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The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement More at IMDbPro »

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151 reviews in total

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45 out of 53 people found the following review useful:
Clean, fun fairy tale, 21 August 2004

Author: kellychitwood from Atlanta, Georgia

How refreshing to attend a non-animated, G-rated movie and enjoy it! As a 41-year-old woman attending with an 82-year-old friend, I expected a light, pretty, romantic fairy tale, and that's exactly what I got. Never saw the first movie, but the "catch-up" work at the beginning made that a non-issue.

Surely, no one would go to this movie expecting to find the meaning of life portrayed on the screen. Come on, folks, this is a Disney princess flick with Julie Andrews and a G-rating; is anybody expecting deep philosophy?

Chick flick? Of course! Especially appealing to young (under 18) chicks? Definitely! Enjoyable to other adult women and men who just want a happy trip to fantasy land with no worries about sex, blood, or blue language? Absolutely!

Take this film at face value and you'll enjoy it. If you can't do that, don't bother seeing it. There are plenty of other "profound" movies out there to inspire, teach, or depress you! Go for a good time and you'll have it.

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38 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
Princess Mia grows into her power, adding bite to this tween rom com, 10 December 2004

Author: Colette Corr from Melbourne, Australia

What does it mean to be a princess? Besides wearing tiaras and twin sets, dancing at balls…attracting fame and fortune simply for being beautiful? A princess is stuck forever in extended adolescence – she only has the trappings of power. Symbolically, at least, a queen has real power, and does not necessarily need to be beautiful.

For hundreds of years, fairy tales have filtered through our consciousness to involuntarily fuel our dreams. In the last century, what began as cautionary tales to lecture children have been sugar-spun into a Disneyfied notion of desire. But with Disney's latest, Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, the recent trend of recasting fairy tales to reflect modern ideals continues, albeit with a gentler hand than yesteryear's feminists.

Simply, it's not enough to be a princess anymore. Although ostensibly a conventional tween romantic comedy, Princess Diaries 2 features a heroine who is more independent than Drew Barrymore's character in Ever After (1998) and less frustrated than Julia Stiles' Mary Donaldson clone in the The Prince and Me (2004). And, even better, in Princess Diaries 2, there are no handsome princes, just boys on the side.

I'm not a fan of much of director Gary Marshall's work – although Pretty Woman's a classic, Runaway Bride, Raising Helen and the original Princess Diaries are very ordinary films. But in this enchanting sequel, he and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes give us a character who's not just beautiful, klutzy and funny. Mia Mignonette Thermopoulos Rinaldi is growing into her power.

Princess Diaries 2 begins five years after the original at Mia's 21st birthday party. After the schemings of John Rhys Davies triggers an ancient Genovian law, Mia has one month to marry, otherwise she will forfeit the throne. As two very different suitors court her, Mia relies on her now affectionate relationship with her grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews), to guide her. Meanwhile security chief Joe (Hector Elizondo) woos the Queen.

There are hackneyed moments, the worst of which is a pajama party featuring dozens of little princesses who are designed to reflect their aspirant audience. Although enjoyable, this scene serves no dramatic function, except perhaps to showcase Julie Andrew's expertise in mattress surfing. The change in Queen Clarisse's character is also unexplained – she's transformed from being an acerbic biddy in the first film to being the dream grandmother. However, this film is entertaining, humorous and has a positive message. The cast and characters are also strong, particularly Anne Hathaway as Mia, and there's plenty of chemistry between her and Nicholas (Chris Pine). Heather Matarazzo and Fat Louie the cat also make brief appearances.

Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement improves on the original, and will be a particular hit with its target audience: tween and teen girls. But this film's got enough substance to appeal to an older audience…if you let it. ***/***** stars.

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28 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
A feel-good movie, 26 July 2005

Author: lilcutie18613 from United States

I remember seeing the first movie not expecting much from it, but when I walked out I was pleasantly surprised! When I saw the previews to this movie I thought "Oh god! Another movie ruined by a sequel!" I was slightly wrong in my thinking, because this was in fact a cute, light-hearted, feel-good movie. Maybe it's not as good as the first, but I still thought it was rather enjoyable. Anne Hathaway is a great actress and I'm so glad her talent was discovered and recognized. Julie Andrews gave a great performance as the former Queen of Genovia. This movie may have been predictable and a big ball of fluff, but what do you expect to a sequel to a Disney movie where Pixar wasn't involved? I would recommend this movie to anyone, just as long as you go into it knowing it's different from the first. I'm just praying there won't be a third movie.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
"good clean fun", 14 September 2004
Author: TheDirector24 from Australia

Disney have proved yet again why they are a head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to producing movies that aren't admittedly brain food, but are "good clean fun", (if you'll forgive the cliché), for kids. For every little girl who ever dreamed of becoming a princess, this film is the perfect way to spend two hours.

True, it was grossly unfaithful to Meg Cabot's original novels, but still managed to convey the charm and slick veneer that has come to be associated with Disney, and the valuable message of independence for little princesses everywhere.

For the more mature audience, this is a happy chance to revisit childhood, or simply breathe a sigh of relief that what your child is watching is not in any way compromising or damaging, and will not have to be explained later.

Good message. Solid performances. Sweet (if bland and predictable at times) story line. Great movie!

