How Can We Modernize The Princess Diaries?

The past few years brought us a myriad of rumors about another sequel to the beloved 2001 Disney classic The Princess Diaries. In 2017, Anne Hathaway reported that there was already a script for The Princess Diaries 3 and that most of the talent behind the original including Queen Julie Andrews herself were interested in participating in the project. Of course, it's one thing for them to say they're interested and another for Disney to actually produce it, especially when they are already up to their eyeballs in sequels and remakes. The advent of Disney+ gives them a new platform for original content that makes the distribution of their smaller films easier and cheaper than worldwide theatrical releases. They are already taking advantage of this with several upcoming princess-related movies that will be exclusive to the new streaming platform. Whether or not The Princess Diaries 3 will be released in theaters remains to be seen, but it was announced last week that Disney+ has a Princess Diaries spin-off in the works that might just take its place entirely.

The new Princess Diaries spin-off and/or sequel is reported to be about a bi-racial teen who learns that she is Mia's half-sister and must claim her place as the newest Princess of Genovia. Wait, isn't that the same movie? In the age of no more original ideas in Hollywood, Disney has found a way to remake The Princess Diaries for a new generation while simultaneously keeping the same talent that everyone loves from the original. It's more or less what they did with The Little Mermaid 2, in which Ariel had a human daughter who made a deal with "Ursula's crazy sister" to become a mermaid and visit the unknown world of Alantica. While The Little Mermaid 2 was released a little over a decade after The Little Mermaid, it's already been nearly two decades since The Princess Diaries first hit the big screen. Times have changed, and princesses have become more independent. Plus, if you take into account the fact that Mia's father died two months before the events of The Princess Diaries and assume that the spin-off takes place in real-time, the new heroine can't possibly be younger than 19, and that's only if it drops on Disney+ this year. Chances are that the filmmakers will use some kind of movie magic to set the spin-off a few years in the past so they can hit their target age group.

In some ways, The Princess Diaries was ahead of its time, but in others, it was quite dated, which is something that the new movie will most likely address head-on. The makeover trope is very much a product of the late '90s and early 2000s. Today's starlets are all about flaunting their natural beauty, and makeup has become more of a personal choice than a requirement. The new Princess Diaries will probably not feature a scene in which our new Mia is forced to alter her natural hairstyle and buy contact lenses after her makeup artist breaks her glasses without apologizing. She will certainly get a pretty dress and tiara, but any other changes will be subtle and applied behind the scenes. There is also a high probability that she will not have a love interest. The Princess Diaries had a faux romantic comedy feel to it when Mia confides to her mother how she wants her foot to pop when she got her first kiss. The Princess Diaries 2, which had a lot of contradictory dialogue about how a queen shouldn't be required to marry, was even more of a rom-com with a story that focused almost entirely on Mia choosing a suitor. These days, princess movies like Moana try to avoid the love interest subplot entirely in order to really drive the point home.

I'm sure there are those of you who saw the subject of this post and worried that I would accuse The Princess Diaries of being outdated. That is not my intent. It was a fun movie that I liked a lot better than the book. I am simply trying to predict how Disney might treat this faux remake to be more relevant to today's audience. The bi-racial protagonist does not come as much of a surprise considering that Disney has not been subtle at all about their push toward more diversity. The Disney Channel sitcom Sydney to the Max, which features a bi-racial girl raised by a single white father is a good example of this. Though it's certainly believable that Mia's father shacked up with a woman of color before his untimely death, it does feel somewhat forced in terms of Disney's agenda. I'm sure many of us would prefer an entirely original story for the remake with a few subtle throwbacks.

At this time, Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is the most original title that Disney+ has to offer in the coming year. Yet, it continues to push the agenda of the super independent warrior princess who doesn't need a man to protect her. The spin-off of The Princess Diaries will likely be just as much a product of its time that will force Disney to modernize the story of an ordinary girl learning that she is actually a princess in the same way. Whether or not the spin-off and the anticipated Princess Diaries 3 sequel will be one and the same is anyone's guess. I'm sure there will be plenty of similarities between the new movie and the original, but it will also follow modern tropes that showcase how princess changed over the years. What do you hope to get out of a spin-off of The Princess Diaries with a new teen heroine? Let me know in the comments!