The Princess Diaries made one of its biggest changes from Meg Cabot’s book series for a very Hollywood reason, Julie Andrews.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Cabot recently explained why Disney’s 2001 movie adaptation killed off Mia Thermopolis’ father, even though he is alive in the books.
Just Jared reported that Cabot shared the story during a CBS Mornings appearance while promoting the new graphic novel version of The Princess Diaries.
The Change Shifted the Story Toward Queen Clarisse
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Cabot said Disney told her the movie would need to make some changes from the book. One of the biggest was that Mia’s father, who is alive in Cabot’s original story, would be dead in the film.
According to Cabot, Disney explained that the studio wanted to give more material to the actress playing Mia’s grandmother.
“We have an actress that we want to play the grandmother and she’s a really great actress and she hasn’t done anything in a while and we really want to give her more lines,” Cabot recalled Disney telling her, according to EW. “So, we’re going to kill the dad and give this actress the dead dad lines.”
Cabot said her hesitation disappeared once she learned the actress was Andrews.
“I said, ‘kill the dad,’ ” she joked. “Bye, dad! It’s Julie. You’re out.”
In the 2001 film, Mia’s father appears only through flashbacks, leaving Queen Clarisse to guide Mia through her sudden royal future. That gave Andrews a larger role as the grandmother who teaches Mia how to become a princess.
The Movie Also Moved Mia From New York to San Francisco
Cabot said the film made another major change by moving the story from New York City to San Francisco. According to Just Jared, she said Disney explained that director Garry Marshall wanted to film in San Francisco because his granddaughters lived there.
Cabot said she did not mind that location change. The father twist, however, has continued to surprise readers who discover the books after seeing the movie and assume Mia’s dad was always supposed to be dead.
“Little young readers” have contacted her to say she made a mistake, Cabot said, because they know the movie version first. Her answer is that Mia’s father is alive in the books.
The Reveal Arrives as Princess Diaries Interest Is Growing Again
EW noted that Princess Diaries 3 is currently in the works, though Andrews’ involvement remains uncertain.
Cabot also said on CBS Mornings that the team is “castle shopping” for the new film and joked that she thinks they should go to Monaco to find the right Genovia.
The author said she has read multiple scripts for Princess Diaries 3 and liked them, with the most recent version standing out as her favorite. “Everyone returns in the script,” Cabot said, while noting that the final cast will depend on actor availability.