The Princess Diaries Movies are based on the novels by Meg Cabot, and they made some significant changes to the source material. Following Mia, a high school student who discovers that she is the princess of Genovia, The Princess Diaries Movies were some of the most iconic teen movies of the early 2000ss. Of course, with Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews leading the cast, it’s no surprise they became a pop culture phenomenon.
While the movies try to stay true to Cabot’s books, they take some creative liberties. It is not always possible for movie adaptations to be exact replicas of the novels they are based on. Filmmakers often have to cut things, whether it’s to save time or because they won’t translate well on screen. with The Princess Diaries 3 Confirmed, it will be interesting to see what parts of Cabot’s books are included in the next installment. As for the first two films, they have a lot of book-to-screen changes.
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Mia’s father is not dead
Mia and her father are close in the books
in The Princess Diaries Kino, Mia’s father, Prince Arthur Gerard Christophe Philippe Grimaldi Renaldo, dies when she is 15. However, In Meg Cabot’s novels, he is alive after surviving testicular cancer. Mia and her father have a close relationship in the books, and he plays a significant role in her life. Prince Philip and Mia’s mother are not together in the novels, but they have an amicable co-parenting relationship. They do reconcile in the end Princess Diaries book.
If Prince Philip was alive in the movie, he and Clarisse would have to share the spotlight.
Although removing such a huge character from the novels is risky, there is a good reason Disney cut Prince Philip. When Julie Andrews was cast to play Queen Clarisse The Princess DiariesThe studio wanted her to have a bigger role due to her status as an actor. If Prince Philip was alive in the movie, He and Clarisse would have to share the spotlight. Instead of adding Prince Philip to the movie, Disney gave Julie Andrews his lines instead (via Just Jared Jr.).
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Clarice is different in the books
Clarice is a difficult character to like
In addition to giving you a bigger role, The Princess Diaries Movies make other changes to Clarisse’s character. Cabot’s version of Clarisse is not an easy character to like. She is too critical of Mia and disapproves of everything she does. She also has tattooed eyeliner and drawn-on eyebrows. She likes to smoke, and she likes to drink sidecars. In the books, Clarice doesn’t like to speak English either. She almost always speaks French and doesn’t like it when Mia speaks English to her.
Andrews’ Clarisse gets rid of many of the character’s less likable traitsEven if she doesn’t seem too hot at first. Overall, she is a much softer character than her book counterpart, treating her grandson with more kindness and patience. This makes it easier to root for her in the film.
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Nicolas Deveraux is not in the book
Nicholas Devereaux is played by Chris Pine in the film
After Mia arrives in Genovia in The Princess Diaries movie, she meets a handsome and charming man named Nicholas Devereaux. While Nicholas and Mia’s story is an interesting addition to the film, Nicholas is not in Cabot’s novels. He is completely original for the movies, and Mia winds up with Michael in the books instead.
Given that Nicholas is one of the most compelling characters in The Princess DiariesThis book change is not one that has gotten many complaints. It would be great if Chris Pine reprized his role in The Princess Diaries 3. An appearance by Pine would give the sequel even more star powerAnd it might reveal what his relationship with Mia is like.
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Mia and Lily have a fallout in the books
Mia and Lily’s friendship is one of the best parts of the movie
Given Lily’s dominant personality and Mia’s fear of confrontation, it’s a given the friends will eventually have some kind of disagreement. Although the movie shows Mia and Lily having a fight, the seriousness of it is not accurately portrayed. The first fight that Mia and Lily have occurs when Mia wants to help Lily with the protest She is meant to film for her cable show. Lily gets angry and stops talking to her. However, the two do eventually make up.
She starts a website called IHateMiaThermopolis.com where she records all of Mia’s embarrassing moments.
Lily and Mia have a more serious fight in Cabot Princess Diaries novels. In the source material, Lily is dating JP, but he breaks up with her because he is in love with Mia. When JP and Mia start dating, Lily makes it her mission to destroy Mia’s life. She starts a website called IHateMiaThermopolis.com where she records all of Mia’s embarrassing moments. Fortunately, Mia and Lily make up again. however, The movies don’t show that part of Lily and Mia’s friendship.
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Mia has other friends besides Lily
Mia has a diverse friend group in the source material
Mia and Lily’s friendship is one of the best parts of The Princess Diaries Movies. however, Mia doesn’t seem to have really close friends outside of Lily in the movies. This is likely because the runtime of a movie limits how many characters there can actually be. In Cabot’s books, Mia has other friends besides Lily at Albert Einstein High School.
Mia’s friend group in the source material consists of Shameeka Taylor, Ling-Su, Boris Pelkowski and JP Reynolds-Abernathy. And after her fight with Lily, Mia is married to another outsider, Tina Hakim-Baba. The two often have lunch together, and Tina, who is obsessed with teenage novels, tells Mia about what she’s reading. This makes Mia’s high school life feel more meaty and interesting.
