princess Sofia, Cedric is able to earn the pair's respect, his family's Family Wand, and the title Cedric the Sensational. It would take until "Through the Looking Back Glass" for him to gain his sister's respect.
In "Cedric Be Good", Cedric finally gets his hands on the Amulet of Avalor. But due to his incomplete knowledge of the Amulet of Avalor's workings his plan to take over Enchancia with the Amulet's powers ultimately fails. After being cursed by the Amulet many times, a fed up Cedric gives Sofia the Amulet back. He also unofficially gives up trying to take over Enchancia with it.
Most recently, he is revealed to have a niece named Calista. Calista is shown to be the only member of his family besides his mother who adores him and the only one he's not annoyed by. Cedric is shown to care for her to the point where he goes out of her way to keep her safe and teach her important life lessons such as the importance of asking before taking and how it's wrong to steal. He is also shown to idolize Merlin.
His goal at stealing the amulet resurfaces in "Hexley Hall", when he learns from Sofia that the amulet has been acting differently since she freed Princess Elena, something he didn't know about.
In "Day of the Sorcerers", Cedric is finally caught and discovered for his schemes when Sofia spies on him talking to Grimtrix at taking over Enchancia. He and Wormwood reveal all the past times he tried to take the amulet behind her back and he proceeds to freeze everyone with Medusa Stones. In the end when he cannot bring himself to freeze Sofia because of her kindness, he unfreezes everyone and Grimtrix is arrested. Cedric is now forgiven by the rest of the castle and gives up taking over Enchancia for good.
Relationships
King Roland II
Cedric voices his disdain for King Roland often. His animosity towards the king is likely due to the fact that King Roland is constantly criticizing him. However, he has shown that he often becomes nervous when asked to do something for King Roland. It was revealed that in their childhood, after The Incident, Roland followed the crowd in being cruel and dismissive of Cedric's abilities. That finally changed when Cedric was given a second chance to be the Royal Sorcerer and the King agreed to be nicer to him. While Roland is still trying to break the habit of blaming him for mishaps, he is willing to admit that Cedric isn't always the cause. However he refused to forgive Cedric. "In Cedric We Trust", Roland continuing distrust almost cost him Sofia's life had Cedric not risked his for her. At the end they were finally able to make peace with one another.
After Cedric successfully pulled off a rescue plan and spell to retrieve Sophia from the Amulet of Avalor, a grateful Roland officially bestows upon him the title 'Cedric the Great'.
Goodwyn the Great and Winifred
Cedric with his parents.
Cedric's father, Goodwyn the Great, was the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia before he was and was considered the greatest sorcerer the kingdom had ever had, saving the king's life many times (nine-and-a-half). While Goodwyn was honest and moralistic, his wife Winifred the Wise, Cedric's mother, was vain and ambitious while doting on her son, encouraging Cedric to make the wrong decisions. Cedric seems to get along better with his mother while having a more hostile relationship with his father. This is likely due to the fact that his mother coddles him, while his father tries to push him in the right direction. His relationship with his father may also be the result of how often Cedric is compared to him and frequently said to not be as good as he was. Both of Cedric's parents seem to exasperate him at times. However, Cedric gained his father's trust and the family wand in "Mystic Meadows" thanks to Sofia, who Winifred said was the only friend he'd ever had.
Cordelia and Calista
Cedric with his sister and niece.
His sister annoys him because when they were children, she constantly took his things. It is also revealed that she was her parents favored child who could do no wrong. This was because of an accident that happened at her Sorceress Ball, that was ultimately was her fault in the end. As an adult, she never listens to him or let him get a word in during a conversation. She is extremely rude and belittling of him. After witnessing her Sorceress Ball from another angle, she makes up with her brother and they resume the close friendship they had when they were young.
His relationship with his niece is better as she adores him. He's very protective of her and also stern when he needs to be when teaching her a valuable life lesson. When she and her mom have to move temporarily into the castle while Cordelia's employer is doing renovations, he was happy to see her and she was a big help in reversing a shrinking spell.
