Based on a novel of the same name, the premise of **The Princess Diaries** is certainly intriguing enough. A coming-of-age Cinderella story with a twist -- Cinderella is not the damsel in distress. She's comfortable in her own awkward shy teenager shell.

The film has all the ingredients of a successful film. And the film was wildly successful. It has a dream team of cast where everyone is as perfectly cast as they can be, starting with **Julie Andrews** as the queen and **Anne Hathaway** in her breakthrough debut as Mia. Directed by the veteran of Cinderella films **Garry Marshall** (_Pretty Woman_), the film was a low risk bet for Walt Disney.

For the intended audience (young and preteen girls), the film hits all the right notes. Mia's transformation scene is easily the highlight of the film, and it is very effective and well shot.

Yet, the film just didn't work for me. The movie is just all too familiar and predictable. The scene where Mia discovers her heritage carries surprisingly very little revelation and reactions. And the climax just didn't arouse warm reaction it intended to generate. Worse of all, there are just too many cliched and cringe inducing scenes.

All in all, the film is worth casual family viewing. But for me, the strong cast and competent direction couldn't overcome weak screenplay.