The Parent Trap Retellings & Tropes
in Books, Movies, Etc.
The Parent Trap plot has not only aged remarkably well, but it also turns out (whether in whole or in part) to work remarkably well in a variety of altered contexts. You might not be aware that the two famous Disney movie versions of the story are actually retellings themselves of an older, classic, German, middle grade book. And all three of these versions of the story seem to have inspired a lot of other creative content.
The more I think about The Parent Trap plot, the more Shakespearean it seems to me. Shakespeare was a father of twins himself and seemed to enjoy playing with the comic potential of twins/doppelgängers. He also seemed to enjoy playing with the comic potential of characters tricking/orchestrating other characters into falling in love. And like some of Shakespeare’s plays, The Parent Trap provides great, timeless ingredients for retellings.
I found a number of very enjoyable stories, in a number of different genres, that are either retellings of The Parent Trap story or else contain Parent Trap-like tropes. And I recommend them further below in this post.
To refresh your memory, The Parent Trap movies are about two identical girls who meet for the first time at summer camp. The first (G rated) Disney movie was released in 1961 and stars Hayley Mills. And the second (PG rated) Disney movie retelling was released in 1998 and stars Lindsay Lohan. The story is essentially the same in both movies, but there were some tweaks. In both movies, neither sister had any previous knowledge that the other existed. And after initially feeling (prank-fueled) animosity towards each other, they realize that they are twin sisters who were separated from each other when their parents divorced. They end up deciding to team up to get their parents back together. And as both girls want to meet the parent that they do not know, they orchestrate a plot to switch places after camp ends, understanding that eventually the switch will bring their parents back together. One sister goes to a rural part of California to be with their father, while the other goes to a more urban area to be with their mother (Boston in the earlier movie, London in the later movie). When they all eventually reunite in California, the girls play pranks on their father’s new fiancée during a camping trip to drive her away and they set up romantic moments for their parents to help reunite them. The Parent Trap movies are comic, playful, and romantic. And they are lots of fun for viewers both young and old.
What is and is not included in the below recommendations
In general, my criteria about what to include as being Parent Trap-like is fairly broad in most cases.
And I use the term “retelling” loosely, so that it also encompasses what might more accurately be called revisions, or fractured or twisted versions of the tale. The definition of “retelling,” according to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary, is “a new version of a story.” And that definition seems to me to be sufficiently broad to encompass quite a lot.
Most of the stories I recommend in this post are not even retellings at all, but they do share some important tropes, elements, and themes with The Parent Trap movies. Some of them even preceded the original Parent Trap story. Depending on what you like most about The Parent Trap movies, some of the recommended stories are likely to appeal to you more than others.
The Parent Trap story plays into latent fantasies that many people have, including wishing: to find someone just like you who would understand you, to have a sibling, to be able to team up with an absent sibling, to be able to get to know an absent parent or have more than one parent, to swap lives with someone else, to get to pretend to be someone else, to be able to leave an urban environment for a rural one or a rural environment for an urban one, for separated parents or an otherwise broken up couple to reunite, to be able to orchestrate a romance, and to find romance in general. And doppelgängers switching places can provide endless opportunities for comic and entertaining moments. Prank playing can also be amusing in stories, as can rivals turning into allies. And California, Boston, England, summer camp, and wilderness camping sites all have the potential to be captivating fictional settings. The stories recommended in this post all contain at least one (and often more than a handful) of these tropes/themes/elements/settings.
Below, I recommend stories from a wide variety of genres. Although I start with middle grade stories (as The Parent Trap is a middle grade story), there are also recommendations in the genres of: picture books, read alouds, YA, manga, classic British comedies, steampunk, science fiction, fantasy, contemporary fiction, contemporary romance novels, and rom com movies.
As this post is long, I suggest that you quickly skim through it until you reach stories in the genres (and with the Parent Trap-like tropes) that most interest you.
