Credit: Getty

Meg Cabot is opening up about a big change from her book to the Disney movie adaptation, The Princess Diaries.

The 59-year-old New York Times bestselling author penned the book series, which was then adapted for the big screen across two movies so far, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.

During a recent appearance on CBS Mornings to promote her new graphic novel version of the book, Meg opened up about some of the changes to the movie from the books, including the location and Mia’s dad being dead.

“You know, when I when Disney first contacted me and said they were going to make this into a movie. They said, ‘We are going to make some changes,'” Meg shared. “And you know, the book is set in New York City and they said, “We’re going to have to film in San Francisco.’ And I said, ‘Oh, like why?’ And they said, ‘Because Gary Marshall‘s going to direct it.’ And his little granddaughters live in San Francisco. And so he wants to be near them while he films.”

“I did not mind that change. But the big change that, if readers read the graphic novel, they’re going to find out is that Mia’s father is alive,” she continues. “He’s dead in the movie. They killed him.”

“They actually called me, and they go, ‘Well, we have some bad news. We have to kill the dad in your book.’ And I was like, ‘Why? What did he do?’ And they go, ‘Well, we have an actress that we want to play the grandmother, and she’s a really great actress, and she hasn’t done anything in a while, and we really want to give her more lines. So, we’re going to kill the dad and give this actress the dead dad lines,'” Meg continued. “And I said, ‘Well, who’s the actress?’ And they said, ‘Julie Andrews.’ And I said, ‘Kill the dad!’ Bye, Dad. It’s Julie. You’re out. But he is alive in the books.

“So, when readers see them, they have already contacted me to tell me I made a mistake. Little young readers like, ‘The dad is supposed to be dead.’ And I’m like, ‘No, he actually is alive in the books.’

You can pick up your own copy of “The Princess Diaries: The Graphic Novel” on Amazon now!

If you missed it, a producer recently gave an update on the status of The Princess Diaries 3.

Find out which stars have been confirmed to return or not!

Disclosure: Some products on this site use affiliate links and we may earn commission for any purchase made through the links.

Posted To:Julie Andrews Movies The Princess Diaries