OK, so far warning. Hulu’s The Princess is more than a little violent, and has a few swears here and there. At 9 and 13, Dazzle and Crow have heard them all. That’s public school for you. Not complaining, just saying.
The plot is not complicated. A young royal rejects her arranged marriage. Her betrothed stages a coup in order to force the wedding. The titular princess must fight her way from the top of the tower where she is imprisoned to rescue her family in the dungeon. The movie’s long on fight choreography, and short on everything else.
I watched the first 20 minutes or so of the movie on my own, and it was long enough to get a sense of the movie. The Princess (Joey King’s character never gets named in the movie) keeps an action-fun tone throughout, with a thick streak of strong female protagonist. The world of the movie doesn’t ignore the threat of violence against women, but it doesn’t dwell on it either.
A Tightrope Act
In my mind, they filmmakers walked a really fine line on this one. They wanted to make an action movie with over-the-top fight sequences, but they wanted it feel edgy, but they also wanted junior high/high school girls to be able to have access to it. I think they nailed it. The tip off for me was that was a scene early in the movie where the younger sister of the main character spits in the face of the villain. The villain’s henchwoman whips the man behind the little girl instead of the offender herself. It’s like a wink from the filmmakers letting us know that we’re gonna stick with cartoony action.
That said, if a few f-bombs getting dropped, and a relatively graphic decapitation are going to far for you kiddos, maybe skip this one.
Dazzle and Crow and The Princess
They both loved it and proclaimed it one of the best movies they’ve ever seen. I have a feeling we’ll be watching it again. They both love action movies. Unfortunately it’s pretty rare to find action movies with a female protagonist that don’t dip into heavier topics. This one keeps it light.
We avoid the baroque violence and the swears, but you may still enjoy our podcast!