The Princess Diaries

"She rocks. She rules. She reigns."

2001 1h 55m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🥫

50%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 5,386🥫50%Rotten Tomatoes●52Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 177,641

ComedyFamilyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A socially awkward but very bright 15-year-old girl being raised by a single mom discovers that she is the princess of a small European country because of the recent death of her long-absent father, who, unknown to her, was the crown prince of Genovia. She must make a choice between continuing the life of a San Francisco teen or stepping up to the throne.

“She rocks. She rules. She reigns.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Disney PlusSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Anne Hathaway
Mia Thermopolis
Julie Andrews
Queen Clarisse Renaldi
Heather Matarazzo
Lilly Moscovitz
Caroline Goodall
Helen Thermopolis
Héctor Elizondo
Joe
Robert Schwartzman
Michael Moscovitz
Erik von Detten
Josh Bryant
Patrick John Flueger
Jeremiah Hart

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Garry Marshall
Writers: Gina Wendkos
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Princess Diaries Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Garry Marshall, shot by Karl Walter Lindenlaub. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Debney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bruce Green shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews and Heather Matarazzo carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "She rocks. She rules. She reigns.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Garry Marshall directs. Karl Walter Lindenlaub behind the camera. John Debney scores. Bruce Green cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "The Princess Diaries Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Garry Marshall, shot by Karl Walter Lindenlaub. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Debney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Bruce Green shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews and Heather Matarazzo carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "She rocks. She rules. She reigns.".
9IMDB entry: tt0247638 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "princess", "high school", "based on novel or book", "grandparent grandchild relationship".

The technical file

Cinematography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Original score: John Debney
Editing: Bruce Green
Production design: Mayne Berke
Costume design: Gary Jones
Makeup / hair: Carolyn Elias
Stunt coordinator: Gary Combs
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $37,000,000
Box office: $165,335,153
Return: 447% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: The Princess Diaries (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes: 50% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 52/100
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 177,641 votes
MPAA: G

Awards

3 wins & 11 nominations total

Part of

The Princess Diaries Collection

The Princess Diaries Collection is an American teen romantic comedy sequel, directed by Garry Marshall and written by Gina Wendkos, based on Meg Cabot's 2000 novel of the same name. It stars Anne Hathaway (in her film debut) as Mia Thermopolis, a teenager who discovers that she is the heir to the throne of the fictional Kingdom of Genovia, ruled by her grandmother Queen dowager Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews). The sequel was completed with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, released in August 2004.

Also by

Garry Marshall

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Kamurai2020-08-06
★ 6/10
Good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. This feels like a trope, but I'm honestly not sure if "surprise, you're royal" is a trope. Making up a country for this also feels like a special sub-trope. What I'm sure is a trope is the "She's All That" where you have a clumsy, homely girl that you turn into a beautiful, graceful desirable. The fun of cultures clashing between America and "Genovia" is fun, and a family reuniting is touching, but all the high school girl drama, all the flavors, is overdone and boring. I understand it is needed to develop Mia as a character with which we empathize, but there have to be better ways to establish a character. Unfortunately, we would lose quite a lot by speeding it up, so I get it. While this movie doesn't do much special, it's equally good from start to finish, and reliably so.
r96sk2020-10-12
★ 7/10
It goes on for a bit too long, but <em>'The Princess Diaries'</em> is just about a good film. Anne Hathaway (Mia) is the star no doubt, she's the only character I'll likely remember from this 2001 production. Julie Andrews (Clarisse) is decent too, while Héctor Elizondo (Joe) is extremely likeable in his role. There's also a (incredibly) small appearance from <em>'The Walking Dead'</em> alum Karl Makinen. I found the plot a little tedious to watch in parts, not helped by a few cringey gags. I also, in live-action/non-fantasy films, always find it difficult to believe in fictional places - in this case "Genovia". It's a small gripe of mine. Anyway, I do of course appreciate and rate the overall message of the film. Overall, when all is said and done, I did narrowly enjoy watching this. The main reason being Hathaway, but also the moral of the story.