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The ‘Princess Diaries’ Makeover Scene Made Me Terribly Insecure For Years
Can we talk about the damage done by this “iconic” scene?
“In Paulo’s hands, remember, you will be beautiful”
That was the promise made in this film to a young, dorky girl who was apparently the ‘Before’ version of beautiful. And oh boy, can I just tell you, this scene did a real number on me. Not just me, but we’ll get to that soon.
If you know Anne Hathaway, you probably remember her very first movie — ‘The Princess Diaries’, a mega-hit film that was highly popular with children and teens all over the world.
Now, I’m criticizing a scene of this film, but I would be lying if I said that ‘The Princess Diaries’ was not a movie I loved as a little girl. And Anne Hathaway is still one of my favorite actresses ever. I remember watching this movie on the Disney channel when I was 13, wide-eyed and in total awe.
A normal teenage girl revealed to be a princess who learns to rule her nation with grace and goodness? “Hell, yes!” said literally every teenage girl with the typical princess fantasy. This was your classic Disney teen movie plot that was guaranteed to be a bestseller.
So, what made some of us realize that parts of this movie are incredibly toxic and left a lasting impact on us? I’ll show you.
What happens in the makeover scene?
‘The Princess Diaries’ starts with Anne Hathaway starring as Mia Thermopolis, the awkward, geeky, “dowdy” teenager with frizzy hair and thick spectacles.
Now, the beginning scene isn’t readily available on Youtube to show you, but my memory of this film is still fresh as a daisy, what with the mental scars and all.
So, in the beginning, there is a scene in which our regular high school jock(obviously the crush of every girl in a 5-mile radius) actually sits on Mia. He sits on Mia because he didn’t see her there. Because Mia is so “shoddy” and “plain” that she blends into the background and becomes *waves hand vaguely* invisible.
Eventually, it is revealed that Mia is actually a royal princess, and her grandmother, the queen(played by a fittingly regal Julie…