Also, you should know that I only recommend stories in this post that I enjoy myself as an adult. There are lots of children’s books and movies about twins and about children swapping lives that appeal to many children, but that I do not think have enough depth and layers to captivate many mature readers/watchers. There are even books about twins and about children swapping lives that I recall having enjoyed (or at least not hated) when I was a child, that I recently discovered I have little patience for anymore, so I am not recommending them.
I also only recommend my favorites from among The Parent Trap-like books that I read, although I do mention some movie and TV retellings (particularly content from non-English speaking countries that is not easy to find in the US) that I have not watched. With one exception (which I explain further below), I only recommend books in this post that I would rate somewhere between 3.5 stars (very good) and 5 stars (incredible) out of 5 stars.
While I did sample what feels like a fairly large number of retellings of the story, as well as books and movies that use similar tropes, I wish I could have found even more. There are probably lots that I missed, and I would appreciate your recommendations of your favorites in the comment section below. And I hope even more of these types of stories will be written/created.
If you click on the titles of the books mentioned below, you will be linked to Goodreads’ pages for those books where you can see what their book covers look like and read more reviews. Links on the titles of movies that are easy to find in the US go to the pages for those movies on Rotten Tomatoes, while links on the titles of Japanese anime and movies may go to MyAnimeList and MyDramaList pages respectively.
The original book and its non-Disney film retellings
Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kästner (middle grade classic book)
This is the original, classic, German, children’s book upon which The Parent Trap movies are based. It was first published in 1949 and is known in German as Das doppelte Lottchen. The audiobook edition in the US goes by the title The Parent Trap. Two identical girls are surprised to encounter each other at a summer camp, and cute shenanigans, a secret identity swap, and their parents’ reconciliation ensue. If you love either Disney movie and also enjoy reading classic children’s literature, I highly recommend this enjoyable, middle grade book.
Das doppelte Lottchen to go by Sommers Weltliteratur to go (YouTube video)
Below is an amusing, doll-aided, ten plus minute, brief retelling of the original Lisa and Lottie story in German. Using the settings button on the video, you can turn on YouTube auto-translated subtitles. Similarly, you can also turn on YouTube auto-translated subtitles for the other non-English language videos included in this post.
Das doppelete Lottchen (middle grade movie)
A 1950, black-and-white, German/Austrian, classic movie with this name was the first of many cinematic retellings of Lisa and Lottie that were made in a number of countries. The author of the original book narrated the first movie. And it was followed soon thereafter by a Japanese movie retelling in 1951. There have also been movie retellings made in other countries, as well as additional German ones. You can find lists of cinematic and graphic retellings of Lisa and Lottie, and the countries where they were made here and here. Below, you can watch trailers of some of the non-English language movie retellings. The Parent Trap Disney movies are far from the first or only cinematic retellings of Lisa and Lottie.
Middle grade The Parent Trap retellings and trope-filled books
The Parent Trap by Vic Crume, based on the screenplay by David Swift (middle grade movie-tie in book)
This adaptation of the original Hayley Mills Disney movie is solidly good, but it is not as charming as the movie, nor is the writing as charming as the writing in the book adaptation of the later Disney movie. As it fairly closely mirrors the action in the original movie and it is also out of print, it is not worth trying to track down unless you happen to run into a copy at your library or at a used bookstore. Some quotations from this book are included in this post further below, as an indirect way of quoting the original Disney movie.
Disney’s The Parent Trap by Hallie Marshall, based on the screenplay by David Swift, Nancy Meyers, and Charles Shyer (middle grade movie tie-in book)
This adaptation closely mirrors the later Disney movie, and it captures some of that movie’s playfulness and charm. However, as it is both out of print and it matches the movie fairly closely, you are not missing out if you have watched the movie and do not want to go through the trouble of tracking down a copy. Some quotations from this book are also included further below, as an indirect way of quoting the later Disney movie.
To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holy Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer (middle grade epistolary book)
This is a wonderfully delightful, modern, epistolary (told through emails), middle-grade retelling of The Parent Trap. This time two girls are sent to the same summer camp because their fathers are dating and considering a future together. The girls start off wary of each other but end up adorably plotting to get their broken-up fathers back together.
