Five years after becoming the heir to the Genovian crown, Princess Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway) learns there are more obstacles in her path. First, Genovian law states that she must be married to be eligible to rule. They begin to screen appropriate choices, settling on an arranged marriage with Duke Andrew Jacoby (Blue) of England.
Meanwhile, Viscount Mabrey (Rhys-Davies) presents another potential heir to the throne: his nephew Nicholas Devereaux (Pine). Nicholas was born and raised in Genovia, and knows the laws and traditions. To keep the Viscount in check, Queen Clarice (Andrews) invites Nicholas to live in the palace until Mia's coronation.
The Princess Diaries did so well, director Garry Marshall made a sequel. However, the original male lead, Robert Schwartzman, did not want to return... so they had to deviate from the storyline of Meg Cabot's "Princess Diaries" series. They address Michael's absence during Mia's opening voice over.
They also moved the setting to Genovia, which allowed new characters to appear, while still keeping the core characters around. Some minor characters, such a reporter and one of the teachers, pop up during the film. The male characters are welcome additions to the cast, while Kim Thomson's reporter verges on grating. John Rhys-Davies is great as the mustache-twirling villain... although he is better known for playing supporting characters. Chris Pine and Callum Blue are fine as the men vying for Mia's attention. Both are decent actors and attractive. Don't even get me started on the other princess characters... is there really a point to their presence in the film? Raven-Symone is not necessary for the film, and I still genuinely don't know why they added her character, but then barely used her: either expand the character or lose it completely.
When the film originally premiered, I preferred it's predecessor... but watching them now, I prefer this film. They are both fun films (especially when they are back-to-back on TV), and worth looking into.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) 113 minutes
Director: Garry Marshall
Starring: Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis
Julie Andrews as Queen Clarice Renaldi
Hector Elizondo as Joe
John Rhys-Davies as Viscount Mabrey
Heather Matarazzo as Lily Moscovitz
Chris Pine as Nicholas Devereaux
Callum Blue as Andrew Jacoby
Kathleen Marshall as Charlotte Kutaway
Tom Poston as Lord Palimore
Joel McCrary as Prime Minister Motaz
Kim Thomson as Reporter Elsie Penworthy
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