Cinematic Masterpieces: The Princess Switch Universe

Listen. You might think I am joking when I call the movies within the Princess Switch Cinematic Universe masterpieces. I am not. I am dead ass serious when I say they are some of the most incredible movies I have ever seen. There is everything you could possibly want: romance, comedy, drama, and of course, the driving force behind all these films, Vanessa Hudgen’s deep, deep psychological issues on display.

I was first introduced to this world back in 2018 when the first of three (and hopefully dozens more) of these films came out. It’s a pretty basic Prince and the Pauper story: Lady Margaret, Duchess of made-up country Montenaro switches places with her doppelganger Stacy, a baker from Chicago. But it’s so much more than that.

The trailer hardly does it justice. Vanessa Hudgens plays both characters, using a British accent to delineate when she’s Lady Mags and an American one when she’s Stacy. Does she pull it off? Of course, she does! She’s Vanessa Hudgens! But her portrayal of these characters is only a hint of what is to come.

You can watch and enjoy these movies knowing the plot but I will try to avoid spoiling it. Honestly, if you’ve seen literally any Hallmark Christmas movie you will not be surprised by what happens. Stacy has a platonic male best friend who accompanies her to Belgravia, another made-up country, where they are competing in a baking contest. Lady Margaret is engaged to the Prince of Belgravia and they do not seem to like each other that much. Good thing Stacy is there to swap places and fall in love with the prince! Oh, and Margaret ALSO happens to fall in love with Kevin. It all works out!

The first movie is a delightful romp. It’s pretty boilerplate and honestly, I didn’t think there would ever be another peep from this world. That is until the trailer dropped for Princess Switch 2: Switched Again!

Wow. Just wow. So much to unpack.

This was our first glimpse that these movies weren’t just a JOB for Vanessa Hudgens. They were an exercise in psychotherapy. It’s one thing to take on a film project where you play two characters. But it is quite another to become the producer for a sequel and add in A THIRD CHARACTER to play. Through the lens of these movies being little more than Ms. Hudgens's fantasies about what royalty, Christmas, and romance are, they take on a new shape and meaning.

Vanessa Hudgens has had her share of controversy in her career. She was fined for carving her initials into a rock in a protected National Forest. More recently, she was criticized for saying things about the pandemic that was, frankly, stupid. She apologized for being dumb and saying that people were going to die anyway, so what’s the big deal. Not great! She also had a number (three by my last count) of scandals involving leaked nude photos of her. I don’t really blame her for that because it’s really the dirtbags who leak the photos that suck. But to have it happen three times? It’s a little sus and wouldn’t be the first time a celeb used a “scandal” like this to get a little bit of heat. Hi Kim Kardashian!

I have digressed.

TPS2 features an absolutely insane plot. Lady Margaret (soon to be QUEEN MARGARET) ends up being kidnapped by her cousin Fiona, who is also played by Vanessa Hudgens, in order for Fiona to steal the throne. How will that all work out in the long run? Does it even make sense? NO ONE KNOWS. Fiona also comes with two new characters who serve as her henchmen: Reggie and Mindy. The best way to describe Reggie is that he is the child of a Jersey Shore alum and Davy Jones. Mindy seems to be a Chloe Fineman character from SNL. There’s also a fair bit of romance in this one as well. And as you could see from the trailer, there’s a classic good-hearted kitchen fight involving sugar. There’s also a slimy “old friend” who we immediately hate. And you’ll never guess how it all ends.

TPS2 is truly the Empire Strikes Back of these films. It’s a little darker, introduces us to more of the world, and gives us a new main character that will become important in later films (Fiona is basically the Emperor Palpatine of this world). It is also the first one where Ms. Hudgens tries to do TWO DIFFERENT British accents. And if you’re still wondering if she pulls it off… well, clearly you haven’t got the point of the post.

As if getting a sequel wasn’t enough, imagine my absolute delight in learning that there would be a THIRD movie in this franchise. In October, the trailer came out, and let me just say that I definitely circled the release date on my calendar.

I tried to warn you that it was all amazing. I watched TPS3 last night and I have to say that while I enjoyed it immensely, even legit tearing up at one point. But there was something missing. This movie basically serves as a redemption story for Fiona. We learn SO MUCH about her backstory. Almost a little too much. Stacy is hardly even in it. Same with Kevin and Prince Edward. It isn’t that movie is bad or even less than the two that came before it. It’s just… I miss all the characters from before that I love.

Vanessa Hudgens has assembled quite a collection of men to pretend kiss. It’s a veritable United Nations of men. There’s a white guy, a Black guy, an Asian. I fully expect the next movie (please dear god tell me there will be a fourth) to have a Latino man. One of the weirdest parts of this movie is that Stacy (again played by Hudgens) offers up that she is “Filipino” as an explanation for why she hugs Fiona. It comes out of nowhere and had me in stitches.

A running joke that my partner and I have had throughout this series was how many times a scene had to be reshot because Hudgens used the wrong accent. For the third film, since she was using her two British accents so much, we figured it was well over 100. We might be underestimating it.

One of the things that makes these films masterpieces is that they are the height of their craft. They aren’t trying to be The Godfather or even Titanic for that matter. They are perfect things. They know what they are. They’re easy to watch and the plot wastes absolutely no time getting started. We move from one set piece to the next, hardly given the chance to think about if anything makes sense. There is no deep meaning here, no interpretation needed. What we see is an almost-30-year-old actress working through her mental issues in the guise of a Hallmark movie. And it is glorious.

I would love to sit down someday and do a deep dive on each movie, reviewing it in full and giving them the attention they deserve. Maybe I will. But for now, I can only give my full-throated recommendation that you go home and watch these movies ASAP. They’re on Netflix so be sure to check them out today. You will NOT be disappointed.