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The Princess Diaries

Play trailer 2:09 Poster for The Princess Diaries G Released Aug 3, 2001 1h 55m Kids & Family Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
49% Tomatometer 118 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Shy San Francisco teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is thrown for a loop when, from out of the blue, she learns the astonishing news that she's a real-life princess! As the heir apparent to the crown of the small European principality of Genovia, Mia begins a comical journey toward the throne when her strict and formidable grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), shows up to give her "princess lessons."
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The Princess Diaries

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Critics Consensus

A charming, if familiar, makeover movie for young teenage girls.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media Terrific fun for girls and their families, too. Rated: 5/5 Dec 28, 2010 Full Review Anna Smith Empire Magazine A light, uneven Pygmalion story that may win young girls over with its wish fulfilment theme and teen movie staples, but does not live up to the expectations created by the cast and director. Rated: 2/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Derek Adams Time Out Notions of responsibility, surrogacy, rites of passage and the value of friendship are gone through, but the highlighting of modern tropes merely serves to emphasise the film's conventionality. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review Dan DiNicola The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) The Princess Diaries is as sappy as they come, a Pygmalion story told in Pollyanna terms. But sometimes sappy works, and this is one of those times. Rated: B- Apr 30, 2024 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies To say that both Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews are absolute perfection in The Princess Diaries would not be an understatement. Aug 3, 2021 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens Do Queen Clarisse and Joe succeed with their fair lady? Does Mia accept her destiny? Does she get her Prince Charming? Come on! This is Hollywood. This is Garry Marshall. This is a fairytale. This is once-upon-a-time. This is as good as it gets. Nov 14, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Alexander H So good. Perfect cast. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/21/24 Full Review Cleveland E Good acting but horrible terrible & predictable absurd script. I wished I had turned it off half way through. What a waste. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 08/28/24 Full Review Hanalina A This movie is as comfortable as comfort movies get. The story of a young girl finding out she is a princess is a little sappy, but the way the writers make you look beyond the storyline and invest into the characters and the country of Genovia is outstanding. The morals of learning your responsibilities and not taking advantage of your ability to use your voice is one that I think is important for every young girl to learn; Princess Diaries does just that. Lastly, the way Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway make you feel like you are in the princess lessons, at the carnival or driving in the mustang with them is unreal and makes this one of the happiest, cozy movies I have ever watched. P.S. You have to watch this movie to see how amazing Mandy Moore is during Stupid Cupid Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/17/24 Full Review Dale R Mia, played by Anne Hathaway, is told she is the rightful heir to the throne of a fictional European country. Anne Hathaway is perfectly cast as an awkward, clumsy teenager that can transform into a beautiful princess. Julie Andrews is a delight as her grandmother and I enjoyed Hector Elizondo’s limousine driver. What makes this movie work is that they take the plot seriously and the ending is satisfying. There are a few awkward comedic scenes that I wasn’t a fan of and the romance felt rushed in at the last minute. I think this movie is worth your time though. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review Eye C One of my confort movies, I could watch this forever and is never gets old. Love this movie, love the performances, love Anne, and in this particular case I love the latin american dub, is the only way I like to see it. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/09/24 Full Review Blu B Yeah it's pretty good actually. Hathaway was a bit over the top dorky like a cartoon character at first but once she settled in and becomes the princess she becomes more of a real person with quirky charm and is relatable. Julie Andrews is great and is a rock in this for consistency. Everyone else though is kind of forgettable and gives Disney Channel style performances. But overall the acting isn't bad thanks to those two. The music isn't bad either. It can be a bit on the generic side but is used pretty well overall. Everything else is pretty solid about it. The setting is memorable, it's very colorful and pops quite a bit, which helps because the direction is pretty basic. It can get a little jumbled fitting in all the different subplots. The romances, the best friend, her family, the mean girls, etc but it somehow overall makes it work pretty well. I think it does because it stays focused on Mia mostly and when it does cut to a sideplot it makes it very quick and ties in pretty well. It's also very charming and at times sincere honestly. The humor actually gets a consistent laugh every now and than. The PG friendly tone actually helps give it a charm rather than holds it back surprisingly. It's a bit long but it worked mostly and I didn't really mind it because I liked Mia quite a bit actually. It's a Disney Live Action Classic that anyone who likes any actors in this, the director, Cinderella type stories, or Disney live action should check out. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/06/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Princess Diaries

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Shy San Francisco teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is thrown for a loop when, from out of the blue, she learns the astonishing news that she's a real-life princess! As the heir apparent to the crown of the small European principality of Genovia, Mia begins a comical journey toward the throne when her strict and formidable grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), shows up to give her "princess lessons."
Director
Garry Marshall
Producer
Debra Chase, Whitney Houston, Mario Iscovich
Screenwriter
Meg Cabot, Gina Wendkos
Distributor
Walt Disney Pictures
Production Co
Bottom of the Ninth Productions Inc., BrownHouse Productions
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 3, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$108.2M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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