As a father, I'm subjected to all kinds of fare, which I realize is not meant for my age demographic. That being said, I try to watch material with an open, yet subjective eye and find the redeeming quality in it.
Sadly, the storyline wasn't original and the producers opted to use the recycled formulaic 'fish-out-of-water' plot, ie. girl from (insert nationality, Atlantis, background, culture here) and the difficulties and (although not found here) funny situations they encounter trying to 'blend-in' in a different society. Some movies (Splash and Pretty Woman) did a fairly reasonable job of conveying this successfully.
Basically, a princess from make-believe island nation is rescued after a deviant, power-hungry general attempts to overthrow the government before she can become it's future queen. She's swept away to Louisiana and hidden, making an attempt to disguise herself as a typical teenager. Of course, she has a difficult time adapting and letting go of her royal ways... yada yada yada...
My nine year-old loves to watch 'The Wizards of Waverly Place' with Selena Gomez, so this movie was a natural choice to rent. We've all had shows we watched growing up and 'Wizards' is innocent enough and actually isn't as insulting to the I.Q. as some of the things I used to watch as a kid. Anyway, aside from the forced 'comedic' situations and unoriginal story, the fact that Princess Rosalinda's (portrayed ineptly by Demi Lovato) accent kept fading in and out was and added distraction.
In the end, I had the feeling that this uninspiring project was thrown together quickly to cash-in on the tween set's love for Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. I suppose Hollywood's (and Disney's) need to make a quick buck has been in existence ever since the dawn of children's programming, I just wish that every so often they'd put more effort into the assembly line fodder they churn out since in the end, parents are the ones having to pay the ultimate price.
I gave it (2) stars because my daughter liked it.
Sadly, the storyline wasn't original and the producers opted to use the recycled formulaic 'fish-out-of-water' plot, ie. girl from (insert nationality, Atlantis, background, culture here) and the difficulties and (although not found here) funny situations they encounter trying to 'blend-in' in a different society. Some movies (Splash and Pretty Woman) did a fairly reasonable job of conveying this successfully.
Basically, a princess from make-believe island nation is rescued after a deviant, power-hungry general attempts to overthrow the government before she can become it's future queen. She's swept away to Louisiana and hidden, making an attempt to disguise herself as a typical teenager. Of course, she has a difficult time adapting and letting go of her royal ways... yada yada yada...
My nine year-old loves to watch 'The Wizards of Waverly Place' with Selena Gomez, so this movie was a natural choice to rent. We've all had shows we watched growing up and 'Wizards' is innocent enough and actually isn't as insulting to the I.Q. as some of the things I used to watch as a kid. Anyway, aside from the forced 'comedic' situations and unoriginal story, the fact that Princess Rosalinda's (portrayed ineptly by Demi Lovato) accent kept fading in and out was and added distraction.
In the end, I had the feeling that this uninspiring project was thrown together quickly to cash-in on the tween set's love for Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. I suppose Hollywood's (and Disney's) need to make a quick buck has been in existence ever since the dawn of children's programming, I just wish that every so often they'd put more effort into the assembly line fodder they churn out since in the end, parents are the ones having to pay the ultimate price.
I gave it (2) stars because my daughter liked it.