Princess Amber
When she demands magical assistance from him due to her own selfish deeds or urges it can get on his nerves as well; like in the episode "Princess Butterfly" when she made him to use magic to make her a butterfly costume to win a costume contest, when the rules stated that she had to make it all by herself but she just had to be the best. Also in the episode "Two Princesses and a Baby"; when she told him to make James temporarily a little younger then her, so that she wouldn't have to share a birthday with him since they are twins. Finally in the episode "Tea for to Many" Amber basically threaten to tattle on Cedric to her father the king who is also the boss of him after he refused to help Sofia out with her big tea party by using a levitation spell, forcing him to reluctantly use his magic.
Wormwood
The only one Cedric seems to hold in high esteem - besides himself - is his loyal raven Wormwood, nicknamed "Wormy", with whom he often converses. However, unlike Sofia, due to not bearing the Amulet, Cedric does not possess the ability to actually understand what Wormwood is saying, although there are clips/scenes wherein it shows that he does, somehow understand what "Wormy" says. In "Hexley Hall", after pouring a Speaking Potion over Wormwood, the two can now communicate perfectly. As of "In Cedric We Trust", Wormwood betrays him for Prisma as the raven refuses to turn over a new leaf like Cedric.
Princess Sofia
Cedric teaching Sofia magic.
Cedric is shown to have a love/hate relationship with Sofia; because while she has shown nothing but admiration and respect for him, he is for the most part annoyed by her. When Sofia first arrived at the castle; Cedric was the only one besides Amber who didn't give her a warm welcome and when he saw her amulet; he began plotting to take it from her which she is unaware of. However he also shows a soft side toward her because of her affections for him; also with the fact that whenever Cedric starts feeling down about himself, not being good enough or not as great a sorcerer as his family line. Sofia always takes the time to reassure him that he is indeed a wonderfully great sorcerer and was relieved when she finally started saying his name correct. It was this relationship that prevented Cedric from freezing her with The Medusa Stone, not having the heart to hurt the only true friend he ever had, and later saved the kingdom after he'd be arrested for high treason in the episode "The Day of the Sorcerers". After Sofia defends Cedric, he declares her his apprentice again. He is also willing to risk his life for hers as shown in the episode "In Cedric We Trust" and in the episode Forever Royal, he gives her a new tiara for her graduation, and reached the peak of his character development by saving Sofia who was trapped in the Amulet of Avalor by Vor, and returned the Amulet to Sofia.
Prince James
James thanks Cedric for his service.
In the episode "King for a Day" Cedric was slightly annoyed by James who kept on asking him to cast silly spells that would solve problems; but James kept getting praised by the other for the idea even it was Cedric who made it possible in the first place, in the end of the episode Cedric was visibly touched and appreciative when James told his father the king how much he had helped out with all problems. After getting the credit that he rightly deserved; Cedric wasn't annoyed when his first attempt at a door failed due to his shrunk wand because no one laughed at him.
In "Sidekick Clio" the King ordered Cedric to help James out with the "stage effects" for the school play by using his magic to make it easier; at first Cedric was annoyed by this demand feeling that he was too good to be assisting in "children's theater", but after seeing how amazed the other kids were by his first magic trick Cedric instantly felt pleased by their appreciation and wanted to continue helping James out with the effects of the play.
In "Substitute Cedric", he was initially not thrilled with teaching Sofia's sorcery class. That changed when Hexley Hall students descended on Royal Prep for Prank Day, which used to be Cedric's favorite day. When he got stuck to his chair, he taught the class the Sorcerer's Secret, which is to never give up and keep trying until you get it right, something he learned from a kind teacher when he was at school. In the end, Cedric got the admiration he was looking for and decided to finish teaching the class.
After Cedric tells the family how he wanted to take over Enchancia because he was disrespected and proves he can stay on, James half-jokes for him to show them a magic trick, showing that he forgave Cedric almost instantly.
