Princess Diaries
| Cast: | Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo |
Sugar and spice director Marshall puts on his Disney hat and gives a thoroughly Disney treatment to the story of a gawky (pretty/ugly) teenaged girl who finds out she's heir to the throne of a fictitious European nation. The plot is visible a mile off and the usual elements are there - of shy quiet boy secretly in love with her, popular gorgeous guy who turns out to be a loser and the irreverent best friend. The underlying tone, despite updating their storylines for the politically correct middle class America brought up on Spice Girls-type Girl Power, is that every girl has to have an astounding makeover or be a princess or fairy to make a difference in the world. The usual gloop from a story that Disney bought and thoroughly stamped with their crest rather than spawning it straight from their sausage factory.