Bhai for Now by Maleeha Siddiqui (middle grade book)
This very well-written, Pakistani Muslim American, middle grade retelling of The Parent Trap focuses on twin brothers who learn about each other for the first time when one starts at a new school. Before long, the brothers are switching places and plotting to retain their new-found family connections.
“‘Don’t you feel it?’ Sharon asked. Don’t you know what’s happening? Don’t you think it’s peculiar that we both look so much alike and—and have the same, identical birthdays?’ Susan stretched, and shrugged. ‘Oh, that! Well, it’s just one of those things, I guess.’” - The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Vic Crume
Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery (classic middle grade book)
Jane, who is being raised by her meek, beautiful mother and her wealthy, cold, overbearing grandmother in Toronto did not know that she has a father who is alive until shortly before her father sends for her to spend the summer with him on Prince Edward Island. When she meets him and experiences his love and the joys of life on the island, she finds happiness and blossoms. Her summers on the island with him are somewhat summer-camp-like escapes from her city life in Toronto. Because of her decisions and experiences, her parents ultimately reconcile. The bleak beginning of this book reminds me a little of the bleak start of Jane Eyre. This book was first published in 1937 and precedes Lisa and Lottie. If you enjoy reading classic children’s literature, you may (as I do) find this book to be a treat. Although it is not as great, in my opinion, as Montgomery’s more famous work Anne of Green Gables.
Meet Me Halfway by Anika Fajardo (middle grade book)
Mattie had not known that she has a half-sister until she encounters Mercedes, a girl who looks extremely similar to her, at her new school. After their initial wariness towards each other starts to wear off, they decide to share information with each other about their shared Colombian father (who neither had ever met). And then, after they figure out that he is temporarily a visiting professor in the US, they secretly set off on an adventure together to meet him. Although they do eventually succeed in finding him, what they really gain from the experience is a close relationship with each other.
“‘Brawling like hooligans!’ ‘Worst of all,’ Miss Inch continued, ‘two sisters, who should be setting a good example.’ ‘Oh, no!’ said Miss Grunecker. ‘Not, sisters, Miss Inch. Just look-alikes.’ ‘I’ve never seen her before in my life!’ Sharon said scornfully.” - The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Vic Crume
The Naked Mole-Rat Letters by Mary Amato (middle grade epistolary book)
If you read my post recommending over 50 epistolary books, then you know that I tend to love epistolary writing. If I had found this book earlier, I would have also recommended it in that post. It is utterly delightful. The entire story is told through a mix of diary entries, emails, and letters. Seventh grader Frankie realizes that her single father has started a long-distance relationship. And like the sisters in The Parent Trap, she is determined to scare off her father’s new love interest. She uses her father’s email account to email his new girlfriend a bunch of (amusing) lies intended to make her father seem less desirable. The new girlfriend, who is a zookeeper in charge of naked mole-rats, responds to Frankie’s emails by conveying the life lessons she has gleaned from her study of rodents. And somehow, surprisingly, it works brilliantly. Their exchanges are charming. Plus, Frankie’s frequent misspellings, like “I’m going to fall into a comma (coma?)” add both humor and verisimilitude. And the correspondents’ creative email sign offs, such as “Opinionatedly yours,” also add to the fun. Eventually, Frankie comes to greatly appreciate her father’s girlfriend and tries to encourage the two lovers to reconcile after they stop talking. Besides being fun, the book also has some depth as Frankie and her family are still grieving the loss of her mother.
“‘[T]his is an emergency!’ Annie insisted. ‘Dad’s in love.’ … ‘He is?’ Hallie’s heart sank. ‘You’ll have to sabotage her. Do whatever you have to.’” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Picture book The Parent Trap retellings and trope-filled books
Niblet & Ralph by Zachariah OHora (fictional picture book)
A condensed picture book retelling of The Parent Trap, this story about identical cats who switch places is absolutely adorable. The children in the two cat-owning, single-parent families suspect that something is not right. So, they engage in some detective work to find their original cats. Before long; cats, kid detectives, and the two single parents are all happily united. I think most Parent Trap fans will find this book to be lovable from start to finish.
