YMMV / Princess Protection Program

• Actor Shipping: Though Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato shippers were already present. After this movie showed off their onscreen chemistry, the number of Demena shippers grew a lot more in numbers. While promoting the movie the two at the time best friends seemed to fuel to fire due to how close they were. Not helping matters was the music video for One and the Same.
• Die for Our Ship: Ed and Donny get this sometimes from Carter/Rosie shippers. They like to portray Ed as a creepy stalker who won't take a hint that Carter's not interested. Despite the fact that Ed never actually confesses his crush to Carter and seems perfectly content with just being her friend. Donny is often made out to be a lot more aggressive in his pursuit of Rosie then he actually was. As well portraying him as needlessly cruel to Carter, rather than being mostly forgetful of her existence like he was in the film.
• Fanon: Most fans seem to agree that Carter and Rosie are at least bisexual, as well as the fact that they developed a mutual attraction to each other. However, due to Rosie's responsibilities to her kingdom, they could never act on it. Though most agree that they at least confessed to each other at some point. The most agreed-upon points after the Homecoming dance or before Rosie's coronation.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Carter and Rosie are more often than not shipped together. This is due to their well developed friendship and the huge amount of Les Yay between the two. Fics with either being with Ed or Donny are rare to come by. Most of the fanfiction out there is the two best friends falling in love with each other.
• Jerkass Woobie: Carter starts the film being needlessly rude to Rosie, for very little reason. However, her dad has a life-threatening job which keeps her from seeing him most of the time, her mom is hinted as to have either died or left her family, she is bullied relentlessly at school, and her crush doesn't realize she exists. Then her Homecoming dress is ruined by two bullies, and her new best friend decides to risk her life by going back home where a tyrant will lock her away forever. By the end it's hard not to want to give her a hug after all she's been through.
• Les Yay: Carter and Rosie have a number of what feel like "Oh, just kiss already!" moments.
  • Increased by interviews with Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, who both described their characters as initially 'butting heads' then later realizing that 'they're perfect for each other'.
• LGBT Fanbase: This movie has quite the fanbase of queer women. This is mainly due to the huge amount of Les Yay between Carter and Rosie. As well as the already big ones for both Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.
• Memetic Mutation: Rosie's laughing face◊ got some minor Internet recognition.
• Moral Event Horizon: The climax happens because Chelsea, the Alpha Bitch, finally figures out who "Rosie" is and calls General Kane to come get her so he can remove one less obstacle from her path to maintaining Queen Bee status. General Kane being the man who overtook Rosie's country and was looking for her in order to cement his position as a dictator. In perspective, it's a good thing that this is a Disney Channel film and what he wanted to do once he found her was to force her to marry him rather than, well, anything bloodier (and that as a result he was pretty easy to stop and thus that the only karmic thing Chelsea deserves is having her Alpha Bitch position removed).
• Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading: Carter and Rosie are supposed to be at odds with each other before becoming best friends. However, to many fans, their earlier moments come off more like the kind of Belligerent Sexual Tension you would find in a teen romance movie. Including a scene where Rosie orders Carter to dress her for bed. Also, due to how short of a time they have known each other, it's easy to read their latter bonding moments as flirty. Particularly the scene where they are trying on dresses or the one with them in front of the mirror. In the latter Rosie is very close to Carter from behind, and basically tells her she's beautiful, before placing a crown on Carter's head. There's also the burping scene which features the two on a swing and opening up to each other, which seems straight out of a romance story.
• Retroactive Recognition: Ed is Cousin Greg from Succession. Also less retroactively Zach from Sky High.
• The Woobie: Rosie, a princess forced to go into hiding when her country is in peril- and forced to leave everything that she knows behind. And while in the protection program is bullied by her protector's daughter, and doesn't even know how to "blend in" with what is considered "normal" in an American high school. Sure she pulls through in the end, but it's still heartbreaking to see all that she goes through at the beginning.

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