The days of sleepovers and wearing pink pajamas while projecting a DVD of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement feel like they were just yesterday. Unfortunately, they definitely weren't, as you could probably tell by the reference to DVDs. Anne Hathaway also reminded us all of this when she shouted out The Princess Diaries sequel on social media to celebrate its 20th anniversary. As someone who was raised on the best 2000s films and watched The Princess Diaries movies during my formative years, I’ve never felt older.
After celebrating the anniversary of the first Princess Diaries in 2021, Hathaway commemorated the sequel in a new Instagram post, writing:
Happy 20th anniversary to #PrincessDiaries2 and @kellyclarkson’s Breakaway!
The Interstellar star shared photos of some familiar faces that made The Princess Diaries 2 so special. She featured pictures with Chris Pine and Callum Blue, who played two of her love interests in the sequel film. The Oscar winner also shared a photo with director Garry Marshall and an adorable snap with Julie Andrews. One of the highlights, however, was a snippet from the song “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson, which was written for the film, and has since become an iconic song of the 2000s.
The Princess Diaries movies were perfect for my generation of young girls. They featured a charming, relatable performance by Hathaway, whose character Mia is just trying to get through the teen drama of high school when she is told by her grandmother (played by Andrews) that she’s actually royalty. She is also in line for the throne in the fictional European country of Genovia. Young Mia is in over her head, and she goes to princess lessons with her grandmother. They develop a bond, and Mia teaches the Queen how to be young again.
The sequel focuses less on high school drama, and more on the pressure on Mia to get married so she can inherit the throne. It’s fun to watch her date a number of goofy royal men, and eventually get swept off her feet by the supposed villain of the story played by Pine. However, the core story is more about independent womanhood. Mia decides not to marry anyone and rule as a single woman, just as her grandmother did. In the age of trad-wives on TikTok and dating app pressure taking over, seeing such a message of independence feels rare, and makes me nostalgic for this era of media directed at young girls.
This post also reminded me how many mainstream movies are no longer made for that demographic. The success of Anyone But You signaled that rom-coms are making a comeback, but that is an R-rated comedy that's definitely not appropriate for children. Barbie felt like a model for positive messaging geared at girls, but even that movie is PG-13.
Where are the sleepover movies? Where are the Cheetah Girls? The Parent Trap? Freaky Friday? The Princess Diaries movies now feel like a relic of a bygone era of girl power, and I think it’s about time we bring them back. Maybe if The Princess Diaries 3 finally heads to the big screen, the genre will have a renaissance.
You can revisit Anne Hathaway in both Princess Diaries movies with a Disney+ subscription. For more information on other great films available on the streamer, make sure to check out our feature on the best movies on Disney+ right now.