Highly recommended for two hours of escapism on a summer's afternoon.

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Fun Chick Flick, 15 August 2004

Author: teachergeek from USA

Anyone who liked the first Princess Diaries movie will like this. It's sweet, it's funny, and there are gorgeous men and gorgeous clothes. My best friend and I are in our late 20's and although it was predictable as any chick flick is...it was well worth our 9 dollar admissions. We loved it, and left feeling happy.

Mia arrives back in Genovia only to discover that due to a old law still on the books, she has to marry in order to rule her country. Unfortunately there is another candidate. Mia proceeds to deal with her life with her usual mix of clumsiness and sarcasm, with best friend Lily along for the ride. Memorable scenes include the ball, the parade, the wooden leg, and the continuing romance between Joe and Queen Clarice.

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Amazingly Trite Tween Movie, 3 May 2006

Author: colin83089 from Hawaii USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Maybe this movie is enjoyable for the target audience (10-15 year olds), but for everyone else I think it's a waste of time. It was much too long and had a lot of ambiguous scenes added for the little girls watching it. Examples include a scene where Mia walks into a room in her castle closely resembling a mall, that is filled with clothes and jewelry. Another scene is a pajama party (Mia is 21) in which stuck up little girls sing karaoke and slide down stairs. The script is one of the worst I have ever seen. The lines that are supposed to be funny are so dumb it's almost funny. All in all, don't watch this movie unless you are a huge fan of one of the stars or are stuck on deserted island with only this movie. My favorite part of this movie were a few of the songs, including Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson.

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18 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
Teenage girls with no interest in plot, scripting or character depth apply within, 23 February 2005

Author: gillard_stephen from United Kingdom

I will just say that the one good thing about this movie is that it's really nice to see Julie Andrews singing again. There is no debating the fact that she has an amazing voice. What does bother me is this increasing trend of teensploitation movies that are appearing regularly in the cinemas. Film makers appear to have found a genre that appeals to the teenage girl who still puts the pillow case on her head and dreams of the perfect wedding and boy are they sticking to it. Take one virginally attractive young woman, give her no brains but an abundance of good intentions, place her in a variety of bumbling situations and add one completely plastic love interest. Acting school? Only add as a very last resort if character's can't manage basic facial expression. Completely ignore the only two interesting characters and their complex love story to focus on the teen dream of the "perfect man," and the fight to win him from the dark side. Even makes the first Princess Diaries look like Citizen Kane. Very very Boring.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Love, Love, Love this movie, 23 June 2006

Author: rlh8947 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I love the Princess Diaries 2, I like it better than the original, which is very rare for sequels. I admit, it is a bit cheesy, but sometimes cheesiness works. Anne Hathaway is one of my favorite young actresses, and oh my god the guy who plays Nicholas (chris pine) is so hot! The chemistry between Mia and Nicholas is amazing, and the story is sweet and cute. I love Hector Elizondo and I wish he had a larger role in the second film, but he's still fabulous in it. I'm also so glad that Mia stood up for women and refused to get married just because the law told her too. I'm sure Nicholas would have married her if she asked him, heck, Andrew was at the altar, but she wasn't prepared to give up her life to make the men who made the law happy. I can't say enough about this movie! Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
My opinions on Princess Diaries 2, 4 October 2006

Author: luva-orlando from Australia

Having read all the books in the series by Meg Cabot, I knew I was going to have high standards, and I was personally quite impressed! I mean, this movie? I can watch it again and again and again, and not get tired of it! It's magic seems to last forever! Anne Hathaway plays a wonderful portrayal of Princess Mia, and her performance is never unsatisfactory. I think, to quote the previous commenter,...the 'transition', was quite effective! The movie was intended to describe Mia's life after she graduates from college. It was not meant to continue where the books left off, and if that was the case, Meg Cabot, wouldn't have let the movie go into production!!! And yes, there may have been 'eye-candy', but what's a comedy-romance without it? Many congratulations on the movie's success, it was well-deserved!

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13 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Princess Diaries 2 has it's moments, but over all is a pretty lame film, 1 August 2007

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

I just recently viewed The Princess Diaries and over all liked it pretty much, so I figured I would see the sequel. I rented it yesterday and watched it this morning and it seemed to me like it was the same plot as before only with a couple different elements. The film also felt very rushed in some aspects, some of the plots or characters that took place seemed to come and go. Although I'm still not sure since I haven't read the books, but the movie itself was just predictable and a bit too silly at times, it just seemed like it could insult the audience it was aimed at.

Mia has graduated college and is off to Genovia to become queen and her grandmother, Clarrise is about to give up her title. But Genovia law is that before Mia is to become queen she must marry someone. She is falling for a young man, Nicolas, but he is also up for the throne as king, so his uncle is trying to set Mia up where she will loose her crown before she could even have it. Mia has to decide wither to go with her heart and let herself love Nicolas or have her duty for her country and marry for Genovia.

The Princess Diaries 2 has some cute and funny moments, I won't lie, I did laugh a little bit, but over all I have to say that it just could have been more, you know? The actors didn't seem to click as well as they did in the first film. Not to mention how quickly the character Michael went away and Lily just was there for 5 minutes to make like a semi quick cameo and just be out of the story. If you want too, feel free to watch this movie, it's harmless, but it's not a great movie if you're looking for one.

4/10

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