Starring Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway. Rated general.

Fans of Disney's Princess Diaries will no doubt recall the story of a nerdy American klutz named Mia (the lovely Anne Hathaway) learning that she was the rightful heir to the throne of Genovia. (Think Monaco crossed with one of your cheesier Swiss-themed restaurants.) A classic ugly-duckling story that had the good taste to feature a beaming Julie Andrews as both the reigning queen of Genovia and Mia's grandmother, it raked in enough bucks to justify this appealing sequel. Garry Marshall--who directed The Princess Diaries after turning Pretty Woman into the first hooker-inspired fairy tale--is no fool. He quickly learned that throwing out the spiked heels and keeping the stardust was the best way to ensure crossover box-office success. It's no surprise that we get a lot of sweetly innocent sparkle here, with just enough grown-up content to keep parents smiling.

Five years after the original Diaries, Mia is about to assume her grandmother's throne in Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement. That's when the male Neanderthals in the Genovian parliament decide to enforce an ancient rule that the queen must be married, and they give Mia 30 days to find a suitable husband. The hunt is on for a royal match. Meanwhile, a villainous MP (John Rhys-Davies) is scheming to foil Mia by plotting to make his hunky nephew (the suitably square-jawed Chris Pine) Genovia's new king. If you don't know what happens next, it's probably time to turn in your tiara.

The script serves up a narrow formula that showcases Marshall's slapstick roots in such sitcoms as Laverne & Shirley. Not that it doesn't do the trick. The guy's such a pro that he manages to get genuine comic mileage out of his minor characters, including a couple of acrobatic servants who never fail to get a laugh. For those of you who like their fairy tales with some mildly goofy pratfalls and a little innocuous romance, Princess Diaries 2 does an admirably slick job of delivering the goods.