Baileywick
They mostly stay out of each other's way but in the the episode "Cedric's Apprentice"; there's a part where Bailywick comes up to Cedric's lair to talk to him about something important and finds Sofia with him as well, he asks her what she is doing there and she happily replies "learning magic!" before he then commented "How wonderful; you'll have to teach Cedric some when you're done." It was either cruel mockery or playful teasing towards the sorcerer; but Cedric of course was not amused by it and retorted "Very funny Bailywick. What do you want?" feeling annoyed and offended, before getting nervous after being told that the king wanted to see him right away.
Grimtrix
Cedric and Grimtrix known each other since they were in sorcery school, Hexley Hall. It is implied that they were good friends and kelp in touch with each other, as in "Hexley Hall", Cedric was aware that Grimtrix was the headmaster of the school. Despite their friendship, Cedric referred him as "annoying nice" than ever when they met again. After stopping Grimtrix's weasel Wriggley, Grimtrix revealed that he was behind the plot due to spying on them through his Crystal Ball and that he wants the Amulet so he can take over a kingdom. Cedric was suprise by this reveal due to Grimtrix being good his whole life which Grimtrix resorts and says that some sorcerers like him grow tired of working under the rulers and see that they are meant to be rulers themselves. Cedric tries to stop Grimtrix but he ends up being occupied. He, Sofia, and Wormwood made it out with the Amulet intact.
In "Day of the Sorcerers", Grimtrix invited Cedric to join his Order of the Wands to take over the kingdoms. After Cedric fails, Grimtrix reveals to his weasel Wriggley that he had little confidence in him. Despite this Grimtrix personally went to Enhanctia to help Cedric. However Grimtrix underestimated Cedric's friendship with Sofia and ended up being defeated.
Cedric's teacher
Cedric and his teacher
What is known about Cedric's friendship with his teacher is that his mentor was one of the few people who saw Cedric's magical talent despite his reputation as a bungler. In "Substitute Cedric", Cedric taught the class the Sorcerer's Secret, which is to never give up and keep trying until you get it right, something he learned from his kind teacher when he was at school.
Gallery
Trivia
- The name Cedric means "bounty" in Celtic.
- In the episode "The Big Sleepover", Cedric states that he has fifteen years of training as a sorcerer. In the flashback during the episode "Substitute Cedric", it's shown that Cedric was about or a little younger than Sofia, when he started at Hexley Hall. This means he graduated at around roughly 22 years old.
- It has been revealed that the first spells he learned were counter curses, though, like Sofia, he also learned Mutato early, as he demonstrates in "The Amulet of Avalor" when he easily turns a rock into a gem.
- He is also good at hover charms, having two in his book, summoning charms, and vanishing charms.
- He has at least two sleeping spells in his spell book, proved when Amber looked through it in "Two Princesses and a Baby", since she did not recognize the sleeping spell, making it to be different from the one Cedric gave to Sofia in the pilot.
- He also has a shrinking charm, which he isn't very good at, it once backfiring on his wand in "King for a Day".
- The failsafe of the Amulet of Avalor demands it to be passed on willingly in order for its power to be used without a curse getting unleashed. Cedric has tried on numerous occasions to get Sofia to hand it over, (Premier, "The Big Sleepover", "Cedric's Apprentice", and "A Royal Mess").
- His pet raven, Wormwood, was inspired by Diablo, the raven that appears on Maleficent's shoulder in the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty.
- Cedric's hair is an homage to Cruella De Vil in addition to reflecting his personality being made of both good and evil.
- Cedric is, in a lot of ways, similar to Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, due to the fact that they both consider themselves to be prototypical villains, yet due to some flaws in their planning and/or personality they manage to trip over their own feet on numerous occasions. It is also worth noting that both have unusually large noses.
- The name Cedric is of an Old-English origin, and the meaning of the name is 'Kindly' and 'Loved', which greatly contradicts his general personality. However, it is true when he shows his softer side to Sofia in "Cedric's Apprentice", resulting in Sofia's great admiration and respect towards him, as a friend and a great sorcerer.
