Sometimes, you need to send your brain on a vacation – check out for a couple of hours and let your synaptic receptors take a little time off. The midday nap is the number one destination for the old neural getaway, of course, but if work and family keep foiling your travel plans, a showing of “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” will substitute nicely.

I made the mistake of assuming that I should be able to make sense of what I was watching.

First, I tried to unkink the tangled timeline between director Garry Marshall’s original 2001 family hit, “The Princess Diaries,” and this sequel. In the first film, Anne Hathaway played the central character, 15-year-old Mia, a 10th-grade nerd whose life was turned upside down when she discovered that her recently deceased dad was heir to the throne of the fictional European monarchy of Genovia. (Hathaway was actually 19 at the time, and did look a little mature for the part, but I could overlook that.) “The Princess Diaries 2” begins with a handy voiceover by Mia, explaining that five years have passed since she found out she was a princess. Since both movies are set in the present day, that means a couple of years have gone missing – but I can overlook that. What really rankles is the fact that she’s now making her home in Genovia after graduating from college. Let’s see … 10th grade … two more years of high school plus a four-year degree … aarghh! I give up.

Then I tackled the problem of demographics. Genovia, it’s explained, is a tiny country somewhere between France and Spain. The citizens of Genovia have been adoring their royalty for 15 centuries, and as a people they absolutely love Queen Clarisse, played by the very regal Julie Andrews, who typically wears a Chanel suit and a tiara, and whose British accent is explained by the fact that she married into the Genovian royal family. Her subjects bring her gifts of farm produce and dress like they’re auditioning for “Fiddler on the Roof.” The signage in the town also implies that French is this heritage-rich, old-world society’s native tongue.

So I had to wonder why all the featured characters, even the native Genovians, speak in different dialects! John Rhys-Davies lends his British stage elocution to the cartoonish role of a nobleman who has designs on the throne via his nephew of royal blood. The nephew, played by newcomer Chris Pine (who looks like he might be more comfortable in a Calvin Klein underwear ad), is supposedly a native son who just finished his education at Oxford – but sounds as American as Princess Mia, as does the basset hound-faced Tom Poston as a doddering member of Parliament. Mia’s perpetually curtseying chambermaids speak with a Cockney lilt, and the thorn in everyone’s side, a TV gossip reporter, is most definitely Scottish. Strangest of all is the captain of the Genovian guard, who sounds like a Marine Corps drill sergeant from Arkansas – but gets a lot of laughs that way.

Of course, if you’re 6 years old, like my moviegoing companion, you can overlook that. And you’ll probably have a fine time at this girl-oriented, sparkly, frilly flick, with highlights including a royal slumber party and a big fancy wedding. The jokes are visual and G-rated, but thankfully, Marshall does allow a few clever lines to slip into the script almost as an afterthought. If you’re older than 6, you’ll be able to predict the plot instantly, but if you just want to relax and take in the pretty pictures, you should overlook that.

“The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement”

Rated G

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Chris Pine, John Rhys-Davies

Directed by: Garry Marshall

Length: One hour 55 minutes

Now playing at: Astoria Gateway Cinemas, Cannes Cinema in Seaside and Neptune Twin Theatres in Long Beach, Wash.

Short take: Sugary, sappy and utterly predictable, “The Princess Diaries 2” is a good chance to take a mental nap. The costumes and royal trappings are splendid, and adults will pounce on the few clever lines here and there, but mostly it’s clean, simple fun for kids.

Rating: Two stars (out of four)

Movie trivia: What locked up Anne Hathaway’s bid for the role of the klutzy teenager in the original “Princess Diaries?”

Answer: Hathaway actually fell off her chair by accident during her audition, and the producers hired her on the spot.