Two Bicycles in Beijing by Teresa Robeson, illustrated by Junyi Wu (fictional picture book)
Two similar looking (but different colored) bicycles that came out of a factory together and leaned against each other in a bicycle shop in Beijing, get separated when they are purchased by different people. After being peddled around the sites of Beijing, the bicycles find each other again and bring their new owners (a young man and a young woman) together. “Side by side, old friends and new.” So, there is a little matchmaking of sorts by the similar bicycles. The illustrations are lovely and interesting.
Vampenguin by Lucy Ruth Cummins (fictional picture book)
In this adorably illustrated picture book, a little vampire toddler and a penguin who resemble each other swap places for the day during a vampire family’s visit to the zoo.
The Three Little Mittens by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Natalia Shaloshvili (fictional picture book)
Absolutely adorably illustrated and told, this is a story about anthropomorphic mittens. Some have been separated from their twins, and some get reunited with their lost twins at long last. The mittens without twins feel quite low, until the little girl who wears them comes up with a solution that helps them realize that every individual mitten is “thoroughly remarkable in its own way.” This playful story has a joyful conclusion that celebrates individuality. It is delightful.
Sister Friend by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Shahrzad Maydani (fictional picture book)
Although not genetically sisters nor perfect doppelgängers; the two, brown-skinned, Muslim, little girls in this story both feel out-of-place and isolated at their school, which is filled with children who do not look like (or welcome) the two of them. They find acceptance, comfort, and similarity when they finally start seeing each other as sisters (after having first experienced some hurt feelings from misunderstanding each other’s intentions). Their mothers enjoy meeting through them too. It is a thought-provoking and well-illustrated story about feeling isolated and finding sweet connection with someone who is similar.
Tabitha and Fritz Trade Places by Katie Frawley, illustrated by Laurie Stansfield (fictional epistolary picture book)
A wild elephant and a domestic cat decide to vacation by swapping homes/lives via Lair-BNB.com. This story is told through their epistolary messages to each other about their experiences, as well as through cute illustrations. By the end, both animals are eager to return to their own lives, but they appreciate the friendship and connection they have developed with each other. It is currently available on Kindle Unlimited and it is another book that, if I had run across it earlier, I would have recommended in my post “Over 50 Epistolary Books.”
Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Scott Magoon (fictional picture book)
Two anthropomorphic chopsticks are the main characters in this playfully and charmingly fun picture book. The two of them have been doppelgänger best friends forever and “do everything together.” But how will they fare if they go separate ways for awhile? This book explores the joys of spending time with someone similar to you, as well as the joys of branching out, trying new things, and spending time with individuals who are not as similar. “Unexpectedly, being apart had made each of them even stronger. And not only that, they realized how many great new things they could now share!”
Another by Christian Robinson (fictional picture book)
A girl and her cat encounter their doppelgängers in this playful, wordless, fantasy picture book.
Sisters in Science: Marie Curie, Bronia Dluska, and the Atomic Power of Sisterhood by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso (nonfiction picture book)
On a certain level, The Parent Trap is about sisters who team up and support each other to achieve their goals. And this is a very interesting nonfiction picture book about ground-breaking sisters whose support for each other helped both achieve much more academic and professional success than was common for women during their time. And it is very well illustrated by twin sister illustrators. Nobel Prize winning scientist Marie Curie would not have been able to attain the education that helped propel her to the heights that she reached without the support of her sister Bronia, who Curie had first helped put through medical school.
A Read Aloud Children’s Book with some Parent Trap tropes
The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith (classic read aloud children’s book)
When it comes to books about twins and doppelgängers, The 101 Dalmatians is hard to beat. This classic story about a large number of (almost) doppelgängers, and about siblings who were born at the same time and then get separated from their parents, is delightfully written. If you have only watched one or both of the Disney movie versions of the story, you are missing out. And the audiobook edition’s narration is as wonderful as Dodie Smith’s writing is. The book is, of course, about the thrilling adventure that two (married) Dalmatians go on to save their stolen puppies from Cruella de Vil (who wants to turn the puppies into a fur coat). With the help of many British cats, dogs, and horses; they daringly save not only their own puppies, but also lots of other similar looking Dalmatian puppies, from Cruella’s clutches. Be prepared for some very noticeably archaic perspectives on gender, etc.
