Eloise at the Plaza is a 2003 American comedy television film based on the Eloise series of children's books written by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight. It stars Sofia Vassilieva as Eloise, a mischievous six-year-old girl who lives in the penthouse at the top of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Julie Andrews, Jeffrey Tambor, Kenneth Welsh, Debra Monk, and Christine Baranski also star.
The film was directed by Kevin Lima, written by Janet Brownell, and produced by HandMade Films and DiNovi Pictures for Walt Disney Television. Filming took place in Toronto and New York City. It aired on ABC on April 27, 2003, as an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney. A sequel, Eloise at Christmastime, aired that November.
Eloise is a fun-loving six-year-old girl with a knack for finding adventure every place she looks. While under the care of her "rawther" wonderful nanny, Eloise tries to play matchmaker to a lonely prince and wrangle an invitation to the society event of the season.
Hilary Knight makes a cameo appearance in the film as a street artist.
Filming began in November 2002, and mostly took place in Toronto, Canada. Scenes were also filmed in front of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The film was shot back-to-back with Eloise at Christmastime.
Alessandra Stanley from The New York Times praised the film's fidelity to the book and the actors' performances.
Reel Film Reviews gave the film two out of four stars:
DVDizzy.com wrote:
For his work in Eloise at the Plaza, Bruce Broughton won one Primetime Emmy Award in the category of "Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)".
The film's sequel, Eloise at Christmastime, aired on ABC on November 22, 2003.