TV Recap: "Vampirina: Teenage Vampire" Opens With Music, Secrets, and a Big Win
Anne Marie Pace’s picture books became a hit Disney Jr. animated series in 2017 with Vampirina. Less than a decade later, it has the distinction of becoming the first Disney Jr. property to get a live-action adaptation from Disney Channel. This recap of the first episode proves that while it’s not meant to be a continuation of the animated series, Vampirina: Teenage Vampire still has a lot of whimsy and fun in its veins.
Episode 1: “First Year to Watch" - Written by Randi Barnes
While Vee (Kenzi Richardson) sleeps, she dreams she’s performing on stage at a sold-out amphitheater in L.A. The crowd goes wild for her performance, but towards the end of the song, she levitates off the ground with purple glowing eyes. The crowd turns on her, now aware that she’s a vampire, holding neon pitchforks and turning into an angry mob. She keeps trying to tell them that she’s a good vampire, but they only care about one thing: She’s a vampire.
As Vee wakes up from her dream-turned-nightmare, her ghost sidekick Demi (Milo Maharlika) pops out of the dresser, having helped her pack while she slept, including SPF 500 sunscreen so she can go outside in the human world. Vee is about to leave Transylvania to attend the world’s best music program, and her parents are being a little overprotective. Oxana (Kate Reinders) and Boris Hauntley (Jeff Meacham) are worried about their little Vampirina flying so far from home. It doesn’t help matters that when Vee gets nervous, she experiences a “fritz," a flash of her purple eyes and fangs that she can’t control. Her dad reminds her to watch out for any mortals wearing a ring with a “VH" on it, the mark of a Van Helsing - a vampire slayer. Vee tries out her trance abilities on her dad, which isn’t that effective on him, and he warns her not to try that at school.
Vee literally flies to Wilson Hall Academy for the Arts, a purple bat fluttering with a suitcase into the dormitory. After transforming, she meets her roommate, Sophie (Jiwon Lee), a shy girl who usually makes music in isolation on her computer. The roomies bond over having the same Millie Eyelash poster and both wanting to attend this school because of the artist. Vee opens her trunk just as the assembly bell rings, and it’s a good thing Sophie was distracted because Vee discovered she had a stowaway - Demi. It turns out her parents send him with her as an extra precaution against a Van Helsing.
Dean Merriweather (Kim Coles) welcomes students to the school and announces that tomorrow will be the first year showcase, with the winner being crowned the First One to Watch. Millie Eyelash won this same award when she attended, and Vee is eager to win it herself, while Sophie is anxious about the concept of performing. They meet the students sitting behind them, a nice boy named Elijah (Shaun Dixon) and a braggadocious girl named Britney (Faith Hedley), who comes from a long line of Wilson Hall alumni who have always won First One to Watch.
At lunch, Vee and Sophie agree to stick together, no matter what. Sophie teaches Vee the human custom of a pinky swear. When Britney and Elijah stop by their table and announce they have formed an a cappella group for the showcase, Vee gets overly enthusiastic and announces that she and Sophie have combined forces, too. As she tells them that they will write and perform a song together, Vee has a fritz, covering her mouth to avoid showing her fangs. She rushes out of the cafeteria. Demi, who was hiding in a bust of Beethoven, sees Britney showing Sophie a family ring she’s wearing that belonged to her grandfather.
Vee apologizes to Sophie for announcing their partnership before formally asking her. They find a music room to work on their song together, with Demi interrupting disguised as a mime to warn Vee that he thinks Britney is a Van Helsing. As they continue preparing, we see Demi continuously try to convince Vee that she could be in danger, but Vee doesn’t take his concern seriously. They get into a fight in the dorm, and in her anger, Vee begins to levitate as she yells, “My music slays and I’m going to slay and nobody is ever going to find out that I’m a vampire!" While she was yelling at Demi, Sophie walked in and heard everything, running away screaming.
Wandering the halls calling for Sophie, Vee says out loud that she wishes she had told Sophie her secret, not knowing that Britney was around. She instantly begins trying to get Vee to share it with her. When she hears Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5" coming from behind a trophy case, Vee discovers a lever that opens a secret passageway up to a secret rehearsal room where she finds Elijah dancing hip-hop. He asks her not to tell anyone, explaining that his parents only want him to study classical music, and nobody knows that he loves hip-hop. There’s a moment where they say the same thing at the same time, and when Elijah says “jynx," Vampirina responds with a Transylvanian response that confuses him: “And many curses to you as well."
When Vee returns to the dorm, she finds Sophie, who is now afraid of her and very upset. Vee says she had to keep it a secret, but Sophie feels betrayed. Sophie asks about the glowing, floating boy she saw Vee yelling at and learns he’s a ghost. Vee promises to never hurt Sophie, but Sophie doesn’t trust Vee and decides they are on their own for the showcase, which is about to begin.
Vee arrives backstage just as Britney and Elijah’s a cappella group finishes performing. Dean Merriweather takes the stage to announce Vee just as Sophie arrives backstage. Vee apologizes again, telling Sophie how talented she thinks she is. “Don’t stay in the shadows," she encourages her roommate as she heads on stage to perform solo. With her spookulele, Vee seems a little shaken as she starts to perform “Supernatural." When she sees Britney talking to Sophie, she imagines she has a pitchfork.
Britney seems glad that Vee is having a bad performance. She tells Sophie that she’s going to have her produce some music for her so Sophie can stay off stage, where she’s more comfortable. Sophie suddenly seems inspired by Vee’s message, telling Sophie that she’s ready to get out of the shadows. She marches on stage to join Vee, and they restart the song. Together, they perform with so much energy that the audience of students gets out of their seats to move closer to the stage. When Vee sees Elijah enjoying it, she pulls him on stage and lets him freestyle a rap over the bridge, with Elijah also debuting his dancing skills. Against all odds, they win First One to Watch as a group.
Backstage, Demi congratulates Vee, but also tries again to warn her that Britney may be a Van Helsing. He points out her ring and Vee looks closely, realising that it says “WH" for Wilson Hall, not “VH." Britney congratulates Vee, but tells her not to get used to her being nice.
As they walk back to the dorm, Elijah asks Vee and Sophie if they’d like to get pizza together. When Britney comes around the corner, Vee invites her to join, and she agrees. Vee and Sophie head to their room to put the trophy away while Britney steps into Elijah’s room. She sees him putting a ring on a chain and wearing it on his neck, asking what it is. “It’s a family thing," he tells her. “I’m a Van Helsing."
Continue the story in our recap of Episode 2, “First Day of School."
New episodes of Vampirina: Teenage Vampire air Fridays at 8/7c on Disney Channel. Episodes will be available to stream on Disney+ beginning Wednesday, October 15th.