I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Family films are hard to get right. If a story goes for the cutesy-young person crowd too much, the film comes off dismissive and unappealing to adults. Go too far, and you alienate those younger viewers along with their parents. Thankfully, Disney and Garry Marshall have done it right (again) with “Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement.” Sweet, romantic and funny, this is the perfect romantic tale for young (and young-at-heart) Princesses everywhere.

Although only three years have really passed since the original “Princess Diaries” (2001), the sequel in fact picks up five years later, as Princess Mia (Anne Hathaway) is celebrating her 21^st birthday, when she can rightfully assume the throne as Queen of Genovia. In order to do so, however, according to an old Genovian law, the Princess must be married. Complicating the matter is Viscount Mabrey (John Rhys-Davies), who presents another legal heir, Sir Nicholas (Chris Pine), who could rightfully assume the throne if the Princess doesn’t abide by the law. Given thirty days to marry or forfeit the throne, Mia and Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews) attempt to find a husband suitable for an arranged marriage. As Mia quickly gets to know her new fiancée, she starts to fall in love with Sir Nicholas, and must decide if he is trying to trick her or is in fact in love with her, and between marrying for love or marrying for her country.

Of course, Mia is the main focus of the film, and Anne Hathaway is the perfect Princess. Since the first “Princess Diaries,” she has also stared in “Ella Enchanted” (as a Princess), but where “Ella” was more of a storybook fairy tale, this film is more of a romantic comedy…that just happens to center on a Princess. As she did before in the original, Hathaway carries herself royally again, and has grown into the role quite well. It also helps that the 22-year old is portraying a 21-year old, so the age and attitude fit. Classy and down-to-earth, Mia is the “plucked from the streets” Princess that every girl wishes she could be.

Balancing out the not quite regal, but not yet unrefined Mia is the uber-classy Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse Renaldi. Prim and proper when she needs to be, yet still seemingly at home with a bunch of girls at a slumber party, Andrews again portrays the Queen delightfully. Even when she breaks into a song in the middle of the slumber party (and I’m not one for musicals), it still fits perfectly and does not come off as cheesy. Besides, who doesn’t want to see the great Julie Andrews mattress-surfing down a slide? Andrews is Royalty, yet again.

Not only do the two leading ladies mesh well together, the story itself is not undermining. Instead, it is a fun and lively story about Mia and how she must stand up for what she believes in, which will ultimately make her a successful Queen. The characters are not silly or underdeveloped, and even the two men that she must choose between have good qualities in each of them. Many times, there are cutesy characters or sidekicks that lower the intelligence level of a film, but that is not the case here (with the exception of Larry Miller’s Paulo the hairdresser, which ads a bit of silly hair-style comedy for his recurring character, but only for a few minutes).

The story just seems to ‘makes sense,’ and for a family film, this is so important. Entertain the young kids, but don’t bore them, and deliver a good story to the older kids, but don’t belittle them. “Princess Diaries 2” is a delightful film for young romantics everywhere who still dream of becoming a Princess and finding their Prince Charming.