The Princess Diaries (2001)

Summer Adventure

Based on the Meg Cabot book of the same name, this romantic family comedy follows the story of a 15 year old social outcast named Mia (Anne Hathaway). One day, she gets the chance to meet her grandmother for the first time who just happens to be the queen of the fiction country of Genovia. A year ago, Mia's father tragically passed away meaning she is now the true heir to the throne. Through this process, she has to learn to become a true princess whch not only results in both a new look and personality change, but also creates a divide between her and her very few friends.

I'm just going to let out the big elephant in the room and give out my one reason to why I don't think this is a great film. The story... I know its based off the book, but this plot is SERIOUSLY flawed! There's nothing wrong with it per-say, in fact it can teach some really good life lessons particularly with kids and teens, but this story is very predictable! The reason is say this is because this movie comes up if quite possibly every cliché you could think of in this kind of set-up. Whenever Mia has to try to act like a princess it only ends up with either her falling over and hurting herself, or accidentally hurting someone else resulting in really forced slapstick. There is also a love triangle which honestly felt really phoned in! It does have a bit of a purpose in the movie, but not a lot. Generic story aside, I will admit that I'd be lying if I didn't say I legitimately enjoyed this film for what it was! This was a pleasant surprise for me. What I thought was going to be a really painful and girl-y romcom turned out to be a decent family picture. If you are a person about to enter your teenage years, I'd imagine this would be a thought provoking film considering this does focus a lot on the pros and cons about being a teenager and some of the things you will have to face in life. What also surprised me very much was Julie Andrews as the Queen Of Genovia. Over time, she starts to really connect with her granddaughter and she does understand how and why Mia is so pressured. She is still an ordinary schoolgirl who in only a matter of hours finds out that she may have to rule her own country in the future! That's a lot for someone to deal with at such a young age!

But how is it compared to the original book? From what I read, I personally really like how the book is set out like a diary just like the title implies. It's almost like something out of a Wimpy Kid book if you just took out the illustrations. Turning a diary-type book into a movie is no easy task but I'm just amazed they actually pulled it off. They found a clever way turn this kind of idea into a feature film and whoever wrote this did great with what they had to work with!

Don't judge a book by it's cover! While The Princess Diaries is not great, it is a fun movie that is guaranteed to keep most kids and adults entertained. If the story was a lot more original and less cliche, I'm sure I would really like this film. But for what it is, its a fine film with a huge amount of heart. If you have any younger siblings/kids who have a huge connection with the princess genre or even the actual books for that matter, this is a film that I think is definitely worth watching.