The Princess Diaries

At the center of the story is her discovering that she is, in fact, a Princess, which dramatically alters the course of her life. Sometimes for the better, other times, in a more invasive manner than she has ever had to deal with.

Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews) is the Queen Regnant of Genovia, having taken on the duties of the crown after her son’s death, despite having married into the royal family. She is presented as the epitome of noble grace and etiquette, who is out of options when it comes to the crown beyond Mia. Otherwise, it passes into the hands of the Baron and Baroness von Troken, who are next in line. Mia stands as the most amenable solution (in the first film) in her mind, even if it means trekking across the ocean to properly educate her in the ways of being a Princess, in general, and a future Queen. While The Princess Diaries features romcom elements, the relationship between Clarisse and Mia is the primary focus of the film’s story.

Two characters who arrive with Clarisse, who also act as staunch supporters of Mia throughout her journey, are Joe (Héctor Elizondo), the Queen’s head of security who acts as Mia’s driver, and Charlotte (Kathleen Marshall), the Queen’s secretary who helps to facilitate Mia’s training. Others include Paolo Puttanesca (Larry Miller), Mia’s hairdresser and beautician, who provides the iconic “make-over scene” which, like most films, is viewed with scrutiny by some and lavished by others.

Mia’s life is turned upside down by the revelation, with people who she viewed as social enemies, like Lana Thomas (Mandy Moore), a popular cheerleader who spends much of the film bullying her, or Josh Bryant (Erik Von Detten), a boy who Mia has a crush on, but has literally never noticed her, turning on a dime when they learn her true status. On the other hand, her friend, Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo), is concerned about how this will affect Mia’s self-perception and behavior, while also seeking to capitalize on Mia’s social status for her personal brand of activism. While Lilly’s motives are purer in heart, they are effectively called out by her own brother, Michael (Robert Schwartzman), who has also had feelings for Mia that might just be reciprocated.

Of them all, Michael is the only one whose callout of Mia feels earned, rather than contrived. However, I have my personal feelings about the whole situation. The Princess Diaries centers on a young girl – not even eighteen – finding out that every facet of her life has not only been a lie, to protect her, but still. She has been denied any relationship with her father, based on the truth, and her initial feelings of betrayal have only one target when the secret is revealed to her: her mother, Helen (Caroline Goodall). When looking at it through Mia’s eyes, I have always taken issue with people in the film viewing her choices as selfish. Are they centered on herself? Yes, absolutely – because she is living her life at a time when everything is changing around her and she has no control beyond her choices, which have been constrained to two with a timeline: accept being a Princess with all that comes with it, or live forever with the board changed, and none of the benefits. This would be a lot to ask of an adult, but a teenage girl?

What makes Lilly’s words stick out is that she does want Mia to use her position to mean something. And while she is disappointed that Mia did not go on her show, she is more angry that Mia hadn’t used her voice for something – anything. This is the lesson that Mia learns throughout the film. Yes, her world has changed, but her choice is really “will I change with my world or let the world change me?” By the time the film reaches its conclusion, Mia has settled on the former option, not because being a Princess will be easier – the film makes no bones about the difficulty that goes into it, from the expectations, limitations, and obligations – but because she wants to use her position to affect real change in the world. Greatness has been thrust into her hands, and what she does with it is the measure of her character and nothing else.

While many alterations can be forgiven at the time of the film’s production and its release slate – as only the first book had been written and released during production, with the second following a month ahead of The Princess Diaries’ premier – some are… startling to consider being included.

Chief among them was the decision to have Mia’s father, Philippe, die in a vague accident before the film begins. The book’s focus is on a less dramatic, but no less realistic, reason for Mia to discover she is a Princess and the heir: Philippe suffers from testicular cancer, which prevents him from having any additional royal children. Whether this decision was made for dramatic effect or they truly did not grasp the importance of the character in the follow-ups is immaterial. This is the kind of change that makes little sense even in context.

Focusing on the film, we see Lilly and Michael act as emotional ballast for Mia – pure foils to Lana and Josh – whose motives are purer but also wrapped up in what it means to be a teenager. Additionally, we have their mutual friend, Jeremiah (Patrick Flueger), who is also Lilly’s co-host on their school-sponsored show and is an adorable part of the ensemble.

Other characters include the faculty at Mia’s school, who equally circle Mia to protect and encourage her, in their own way. Geraldine Gupta (Sarah Oh) is the Vice Principal of Mia’s school. While she seems like the obvious antagonist (not the villain), due to her only truly caring about Mia after she is revealed to be a Princess, the film lays it out through subtle implication quite well. Mia is one of an assumed several hundred students under her charge. Unless you’re a truly heartless figure in education, you “care” about all your students. Still, nobody has time to show empathy and sympathy to everybody at all times. The film toys with the possibility that she is the one who outs Mia. Still, she is also one of the first to protect her when the truth comes out – alongside Anita Harbula (Mindy Burbano), Mia’s gym teacher. She, like Patrick O’Connell (Sean O’Bryan), Mia’s English teacher, is supportive of her before the reveal, and steps up even further after it. At the same time, Patrick is also secretly dating Mia’s mother, so there’s that teenage trauma-drama in the mix, too.

While it changed much about the book’s story, it follows the trend for me – separate the properties and view them for their respective strengths and weaknesses. The Princess Diaries is a sweet, entertaining story that stealthily focuses on generational trauma in addition to the coming-of-age narrative. It also focuses on one of my favorite genres of fiction – royalty.