The Princess Diaries

A socially awkward but very bright 15-year-old girl being raised by a single mom discovers that she is the princess of a small European country because of the recent death of her long-absent father, who, unknown to her, was the crown prince of Genovia. She must make a choice between continuing the life of a San Francisco teen or stepping up to the throne.

Critics were genuinely split on this one: the makeover-story formula struck many as tired and predictable, but the central performances — especially Anne Hathaway's debut and Julie Andrews' effortless authority — kept even skeptics partially on board. The sharpest fault line was the makeover itself: several critics felt the film undercuts its heroine by making her more palatable rather than more confident, while others found the whole thing a breezy, harmless charmer. Audiences embraced it far more warmly than critics did.