The Princess Diaries 2

The understandable appeal of the sequel to the 2001 hit doesn't give it a pass on some serious faults | Andrew Coffin

Unlike many other touchstones of "tween" culture (the Olson twins, for instance), it's easy to understand the appeal of the Princess Diaries franchise. Star Anne Hathaway is a charmingly gawky proxy for her often equally ill-at-ease audience, mentored by the pinnacle of charm herself, the great Julie Andrews, through an appealing fantasy world of princesses and palaces. The understandable appeal of the sequel to the 2001 hit, however, doesn't give it a pass on some serious faults.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (rated G) picks up five years after the first film left off. Mia Thermopolis (Ms. Hathaway) has completed her college degree back in the United States, and returns to the mythical (in so many ways, including a weird hodgepodge of "native" accents) kingdom of Genovia. There she must begin her training to assume the throne, under the tutelage of her grandmother (Ms. Andrews), queen of Genovia.