“‘Daddy’s getting married,’ Annie blurted finally. ‘To . . . to Cruella De Vil.’” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
YA books with Parent Trap tropes
Camp by L.C. Rosen (YA rom com)
This is a delightfully campy YA rom com (for readers on the older end of the YA spectrum, as well as for adults). Like The Parent Trap, it is set at a summer camp and involves a camper who pretends to be someone else for the sake of romance. It takes place at a camp for queer teens. Randy Kapplehoff orchestrates a ridiculous (in the most positively amusing sense of the term), persona-swapping, summertime plan to make the guy he has a crush on fall in love with him. Randy loves theater and treats the entire camp like it is his stage. He arrives at camp under the guise of a more masculine persona and uses a new name and sports a more masculine look. His fellow theater-loving cabin mates try to help him with his romantic plan. The story is funny, kind, and moving. And the audiobook narration is great.
When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord (YA)
Millie Price, who suspects her love of drama and her desire to become a Broadway star may come from her unknown mother, comes up with a Mamma Mia! inspired plan to find and get to know her. She and a sibling-like friend secretly track down a few potential birth mother suspects and figure out a way for Millie to get to know each of them without revealing her real identity. While she is method acting her way through her plan, Millie finds more than one maternal and aunt-like figure to keep in her life, as well as a wife for her lovely single father, a girlfriend for her aunt, and a boyfriend and stepsister for herself. Her new soon-to-be stepsister shares a lot of similarities with Millie and the two of them team up to aid their parents’ romance along. This cute story is particularly likely to appeal to musical theater lovers and those who enjoy enemies-to-lovers trope YA romances.
The Switch Up by Katy Cannon (YA)
In this enjoyable YA story, two look-alike fourteen-year-old girls meet for the first time when they are both flying as unaccompanied minors to London. They look so much alike that they are mistaken for twins. Both girls are unhappy that they are not going to get to spend the summer with their single fathers doing what they had originally wanted to do. Instead, they are being foisted off on women they do not know in places they would rather not be. So, they decide to switch places for the summer. One girl goes to Italy to stay on a farm and the other stays in London and attends a summer theater class. They help each other learn how to pretend to be each other. And they discuss potentially trying to break up one of their father’s romances, but end up encouraging it along instead. The two girls end up becoming good friends with each other, growing in maturity, and finding comfort with found family. Each girl also develops a close friendship with a boy.
“I’ll teach you to be me, and you teach me to be you.” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Far From the Tree by Robin Benway (literary YA)
Three teenage biological siblings, previously unknown to each other, meet for the first time and help each other deal with some difficult challenges and grow in this very well-written, angsty, moving, YA story. The two sisters (who look a lot alike) had been adopted by different families, while their brother had spent his life bouncing through foster homes. All three team up to look for their birth mother. This book presents a more realistically complicated portrayal than The Parent Trap does of the emotions that meeting previously unknown siblings might arouse. It won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2017 and may particularly appeal to readers with fond childhood memories of The Parent Trap who now prefer reading more layered, literary works.
“‘I can’t handle this alone,’ she said out loud. ‘I just can’t. I’m only one kid.’” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Manga and anime The Parent Trap retellings and trope-filled stories
When I first had the idea for this post, I almost immediately was able to think of a handful of manga series that I had already read that contain Parent Trap-like tropes. What I had not known then was that the reason that I could do so might have something to do with the long history of The Parent Trap story in Japan. Before the Disney movies were ever made, there was a Japanese movie retelling of the original German book released in 1951, Hibari no Komoriuta. And there is also a 1991 Japanese anime series that retells the original German story in its European setting, Watashi to Watashi: Futari no Lotte/The Two Lottes.
