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31
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57
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63
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43
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76
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57
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70
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69
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47
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78
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52
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76
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47
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51
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71
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80
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76
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79
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88
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40
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74
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76
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63
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32
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36
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76
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54
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84
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43
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64
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Princess Diaries, The
EMAILPRINTWalt Disney Pictures

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 49 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Family/Kids
Written by:
Meg Cabot (novel)
Gina Wendkos
Directed by: Garry Marshall
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 3, 2001
DVD: December 18, 2001
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
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)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Georgia Rule Pretty Woman Raising Helen Runaway Bride The Other Sister The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
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...
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
This charming, if unnecessarily coronation-length production gets the duckling-to-swan ambivalence just right.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
This stylish Disney production is an ideal family film.
Read Full Review >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 >Portland Oregonian Chris Hewitt
It's such a delightful, amusing fairy tale that it leaves you wanting more.
Read Full Review >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 >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 >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
A rarity: A fun, entertaining 'G' movie.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ed Park
A modest, enjoyable fairy tale that easily outcharms its animated stablemates of the past decade.
Read Full Review >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 >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 >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 >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.
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Fluffy, candy-colored and aimed directly at tweens -- girls between the ages of 10 and 12.
Read Full Review >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 >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
Prepubescent girls might get a few safe giggles while others around them are yawning.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
The movie updates Disney's blueprint without altering it in any meaningful way.
Read Full Review >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 >Boston Globe Joan Anderman
Unfortunately, the filmmakers seem to have forgotten that comedy is a requisite feature in a comedy.
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 >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 >Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
Critic-proof moviemaking, a candy pink wish-fulfillment fantasy prominently peppered with pubescent pop platters.
Read Full Review >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 >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
The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 49 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!
