Princess Diaries, The (DVD)

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These days, live-action family movies--even Disney ones--aren´t all sure-fire winners. However, 2001´s "The Princess Diaries", based on a novel by Meg Cabot, grossed more than $105 million at the American box office (which, oddly, includes Canadian grosses), and in this day and age of uncertain profits, a franchise was born. Well, there´s only one sequel so far that´s about to be released in August 2004, but if "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" also does well at the box office, then we can probably expect additional pairings of director Garry Marshall and actresses Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. At any rate, although it already released two DVD versions of "The Princess Diaries" (one in OAR widescreen, one in MAR Pan&Scan), Buena Vista is now releasing a two-disc special edition of the movie as a tie-in to the theatrical release of the sequel. As with the other numerous tie-in DVDs on the market, this release includes a voucher for a free movie ticket (in this case, a ticket to see "The Princess Diaries 2").

You know those cheesy, mostly-inert movies that play on the Disney Channel on a lazy Sunday afternoon? Well, were it not for the clout of director Garry Marshall ("Pretty Woman") and producer Whitney Houston (yes, THAT Whitney Houston) and the prestige of Julie Andrews joining the cast, "The Princess Diaries" would´ve been one of those lazy Sunday afternoon movies. This is one of those projects without a single shred of originality in its creation. There are shades of make-over stories old and new--"Pygmalion," "My Fair Lady," Marshall´s own "Pretty Woman"--and you´ve got the star of the Broadway production of "My Fair Lady" (Andrews) to boot. There´s a certain gracelessness to the execution, and the movie never knows if it wants to be a comedic drama (think "American Beauty") or a dramatic comedy (think "You´ve Got Mail").

In the movie, Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway in her first big-screen role) is the modern day Eliza Doolittle, the one who has always been at the bottom of the social caste. At school, the bespectacled, frazzle-haired girl must suffer the indignity of being sat on by people who don´t even notice her. Enter Clarisse Renaldi, Queen of Genovia (Andrews). Mia´s father passed away, and it turns out that no one ever told her that she was a member of the royal family of Genovia. After all, her mother wanted her to have a normal life, free from the burden of being royalty. Now, Queen Clarisse wants Mia to prepare for a life of royal duties.

Since Mia is the sole heir to the Genovian throne, the pressure is on for her to accept her duties as the next ruler of the small European country. From there on out, we witness Mia´s transition from the ugly duckling to the swan. Through this progression, Mia threatens the social position of the school social queen, Lana (teen pop singer Mandy Moore). Mia steals Lana´s "too-cool-for-school" boyfriend, and she also replaces Lana as the center of their private school´s attention.

Of course, the bad comes along with the good. Mia´s sudden fame strains her friendship with Lily (Heather Matarazzo, "Welcome to the Dollhouse"). Mia also neglects the friendly overtures of the formulaic nice guy. (Don´t worry--Michael gets the girl at the end anyway.)

I was amazed by the noticeable amount of laziness that went into writing the script. Perhaps part of the problem could be attributed to the original novel written by Meg Cabot, but you would think that Hollywood professionals would have taken the care to polish their "production guide." Instead, we have to wonder if Genovia will cease to exist if Mia chooses to reject the crown or if a scheming Baron and his wife will assume the Renaldi´s royal duties. There´s a reference to a "countessa" who turns out to be Bartholomew, a male...and other embarrassments abound.

Julie Andrews returns to the Disney family for the first time since her Oscar-winning performance in "Mary Poppins." Her return to the family-film fold (as well as the movies in general after a botched surgical operation deprived her of the ability to sing) is not as stunning as we may want it to be, but our reverence for her acting remains unmarred by the haphazard feel of "The Princess Diares." Anne Hathaway does a competent job in her first lead role, but hers is not the immediate, star-making performance like the ones delivered by Alicia Silverstone in "Clueless" or Natalie Portman in "The Professional."

The surprise of the film may be pop star Mandy Moore. Although her performance may be on the stereotypical side, her enthusiasm in portraying a predatory cheerleader reveals a potentially fruitful career in acting. And, yes, Moore does a great job singing the cutesy song "Stupid Cupid."

Video:
--Disc 1--
From what I can tell, this is the same MAR (modified-aspect-ratio) Pan&Scan (1.33:1) transfer offered by the previous, incorrectly named "Fullscreen" DVD. It looks about the same in quality as the OAR version.

--Disc 2--
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image--probably the same as the one used for the previous "Widescreen" DVD--looks pretty usually, fitting the California sunshine of the movie. Curiously enough, nothing looks wet or cold enough in the movie to help the viewer feel as if the story were actually taking place in San Francisco. There are a few transition scenes that look muddy (very odd for a recent movie), and there are some black or white dots that appear periodically. Overall, this is a pleasant-looking transfer.