Hayley Mills, the star of the first Disney movie retelling of the story, visited Japan in the 1960s and was treated as a major celebrity during her stay. While I was online, seeking out additional information about her reception in Japan, I ran across a Japanese vinyl record of her “Let’s Get Together” song from The Parent Trap movie, among other things.
As The Parent Trap story shares many attributes with some popular shoujo (YA) manga (Japanese graphic novel) series, it makes sense to me (the more that I think about it) that it has been particularly well-received in Japan.
If you decide to try any of the manga recommended below, keep in mind that manga read in the opposite direction that Western books do. So, if you get manga ebook samples from a library app or an online ebook seller, remember to swipe the opposite direction that you usually do in the West to turn pages.
My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame (manga/Japanese drama)
You are in for a wonderful treat with this Eisner Award winning story if you enjoy literary family dramas, thoughtful and heartwarming LGBTQ stories, contemplative Japanese manga or other kinds of graphic novels, and/or are interested in Japanese culture. Although more moving and not as lighthearted as The Parent Trap, this absolutely lovely manga (which happens to be my favorite manga), shares a number of elements with The Parent Trap movies. The main character, Yaichi, is a divorced, single father who became somewhat estranged from his twin brother after his brother came out of the closet, emigrated to Canada, and got married. Shortly before the events in the manga take place, his twin dies. The manga starts when his Canadian brother-in-law Mike Flanagan (who is a large, hairy sweetheart who likes to hug) arrives for a visit and the two men meet for the first time. As Yaichi struggles to come to terms with his twin’s sexuality, their lost relationship, and a new (grieving) Canadian brother-in-law entering his life; his charming, adorable, large-hearted daughter Kana (who loves adopting the Western tradition of hugging) helps her father figure everything out and bring Mike (who she hadn’t known existed before he arrived) fully into their family. Yaichi’s personal growth (helped along by his daughter) after Mike’s arrival also helps him reconnect more with his ex-wife. The illustrations contain wonderfully interesting and expressive details. It would take an enormous amount of prose to convey as much emotional and cultural information about the characters and their differences as the powerful panels in this manga do. Interestingly, in the Japanese drama adaptation of this manga, Ototo no Otto, Mike Flanagan is played by a Japanese-speaking, Estonian, sumo wrestler who goes by the name of Baruto Kaito. Unfortunately, the Japanese drama adaptation is not currently streaming on any major streaming service that is available in the US.
Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo (manga/anime)
In this family-friendly manga—which now also has an anime version streaming in the US on Crunchyroll and Hulu—cute, little, telepathic, former orphan Anya successfully manipulates her new adoptive spy father Loid into a fake relationship with secret assassin Yor, because Anya thinks it would be exciting to have an assassin for a mother. However, Anya’s manipulations of her adoptive parents' relationship do not take up a significant portion of the overall story arch. You can watch the most Parent Trap-like scene from the first season of the anime in the clip below.
Mixed Vegetables by Ayumi Komura (shoujo/YA romance manga)
If you are interested in trying a playfully sweet, somewhat angsty, foodie, chaste, YA romance in the form of a manga series, this is a very enjoyable one to read. Hanayu’s family owns a pastry shop, but her dream is to become a sushi chef. And Hayato’s family owns a sushi restaurant, but his dream is to become a pastry chef. The two teenagers meet in their high school’s culinary arts program. “We’re alike, yet so different.” Even though there is initially some rivalry between the two of them, they both wish they could be in the other’s family in order to pursue their culinary dreams. They decide to team up to help each other and they fall in love in the process. Eventually, they swap places, each living and apprenticing with the other’s family instead of their own. Besides their own swap, there is another Parent Trap trope used in the series as well. In Volume 4 (of the 8-volume series), they orchestrate a romance between their teacher and her love interest—locking them in a room together until the two finally start getting their feelings for each other sorted out.
