Mia realizes that serving others trumps personal agendas. The physical just serves as a visual way to illustrate what’s going on in her heart and head-most “curly-haired, eyeglass-wearing” children are bright enough and resilient enough to understand that. The change from ordinary to extraordinary is both physical and mental for Mia. But the point being made here is deeper than all of that. And mere makeovers won’t change the way millions of teens think of themselves or others. True enough, no one seeing The Princess Diaries is going to have an unknown family member bestow royalty upon them. Of course she’s tempted to take advantage of her newfound allure and celebrity to cash in on a longtime crush she’s had on a “jock.” But when she does she quickly learns he’s not really interested in her, he’s just attracted by her “position.” At the risk of spoiling part of the ending, it’s necessary for me to allude to a grand scene in which Mia turns her back on all the newly interested boys and instead picks the boy who, as she so eloquently puts it, “saw me when I was still invisible.” Another lifeline offered here for teens struggling with body image is the idea that no one can make you feel inferior without you letting them do it. “Who knows, maybe next week you’ll be waving pom poms in my face.” Fortunately, Mia is sensitive to such concerns, sharing her friend’s strong apprehension about what her new image will do to her. “You’re an A-crowd wannabe,” she says accusingly. Her friend, Lilly, is at first appalled that Mia seems willing to sacrifice her inner strength and character to “beautify” her body. That’s an important point to see clearly. They’re thrust upon her by royal dictates. Mia doesn’t want new hair, new makeup and contact lenses. Writing for the Philadelphia Daily News, Francesca Chapman criticizes the movie’s “transformation” scenes, saying that “its message about physical beauty is frustrating, and you might want to think twice before taking any curly-haired, eyeglass-wearing child to see it.” On the contrary, it’s Mia’s metamorphosis that is the platter upon which most of the film’s positive elements are served.
“Families don’t lie to each other or ignore each other for 15 years,” Mia wails. For instance, the movie’s writers use the fact that Mia’s mother kept her heritage a secret to make a point about families being honest with each other. The lessons flow unpretentiously from the actions of Mia and her family and friends. And best yet, it’s not overly preachy or dry. It’s Happy Days with 21st century characters and production values. Positive elements: It’s an old-fashioned story crowded with moral lessons, honest ideals and true love. But she’s a jewel of a person on the inside, and her grandmother sees her true potential from the very start.
Naturally, Mia’s a klutz, so the beauty and grace lessons she must endure are far from sedate. Mia’s not so sure she’s thrilled with her new life (she’s gotten pretty comfortable with her invisibility), but she agrees to undergo training until “the big ball” during which she must accept or decline her country’s highest position. Grandma informs a bewildered Mia that she is the last surviving heir to the Genovian throne and she must immediately begin training for her duties as a princess (her eyebrows are the first things subjected to the will of the crown). She’s the Queen of a small (fictitious) country named Genovia (think Monaco). Then one day her grandmother comes for a visit. She gets freaked out at the prospect of giving a speech in front of her class. She embodies that fantasy for us all.ĭrab, commonplace, invisible Mia is just your ordinary teenager. And that’s where Mia Thermopolis comes in. Even us guys have the occasional princely muse. Pretty much every female on the planet has thought, at one point or another, about being swept out of her ordinary life by the sudden proclamation that she is not a mere mortal, but a princess.
OK, let’s be honest, it’s a grown woman’s dream, too.