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Michael’s role is different in the source material
Mia and Michael get married in the books
Mia’s love life is probably the biggest change The movies make too The Princess Diaries Books. After her first break-up with Michael in the novel, Mia starts dating JP, Lily’s ex. Mia breaks up with JP after discovering he is an unsuitable romantic partner and eventually gets back together with Michael. Michael is also in a band in the books, but that doesn’t carry over into the movies.
In the movie, Mia and Michael also don’t get back together after they break up. Instead, Mia spends much of the series interested in Pine’s Nicholas. They are still together when The Princess Diaries 2 is getting close, but they are not yet married. Maybe The Princess Diaries 3 Will see Mia finally tying the knot.
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Mia and Lana become friends in the books
Lana doesn’t apologize to Mia in the movies
Lana spends most of her high school career tormenting Mia, so it’s surprising that they actually end up becoming friends in Cabot’s books. Funnily enough, it’s Mia’s fallout with Lily that brings her and Lana together. After years of bullying you, Lana admits that she was jealous of Mia and apologizes for how she treated her. The two form a friendship that lasts until the end of The Princess Diaries Series. Lana is supportive of Mia and her mean girl streak doesn’t surface again.
This never happens in the movies, with Lana and Mia remaining enemies for the duration of the series. It is possible The Princess Diaries 3 Will change that, assuming that Lana makes an appearance in the upcoming sequel. This would be a way to be faithful to the books in the upcoming film.
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The book is set in New York
The movie is set in San Francisco
Another big change the movie makes to The Princess Diaries is the setting. In the film, Mia and her mom live in San Francisco. In the novel, however, they live in a loft in Greenwich Village in New York. The producers initially intended to set the movie in New York, and its intended title was reportedly changed The Princess of Tribeca (via Grazia Daily). Ultimately, they decided against this route.
Although the setting in the movie is different, San Francisco works better for how Mia’s story plays out in the movie. It provides the perfect backdrop for her princess origin story, boasting an elegant yet modern atmosphere. It is suitable for a princess who is used to an ordinary life.
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Mia’s story is not told through her diaries
Mia does not have a diary at the beginning of The Princess Diaries
Although the movie and book are titled The Princess DiariesThe movie does not tell Mia’s story through her diary. This change in narrative is strange, especially considering the movie is called The Princess Diaries. In Cabot’s version of the story, Mia tells her story using her diary.
This is especially important because the diary is a gift from her mother, who gives it to her so she can have an outlet for her emotions. in The Princess Diaries movie, Mia only gets a diary at the end of the film. Its origin is also different, as the diary is a 16th birthday present left for her by her father.
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Mia does not become queen
Prince Philip abdicates the throne in the novel
After Mia finds out that she is the heir to Genovia in the movies, she starts preparing for her ascension to the throne. Eventually the time comes for her to take over from her grandmother, but the Genoese leaders will not allow her unless she is married. Fortunately, Mia convinces them that she can be queen even if she is not married. at the end of The Princess Diaries 2, Mia is crowned queen and so begins her reign.
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The story does not play out in the same way in the novel. In Cabot’s iteration, Prince Philip abdicates the throne to be with Mia’s mother. Mia must fight to convince the Genovians that she has what it takes to be the queen. Although she is successful, She does not immediately become the queen of Genovia.
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Mia used to visit Genovia
Mia spends every summer in Genovia
When Mia finds out she is the princess of Genovia in The Princess Diaries Kino, she was never in Genovia. In fact, she only visited the tiny European country after officially naming her heir. in the novels, Mia actually spent almost every summer since she was a child in Genovia with her father and grandmother. She and her grandmother would go shopping at the end of every holiday in the small European country.
Mia is not the same acquaintance as Genovia or her grandmother in the adaptation, which makes it even stranger that her path to being crowned is so much easier in the films. Of course, the big reveal is more surprising because Mia doesn’t know the details about her background. It ramps up the drama of the movie, but it’s still a major divergence from the books.
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Mia has a bodyguard
Lars Van Der Hooten is Mia’s bodyguard
in The Princess Diaries Kino Joe, Clarisse’s head of security, is Mia’s driver. However, Joe does not play this role in Cabot’s books. Lars van der Hooten, who is Mia’s father’s bodyguard, plays the role that Joe does in the movie. Initially, Lars just drives Mia and Lily to school – but that changes when the press start hounding Mia after they discover she’s a princess.
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In the novels, the bodyguard accompanies Mia around and has a fun dynamic with Wahim, Tina’s bodyguard. Lars is extremely protective of Mia and keeps her secrets. While it’s a shame Lars isn’t part of the movie, his absence means viewers get to see Joe and Clarisse’s romance unravel in The Princess Diaries Movies.
Sources: Just Jared Jr., Grazia daily