Talk:The Princess Diaries (film)

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The book is mentioned as a foot-note while the article is devoted to the movie and the movie's characters! I know that the film is quite popular but - come on!

this story/mmovie is a brilliant movie and book it show's that being normal is alomst better than bing royalty

i think the movie was babyish and uninteresting i think Ann Hathoway did an amazing job and was the right person for the job. But i was dissapointed with judy densh she was supposed to be scary and i was looking forward to seeing her caracter but was thourouly dissapointed in that aspect although i thought she was the wrong person to play granmere most of the other actors did very well conscedering such a terrible movie.

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[edit] Name note

In the book, Mia's official name is Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo. Kate 01:02, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

You reversed Grimaldi and Thermopolis. Her name is Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Grimaldi Renaldo--Shaul avrom 12:03, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Information box image

The information box should supply the original theatrical poster as the lead image, in accordance with the films project. I'm going to upload it immediately after this message. The DVD cover needs to be moved to a separate section. Never Mystic (tc) 16:07, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Finished. Never Mystic (tc) 16:24, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Clean-up tag?

I'm curious to know why the Plot section is tagged for clean-up. Some film FAs have substantially longer storylines than this one (examples include Jaws (film) and V for Vendetta (film)). International release dates are also included in these articles as well as others (for a full list, see "Media" at Wikipedia:Featured articles). Never Mystic (tc) 16:01, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

The sheer length is not the issue; the issue is that for which it is tagged, that it is written from an in-universe perspective. V for Vendetta apparently originated in three countries, as is cited in its infobox. Shannernanner 16:10, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

I see what you mean now. You can put the clean-up tag back. In your opinion, how do you think the plot should be summarized? Perhaps we could get some copy-editors to remove the in-voice synopsis? Never Mystic (tc) 16:44, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

That is not my particular area of expertise, or I would fix it myself. See the writing about fiction and perfect article pages for further ideas. And yes, perhaps so. Shannernanner 16:46, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

It sounds like a plan. By the way, the DVD says that the film runs for 115 minutes. Do we have to state that it's "approximate"? Never Mystic (tc) 16:51, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

That's the correct format according to the template syntax; even if stated on the DVD it probably depends whether or not that includes the credits, etc. It's not give or take 20 minutes, but perhaps give or take 2-3 minutes, depending on how you count. Shannernanner 16:53, 9 October 2006 (UTC)
I've finished watching the entire DVD and the timer clocked in at 115 minutes exactly (including credits). I asked my friend to do the same — who fast-forwarded straight to the end — and said that it ends at 115 minutes with credits too. I'm thinking about removing the "approximate" because it seems insufficient with this information. Other FAs don't seem to use it either. However, I won't edit until you express your view. Never Mystic (tc) 21:25, 9 October 2006 (UTC)
Does the field intend for it to include credits, or just the length of the film itself? It's not a big deal, but that's the proper format according to template syntax. Shannernanner 11:25, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
Most articles include the credits in the film's length. I'm uncertain of whether the field intends this for one or the other, however. Never Mystic (tc) 22:59, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brief peer review

To expand the article you should:

  • Add a Reception section
    • With a sub-section of Box office
    • and a sub-section of Critical reaction
    • Awards and Nominations should also be a sub-section of this
  • Possibly add more pictures

These suggestions are based on WP:FILMS's style guidelines. Cbrown1023 14:30, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your bolding suggestions. =) They sound good and I'll do whatever I can to include this information in the article. Never Mystic (tc) 17:56, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I came to this page via Never Mystic's request at WP:FAC. I only skimmed the article, but I don't think you have too much problem with in- verses out-of-universe prose. The plot summary is told from the perspective of the fiction, but that's generally okay for plot summaries. My suggestion for cleaning up the prose is instead to eliminate the cumbersome lists by converting them into flowing prose. Also consider doing more research to expand the information on the film's development. You also need information on the film's reception by critics (preferably with direct quotes from both positive and negative reviews) and its box-office performance. Sequels should also be mentioned but not dwealt on. I hope this helps. — BrianSmithson 22:23, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Those are excellent suggestions and I intend to retrieve all the necessary information, but Shannernanner thinks that the plot is somewhat voiced incorrectly. Are you certain that it is okay? Do you understand the entire plot or are there some confusing, misleading or redundant parts? Never Mystic (tc) 22:25, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
I really don't think it's a problem. It could be tightened up a bit, though. For example:

