The Princess Diaries (2001)

Set in San Francisco, a nerdy high school girl (Anne Hathaway) living with her divorced mother (Caroline Goodall) discovers she is of royal blood when her grandmother (Julie Andrews) arrives in town. With the death of her paternal grandfather, she is next in line for the throne. Based on the young adult novel by Meg Cabot and directed by Garry Marshall (PRETTY WOMAN). Considering it's a G rated Walt Disney film, it's surprising how the movie avoids the treacle that too many of Disney's family friendly live action movies succumb to. This coming of age romantic fantasy (an updating of Cinderella) may be predictable (echoes of PYGMALION) but it engenders a lot of good will with its goofy charm and Hathaway in her breakthrough role is positively captivating, it's easy to see why she quickly became a star. The film was a big hit and a sequel arrived three years later also starring Hathaway and Andrews. With Hector Elizondo, Mandy Moore, Sandra Oh, Heather Matarazzo and Larry Miller.