The Princess Diaries (2001)

Mia Thermopolis has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. With her friends Lilly and Michael Moscovitz in tow, she tries to navigate through the rest of her sixteenth year.

Director:

Garry Marshall

Writers:

Meg Cabot (novel), Gina Wendkos (screenplay)

Stars:

Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Hector Elizondo

3 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Andrews	...	Queen Clarisse Renaldi
Anne Hathaway	...	Mia Thermopolis
Hector Elizondo	...	Joe
Heather Matarazzo	...	Lilly Moscovitz
Mandy Moore	...	Lana Thomas
Caroline Goodall	...	Mia's Mom, Helen
Robert Schwartzman	...	Michael Moscovitz
Erik von Detten	...	Student Josh Bryant (as Erik Von Detten)
Patrick John Flueger	...	Student Jeremiah Hart (as Patrick Flueger)
Sean O'Bryan	...	Teacher Mr. O'Connell
Sandra Oh	...	Vice Principal Gupta
Kathleen Marshall	...	Charlotte Kutaway
Mindy Burbano	...	Gym Teacher Harbula
Kimleigh Smith	...	Music Teacher Wells (as Kim Leigh)
Elizabeth Gudenrath	...	Cheerleader Anna (as Beth Anne Garrison)

Storyline

Mia Thermopolis is the average teenager - sweet, a little geeky and pretty much invisible to everyone with the exception of her mother, best friend Lilly and Lilly's older brother Michael. Making it through high school without throwing up is a challenge in itself for Mia, so it doesn't come as welcome news when her estranged grandmother shows up out of the blue and calmly informs her that she is in fact the heir to the throne of a European country called Genovia. Suddenly Mia's life is thrown into complete overload. She's being taught about scarves, waves and pears in order to become a perfect princess, she gets a makeover and a tough looking yet sweet bodyguard/limo driver called Joe. Things get out of hand when the media gets a hold of the story and suddenly Mia is thrust into the spotlight in both the newspapers and in school. On top of all that Mia has a choice to make. She must decide by Genovia's Independence Day Ball whether she longs to relinquish her claim on the throne or to...

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Plot Keywords:

princess | makeover | manners | cinderella story | teenager | 

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Taglines:

She rocks. She rules. She reigns.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Buena Vista Pictures Awards Consideration Site- catagories, screening calendar [United States] Disney

Country:

USA

Language:

English Dutch Italian

Release Date:

3 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Princess Diaries

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,862,269, 5 August 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$108,248,956

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,086,197

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures,BrownHouse Productions,Bottom of the Ninth Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mia's cat, Fat Louie, was Anne Hathaway's pet in real-life. Four different cats played the role. One who allowed people to carry it, one who could sit still, another who would jump, and the last one, who sits on the envelope at the end of the movie.

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Goofs

When Mia and the Queen spend the day together, Mia takes a bite of her corn dog. When she offers the queen a bite, the corn dog is whole again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Helen Thermopolis: Time for school! Stop daydreaming, you'll be late for school.

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Crazy Credits

"Fat Louie" was credited as "Himself," when in fact there were four cats used for the part, none of them named Louie.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD contains 8 deleted scene which include:

• Mia asking Queen Clarice what was her nickname in highschool.
• Some shots of a puppet Mia being ordered about by Clarice which were inserted as Mia was late for her princess lesson.
• Mia's history teacher visiting Mia's house and getting paint on his jacket. As he takes it off, Mia catches him shirtless.
• Michael chatting with Mia on the school roof and removing an eyelash from her face.
• Michael and Mia sharing a pizza with M&M's on it.
• A scene that was supposed to show what the drunk man supposedly did at the last banquet-using a harp to slice eggs.
• Josh telling Mia how everyone at the beach party was waiting for him to do something so they could mimic him. Josh starts inventing a banana dance in which everyone copies and starts doing.
• Lana being exposed to the press for claiming she was Mia's best friend when she wasn't.

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Connections

Referenced in Documentary Now!: Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid, Part 2 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Happy Go Lucky
Written by Andy Goldmark, Alex Greggs, and Brad Daymond
Performed by Steps
Courtesy of Jive Records

User Reviews

A surprise treat!

When I was 32 years old, back in 2001 when this movie came out, I took my then 7 year old daughter to see this move. As a parent I often have to suffer through books my children read to me, music they like, and television shows & movies that I have no desire to see. The previews made this movie look like the standard Disney channel fluff I occasionally have to endure. However, I found that I actually enjoyed this movie.

Garry Marshall basically redressed his PRETTY WOMAN storyline for kids. He even brought in Hector Elizondo, the hotel manager in PW, as the head security officer for the Queen of Genovia, who is played by Julie Andrews. The story also has aspects of the LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY novel in it.

The story is not all that original. A long lost heir to the throne of Genovia has been identified as a klutzy teenager who lives in San Francisco. The Queen of Genovia goes to San Francisco and attempts to persuade her to come back to Genovia and take her place as a princess of the realm. From their the typical hijinks ensue. The princess gets an education in proper royal behavior & procedures. The Queen learns to loosen up and relax. Princess Mia also struggles between dating the school jock, who ignored her before she became famous and dating an unpopular guy who has been her friend for years.

The story is predictable and hold no real surprises. Despite this I still found myself enjoying the film. Julie Andrews did well in her role as the Queen and it was a treat to see her in another Disney film. I was surprised by how well Anne Hathaway did in her role as Princess Mia. She held her own against such performers as Andrews and Elizondo. This movie could have come off as cheezy but thanks to the director and skilled actors it proved to be a real treat. I remember back in 1990 when PW came out that girls thought it was so romantic that a hooker could find romance, true love and wealth. In my opinion PD is a much better role model. I'd rather have my little girl wishing she that she was heir to throne than a hooker who happens to find true love.

Anyway, thanks to my daughter I discovered a film that I really enjoyed It is also because of her that I just saw the sequel, PD-2. It was even better than PD.