- Like Maurice, Cedric is very good at inventing, though it is a talent that is not respected, likely due to it being more of a private hobby than a business for him.
- Cedric and Wormwood are the second villains of the sorcerer and his right-hand bird, Jafar and Iago are the first villains of the sorcerer and his bird. However, if female magicians are included, Cedric is the fourth, with Maleficent and The Queen as the first and second bird-loving baddies. Cedric is the third villain to have a raven henchman.
- Despite their differences in character, fate, and all around willpower, Cedric has some similarities to Jafar.
- Both aim to acquire a magical object (Genie's Lamp for Jafar and The Amulet of Avalor for Cedric) and use its power to take over a kingdom (Agrabah for Jafar and Enchancia for Cedric), even before those objects wound up in the possession of the protagonists (Aladdin and Princess Sofia).
- As a cover-up for their objectives, they both serve in the palaces they aim to take over.
- Both have birds as sidekicks (Iago for Jafar and Wormwood for Cedric) that often get beaten up by mistake.
- Both work for the rulers of the kingdom "King Roland II and the Sultan", with little respect from their employers.
- In the episode "Two Princesses and a Baby", it is revealed that he's allergic to dandelions. This same episode is where Sofia actually pronounces his name right (/sedrik/ instead of /seedrik/), for the first time.
- Cedric has many spare wands in his lair, as his magical clumsiness often damages wands he uses, such as in "King for a Day", when he shrunk his wand, and "The Enchanted Feast" when his wand got hexed.
- In "Sofia the Second" and "Mystic Meadows", it is shown he uses Wormwood as a test subject for his spells.
- Sofia is the first and only friend he's ever had, and the only one to give him a meaningful gift. In "Winter's Gift", Sofia give Cedric is a handmade wand case, made by Sofia herself. It is also in this episode that he calls her name without using the 'Princess' title when he tells her that he also has a gift for her, showing that he has fully recognized her as a friend.
- Cedric has officially saved King Roland's life twice. Once when he used his magic with Greylock's, to pull the schooner away from the rocks and back to the docks. The other time was when he defeated Grimtrix who was trying to take over Enchancia. Him "saving" Sofia was an act to help him get back on track with his magic show.
- In "Sidekick Clio", he used his sorcerer name "Cedric the Sensational" for the first time.
- Cedric reveals in "The Amulet and the Anthem" that while he knows that Sofia's amulet is magical and has some knowledge of its workings, he doesn't know everything it can do like it's ability to summon Princesses.
- Cedric reveals in The Floating Palace that he was unaware of Sofia's powers because he was shocked to see that Sofia had transformed into a mermaid.
- It was revealed in The Curse of Princess Ivy that Cedric has a sister who would steal his things when they were children, and he is still upset about it.
- According to Craig Gerber, her name is Cordelia.
- She made her first appearance in Gone with the Wand.
- According to Craig Gerber, her name is Cordelia.
- Cedric has apparently undertaken fifteen years of sorcery school, in preparation to take his father's place once he retired. According to King Roland in the premiere movie, Cedric comes from a long line of royal sorcerers.
- Cedric learned about the amulet from his parents, especially Winifred, but did not know about Princess Elena being trapped inside.
- Cedric is similar to Lord Cedric. In addition to having the same name, they are both major antagonists in a animated family fantasy show, they are both wizards, and they are both opposed by a young redhead magic user (Sofia and Will Vandom).
- According to Craig Gerber, Cedric's birthday is in the beginning of January, making him a capricorn. The actual day, however, remains unknown.
- Cedric is also similar to Severus Snape. They both have slicked black hair and hooked noses, they are both wizards who dress in long black robes, they are both characters who alternate between hero and villain, they are both January capricorns, and they both have a love/hate relationship with the protagonist (Sofia and Harry Potter). Both also show a distaste for "flashy" magic, preferring the arts of potions, and, in Cedric's case, enchanted objects.
