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Princess Diaries, The
Walt Disney Pictures

Princess Diaries, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 52 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 48 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences

Starring Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, and Caroline Goodall

Shy teenager Mia Thermopolis (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 towards the throne when her strict and formidable grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Andrews), shows up to give her "princess lessons." (Walt Disney Pictures)


GENRE(S): Family/Kids  
WRITTEN BY: Meg Cabot (novel)
Gina Wendkos
 
DIRECTED BY: Garry Marshall  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: December 18, 2001 
Video: December 18, 2001 
Theatrical: August 3, 2001 
RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
This charming, if unnecessarily coronation-length production gets the duckling-to-swan ambivalence just right.
Read Full Review
80
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
This stylish Disney production is an ideal family film.
Read Full Review
75
USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
Isn't always perfect. But it fills an empty spot in the hearts of girls of all ages who have been pining all summer for a movie like this.
Read Full Review
75
Portland Oregonian Chris Hewitt
It's such a delightful, amusing fairy tale that it leaves you wanting more.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Entertaining and pleasing for children and parents, and not in the schizophrenic way of most kid's movies, which toss naughty in-jokes over the kiddies' heads.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Loren King
Manages to wring some originality out of its fairy-tale plot. This freshness compensates for the expected hackneyed qualities in this Cinderella tale.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
A rarity: A fun, entertaining 'G' movie.
Read Full Review
70
Village Voice Ed Park
A modest, enjoyable fairy tale that easily outcharms its animated stablemates of the past decade.
Read Full Review
70
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Fitfully amusing comedy from director and one-time sitcom king Garry Marshall, the fantasy is alive and well among little girls of all ages.
Read Full Review
63
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
A mixed bag with a huge amount of heart.
Read Full Review
60
New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky
This innocuous, frothy fairy tale isn't so off-putting as you might imagine, thanks in large part to Andrews' ageless charm.
Read Full Review
60
LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert
The director is Garry Marshall, but The Princess Diaries is no where near as nauseating a fairy tale as Marshall's "Pretty Woman."
Read Full Review
60
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
Families already know exactly what they're in for, and they're likely to leave the multiplex high on the hum of a charming cast, sunny San Francisco locations, and a suitably happy ending.
60
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Fluffy, candy-colored and aimed directly at tweens -- girls between the ages of 10 and 12.
Read Full Review
50
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
The extent to which The Princess Diaries succeeds is the result of how pretty Hathaway at first mimics, then internalizes, Andrews' essential majesty.
Read Full Review
50
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
Prepubescent girls might get a few safe giggles while others around them are yawning.
Read Full Review
50
Washington Post Rita Kempley
The movie updates Disney's blueprint without altering it in any meaningful way.
Read Full Review
50
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Goes on much too long, stretching a modest story into a marathon that outlasts its welcome by about 30 minutes.
Read Full Review
50
Boston Globe Joan Anderman
Unfortunately, the filmmakers seem to have forgotten that comedy is a requisite feature in a comedy.
50
Miami Herald Christine Dolen
If Andrews oozes regal poise and Hathaway radiates movie star allure -- and they do -- credit the actresses, not this flimsy fairy tale.
Read Full Review
50
The New York Times A.O. Scott
This is "Pretty Woman" for children.
Read Full Review
50
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Occasionally funny but more often hackneyed, schmaltzy, predictable and overdone fairy tale that seems longer than 100 choruses of ''Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
Read Full Review
50
Variety Robert Koehler
Exudes a pre-fab quality.
Read Full Review
40
Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
Critic-proof moviemaking, a candy pink wish-fulfillment fantasy prominently peppered with pubescent pop platters.
Read Full Review
38
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A march through the swamp of recycled ugly duckling stories, with occasional pauses in the marsh of sitcom cliches and the bog of Idiot Plots.
Read Full Review
30
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Trite transformation comedy.
Read Full Review
20
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Such weak medicine. Sure enough, it goes down. Keeping it down is another matter.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 48 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

G.M. D.K. gave it a9:
Who wouldnt like this witty G-rated comedy? People who thought "The Lord of the Rings" was the worst movie ever.

Pat C. gave it a3:
Another inspired premise emphasizing human worth and beauty pre-digested by the formula police into a putrid swill of Hollywood vomit.

Jamie C. gave it a 10:
This movie is so cute and fun! i loved it! it is the perfect movie for anyone, not just kids. this deserves 5 stars!

Spawn gave it a 0:
Will H. you da man cause that movie sukced. The quaurtet has been finished. The four worst movies ever a Confessions of a teenage drama queen, 13 going on 30, Princess diaries 2 and this!

Will H. gave it a 1:
Where was the swearing and sexual innuendos?!?! Seriously, this movie was terrible. How any particular group of people, including 10 year old girls, can sit through movies like this astounds me.

Chad S. gave it a 5:
Unless you're a nine-year old girl, the hunting of the future Princess Mia of Genovia by an overeager press, puts a serious damper on "The Princess Diaries", with the death of Princess Diana still relatively fresh in our minds. At the beach, a kiss is transformed by the print and broadcast media into a scandal. This is when "The Princess Diaries" starts to falter, because the public life that greets Mia when she finally ascends to the throne, is too much reality for this fantasy film to suppress. Before we reach this impasse, the seen-it-before swan lessons that Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews) imparts to her granddaughter is handled nicely, and Heather Matarazzo, as Mia's best friend, livens potentially boring girl-girl rap sessions, because she's real. Matarazzo can't simply change her hair, pluck an eyebrow here and there, and emerge as a princess. Matarazzo's genuine geek factor helps make Anne Hathaway's cloaking of her hotness possible. "The Princess Diaries" feels dated, since most girls would rather be a supermodel.

Sophe gave it a 10:
I loved the movie!

Read more user comments...

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