First Trailer for The Princess

It's been nearly two months since the official announcement that The Princess is coming to Hulu on July 1st, and we finally have our first trailer. It looks, well... pretty much exactly how it sounded in the original press release. The trailer is filled with snark about how this is an R-rated princess movie. The tone is reminiscent of Shrek, even  using the song "Bad Reputation," which was also featured during a key scene in Dreamworks' princess parody. The discrepancy here is that Shrek was released during a time when fairy tales were clean and princesses were gentle, so it was a fresh take on the genre in the year 2001. The Princess is being released in 2022, a year when butt-kicking princesses have become the standard, yet the trailer presents it as an irreverent novelty.

The first 30 seconds of The Princess trailer begin with fairy tale imagery (or the closest thing they could find in this film) with a narration that states "Once upon a time in a magical castle, the king's daughter was locked away in a tower." I can only assume that the "magical" part was intended to be sarcastic because there is nothing in this trailer that remotely insinuates any hint of magic. It is an action movie wearing the skin of a fairy tale, which becomes especially clear when the narration is abruptly censored and the imagery becomes splattered with blood. Despite seeing so many warrior princesses in the past decade that it's become a tired stereotype, the trailer expects its audience to be surprised that the feisty protagonist is fighting back to protect herself and her kingdom.

I think the specific flavor of irony that the movie is going for is that the Princess (Why doesn't she have a name?) doesn't dress like a warrior despite being highly trained in fighting. According to the presentation of the trailer, she runs away from her wedding in a beautiful white dress and proceeds to massacre anyone who gets in her way, causing the dress to get torn and splattered with blood in the process. There are some minor costume changes later on such as a leather chest plate and bracers, but she never loses the frilly skirt no matter how tattered it gets. This juxtaposition is a bit less common, but it has also been done before. The freshest example in my mind is when Princess Bean ran away from her wedding in the first season of Disenchantment.

When this movie was first announced, I was wondering why it would be getting a Hulu release instead of Disney+, but that's pretty clear from the way the trailer was presented. I'm sure Disney would have gotten an earful from concerned parents if they released a trailer for a new movie their platform that said "These guys ****ed with the wrong princess." If shock value is all this movie has to offer, it will likely be a flop. Keep in mind, however, that even Shrek ended up having a ton of heart, so maybe there will be more to this film than meets the eye. We'll find out on July 1st when it drops on Hulu.

One last thing I want to note is that when I was researching this movie, I accidentally stumbled upon another film with the same title that is also set for a release this summer. This one is a documentary about the life of Princess Diana. It is unfortunate that it was given the exact same name as a completely unrelated movie set for release the same year. It is also unfortunate that it is being released less than a year after the tragic Broadway Diana musical that left a sour taste in people's mouths. If you are a fan of Princess Diana, I suggest not letting either of these coincidences hinder your research or enjoyment of the upcoming documentary.