Carter Mason (Selena Gomez) is a typical teenaged tomboy living in Louisiana. She works at her dad's bait shop, pines for a handsome boy she's loved since 3rd grade, and couldn't care less about girly girl issues such as the prom and who is to be elected to the Prom Court. But all that changes when her dad (Tom Verica) is called away on another "job" and her entire world shifts. You see, Carter's dad runs the bait shop as a front for his real job, protecting princesses in peril. He works for the Princess Protection Program and his latest gig just turned a little crazier than usual.
Mason was sent to the tiny island country of Costa Luna where Princess Rosalinda (Demi Lovato) is soon to be crowned Queen, following the death of her father. However, before the coronation can occur, an evil dictator from a neighboring island country, General Magnus Kane (Johnny Ray), takes over, takes Rosalinda's mother hostage and Mason must whisk Rosalinda away to safety... and back to Louisiana where she can remain hidden.
Carter is none too happy about this arrangement as she has gotten used to it being just her and Dad. But she works to help "Rosie" blend in and seem normal, which is no easy feat. Making things even more difficult is a group of ultra-popular girls led by Chelsea (Jamie Chung), the school's super-bitch. While these girls have always made Carter's life a living hell, once they start in on sweet Rosie, Carter takes action. As Carter teaches Rosie how to be a regular teenager, Rosie helps Carter tap into her inner princess by the credo that princesses are not just about pretty clothes and tiaras, but they are all about helping others. As the pair begins to help others, they become well-loved and actually make it into the Prom Court. Naturally, things can't go smoothly and a showdown with General Kane becomes imminent. Since this is a Disney movie, you know good will triumph over evil and a happy ending is a given.
Like I said earlier, I thought this was a really cute movie. It wasn't just about superficial material things, either. It actually had a nice moral about helping others. Little girls are sure to get a kick out of this film and if they are already fans of Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, they'll especially enjoy the special features on Princess Protection Program: Royal B.F.F. Extended Edition. Apparently, Selena and Demi are really life best friends and one of the featurettes has the girls talking about their relationship and antics on the set. The other featurette was really interesting and had real life princess India Oxenberg (daughter of actress Catherine Oxenberg) explaining what it's like to be a true princess. This was pretty cool. Finally, there's a music video with Gomez and Lovato.
Overall, this is a fun video and a sure-fire winner for girls. While I don't know if parents will want to make the investment of $20 for it, if you can snag it on sale, it's one that will be in little girls' video rotation for a while.
