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What does it mean to be a princess? Besides wearing tiaras and twin sets, dancing at balls…attracting fame and fortune simply for being beautiful? A princess is stuck forever in extended adolescence – she only has the trappings of power. Symbolically, at least, a queen has real power, and does not necessarily need to be beautiful.

For hundreds of years, fairy tales have filtered through our consciousness to involuntarily fuel our dreams. In the last century, what began as cautionary tales to lecture children have been sugar-spun into a Disneyfied notion of desire. But with Disney's latest, Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, the recent trend of recasting fairy tales to reflect modern ideals continues, albeit with a gentler hand than yesteryear's feminists.

Simply, it's not enough to be a princess anymore. Although ostensibly a conventional tween romantic comedy, Princess Diaries 2 features a heroine who is more independent than Drew Barrymore's character in Ever After (1998) and less frustrated than Julia Stiles' Mary Donaldson clone in the The Prince and Me (2004). And, even better, in Princess Diaries 2, there are no handsome princes, just boys on the side.

I'm not a fan of much of director Gary Marshall's work – although Pretty Woman's a classic, Runaway Bride, Raising Helen and the original Princess Diaries are very ordinary films. But in this enchanting sequel, he and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes give us a character who's not just beautiful, klutzy and funny. Mia Mignonette Thermopoulos Rinaldi is growing into her power.

Princess Diaries 2 begins five years after the original at Mia's 21st birthday party. After the schemings of John Rhys Davies triggers an ancient Genovian law, Mia has one month to marry, otherwise she will forfeit the throne. As two very different suitors court her, Mia relies on her now affectionate relationship with her grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews), to guide her. Meanwhile security chief Joe (Hector Elizondo) woos the Queen.

There are hackneyed moments, the worst of which is a pajama party featuring dozens of little princesses who are designed to reflect their aspirant audience. Although enjoyable, this scene serves no dramatic function, except perhaps to showcase Julie Andrew's expertise in mattress surfing. The change in Queen Clarisse's character is also unexplained – she's transformed from being an acerbic biddy in the first film to being the dream grandmother. However, this film is entertaining, humorous and has a positive message. The cast and characters are also strong, particularly Anne Hathaway as Mia, and there's plenty of chemistry between her and Nicholas (Chris Pine). Heather Matarazzo and Fat Louie the cat also make brief appearances.

Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement improves on the original, and will be a particular hit with its target audience: tween and teen girls. But this film's got enough substance to appeal to an older audience…if you let it. ***/***** stars.

Anyone who liked the first Princess Diaries movie will like this. It's sweet, it's funny, and there are gorgeous men and gorgeous clothes. My best friend and I are in our late 20's and although it was predictable as any chick flick is...it was well worth our 9 dollar admissions. We loved it, and left feeling happy.

Mia arrives back in Genovia only to discover that due to a old law still on the books, she has to marry in order to rule her country. Unfortunately there is another candidate. Mia proceeds to deal with her life with her usual mix of clumsiness and sarcasm, with best friend Lily along for the ride. Memorable scenes include the ball, the parade, the wooden leg, and the continuing romance between Joe and Queen Clarice.

The sequel to a quite charming predecessor, isn't too bad, but like the predecessor it does have a number of failings that let the film down considerably. I will say that there are some lovely locations, a nice soundtrack and very spirited performances from Anne Hathaway as Mia and Julie Andrews as Clarisse. Another big treat was hearing Andrews sing at the pyjama party. Even seven years of not being able to sing at all, her voice is not too bad, even if it lacks the angelic quality that made her so memorable in Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. However, had he had some better material to work with, John Rhys Davies could have been really entertaining. Because that wasn't to be, he was merely good, as we didn't learn very much from his character. Other failings include a rather contrived plot- then again the predecessor wasn't entirely successful at that either-, an underdeveloped romance and some uneven scripting. Overall, not bad at all, but could have been better. 6/10 Bethany Cox.

Good watch, could watch again, but can't recommend unless you just really liked the first one.

Of all the boring premises, a legal requirement is a really boring choice. Forcing a marriage is not only not relatable for America (Mia's country of origin), but also not exciting to watch Anne Hatheway reject guys and have to settle. And all the while they ignore the obvious solution.

There is a lot of fun with the idea of a American princess just having fun with a lot of resources, and touching bits with her using her power for good.

Sadly, again, the movie doesn't feel like it does anything special, despite all the "pizazz" they layer on.

Again, it's good, but it is weaker than the original, and unless you have the background of that movie, you're not missing anything by skipping this one.

I remember seeing the first movie not expecting much from it, but when I walked out I was pleasantly surprised! When I saw the previews to this movie I thought "Oh god! Another movie ruined by a sequel!" I was slightly wrong in my thinking, because this was in fact a cute, light-hearted, feel-good movie. Maybe it's not as good as the first, but I still thought it was rather enjoyable. Anne Hathaway is a great actress and I'm so glad her talent was discovered and recognized. Julie Andrews gave a great performance as the former Queen of Genovia. This movie may have been predictable and a big ball of fluff, but what do you expect to a sequel to a Disney movie where Pixar wasn't involved? I would recommend this movie to anyone, just as long as you go into it knowing it's different from the first. I'm just praying there won't be a third movie.