After a thorough discussion with her mother and grandmother, Mia reluctantly agrees to attend "princess lessons", after which Clarisse hopes to present her to the Genovian government at the forthcoming State Dinner. She is also introduced to Joe (Hector Elizondo), who becomes her security guard. With the additional class tied in with her daily schedule, Mia begins forgetting to help Lilly with her homework or watch Michael's band perform at a nearby auto-mechanic shop. During a "princess lessons" session, Clarisse informs her granddaughter that she will undergo a makeover, which is completed by Paolo (Larry Miller). Lilly confronts Mia after she undergoes the change. Their friendship almost comes to an end, but Mia decides to tell Lilly that she is a princess and results in their relationship becoming stronger than before.

could become:

Mia's grandmother convinces her to attend "princess lessons" in preparation for her introduction to the Genovian government. Under supervision from her new body guard, Joe (Hector Elizondo), Mia begins to forget to help Lilly with her homework or watch Michael's band perform at a nearby auto-mechanic shop. Mia gets a makeover from Paolo (Larry Miller), after which Lilly confronts her for being so distant. However, when Mia tells Lilly that she is a princess, their relationship becomes stronger than before.

That was just a quick pass, but by removing things like "so-and-so tells so-and-so to do this," and replacing them with "so-and-so does this," you save a lot of redundancy. I've never seen the film, by the way, but I had no problem following the summary in the article.
Another way to add distance to a plot summary (make it more "out-of-universe") is to add direct quotations from the movie. Rather than something like "Mia is told that she is a princess" you can replace it with a direct quote from whatever character gives her that news: "Mia discovers that she is 'of royal birth, a princess of the Genovian bloodline, with all the rights, priviledges, and duties thereof.'" Or whatever the relevant quote is. You can also add language like "In the film's first half-hour, Mia is a regular high school student . . . . The climax occurs when . . . ." etc. But it's optional. Plot summaries of individual works are okay written mostly as in-universe prose. Do have a look at film Featured Articles, though; I've never written one, so I could be wrong. :) — BrianSmithson 22:48, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm going to incorporate your changes immediately. I was wondering if you could take a look at the last paragraph (it was my main concern) and copy-edit it too? Originally I thought it would be easy, but I think my "knowledge" and familiarization to the film got in the way and in my opinion, I ended up writing a very confusing and questionable paragraph. What do you think? How could it be better-worded? Never Mystic (tc) 00:55, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
Sorry, but I'm a bit too thinly spread as it is. The paragraph reads fine to me, but I'm not sure it should be necessary to mention that it rains. — BrianSmithson 09:31, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
So you think it reads well? Okay! I'll omit the rain mention. Thanks again. Never Mystic (tc) 16:34, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikilinks

I think perhaps you've become somewhat overzealous with delinking terms within the article. Please review WP:CONTEXT; "plain English words" should not be linked, but links which are relevant to the context, and especially specific links, are fine and helpful, and should not be delinked ("public access television" is specific). As such, I am going to reintroduce wikilinks to the article. Shannernanner 12:03, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I think I did remove a few too many links. It's fine if you reinsert some of the ones in the plot section. Never Mystic (tc) 19:53, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Differences and similarities section

This section is likely going to be spiral out of control if every detail is included. I suggest that it's trimmed to the most signifcant points of the entire film; if that fails to generate some stability, then it should be removed altogether. Never Mystic (tc) 16:48, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mysterious track...

After checking all over the internet, I stil was not able to find the name of the track Mia is listening to while having her toenails painted during the makeover scene...That same track (well part of it) also appears during the ending credits. It's a kind of jazzy trumpetty tune. Would anyone have an idea? Thank you so much for your help, Best, 219.67.2.69 10:23, 31 March 2007 (UTC).