Your Name by Makoto Shinkai, illustrated by Ranmaru Kotone (fantasy YA manga/anime)
You can read this as a manga series (which may be available in the US for you to borrow for free from your library via the Comics Plus app) or watch it as a gorgeously animated anime movie (streaming in the US on Crunchyroll). A Japanese teenage girl, frustrated by her life in a remote village, wishes that she could be a handsome boy living in Tokyo. “I want to become a boy, to be free. To do what I want without worrying about my dad or traditions. So, Gods, please … I don’t mind if its just for a little bit.” The next morning, she wakes up in the body of a teenage boy in Tokyo and he wakes up in her body. So, like in The Parent Trap movies, there are two young people swapping lives (one in an urban setting and the other in a rural setting). For awhile, their body swaps happen a few times a week. Although they are initially annoyed by each other, before long they are leaving each other messages and teaming up to manage the swaps. They eventually grow to care about each other too, so this story (like The Parent Trap movies) has a little romance in it. Although I generally prefer the beautifully animated movie to the manga, the written notes they leave each other are well translated into English in the English edition of the manga but not subtitled well into English in the Crunchyroll anime version.
Men’s Life by Ayu Watanabe (shoujo/YA romance manga)
Super shy Mio was being homeschooled because of her social anxiety. However, her twin brother convinces her to swap places and pretend to be him at his boarding school so that he can follow his crush to Australia using Mio’s name for a study abroad program. As this is a shoujo (YA) romance manga, you will not be surprised to learn that while Mio is pretending to be her twin brother, her new roommate at her brother’s boarding school is a very handsome, athletic boy on whom she develops a crush. He helps her conquer her social anxiety and coaches her so that she can keep a spot in the boy’s volleyball club. This is a cute, twin-swap, high school romance told over the course of a 4-volume manga series.
Classic British comedies with Parent Trap tropes
Erich Kästner did not write Lisa and Lottie in a vacuum. There are works that preceded it that share similar tropes.
The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde (classic romantic comedy play)
This paragraph necessarily contains some spoilers in order to demonstrate the play’s similarities to The Parent Trap. However, as I have found my own appreciation of this play has continued to increase over the many times I have reread and rewatched it, I do not think being surprised by its ending is essential for enjoying it. Nevertheless, if you have not read or watched it yet and want to be surprised by its ending, I suggest you read its summary elsewhere and stop reading this paragraph now. Like The Parent Trap, this is a romantic comedy involving two siblings who had not previously known the other was a sibling, and who both pretend to be someone who they think they are not. Amusingly, they both claim to have a brother, thinking they are lying about it. And before they learn of their family connection, like the sisters in The Parent Trap, the brothers are often amusingly bickering rivals. Jack, speaking of the man he does not yet know is his brother (and who not knowing he actually is so, pretended to be so), complains “what makes his conduct all the more heartless is, that he was perfectly aware from the first that I have no brother, that I never had a brother, and that I don’t intend to have a brother, not even of any kind. I distinctly told him so myself yesterday afternoon.” Having previously often claimed to people other than his actual brother to have a brother he did not think he had, Jack enthusiastically exclaims (after discovering the truth), “Then I have a brother after all. I knew I had a brother! I always said I had a brother!” Like The Parent Trap, this story is joyfully playful. It also, like The Parent Trap, differentiates the siblings’ identities by their rural and urban settings. Early on, Jack proclaims: “my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country.” Meanwhile, his brother Algernon pretends to be Ernest when he goes to Jack’s home in the country. Their love interests also are sometimes rivals and at times team up in a sister-like manner. One of the brothers predicts this when he says: “Cecily and Gwendolen are perfectly certain to be extremely great friends. I’ll bet you anything you like that a half an hour after they have met, they will be calling each other sister.” His yet-unknown-to-him brother replies, “Women only do that when they have called each other a lot of other things first.” And the women do in fact act as rivals, then discuss calling each other sister, shortly after they meet. And, of course, after the two brothers marry them, they will become sisters-in-law. Besides reading this play, you can also watch live theatrical productions of it if you get the chance, listen to full cast audiobook editions, or watch it as a movie. There is a movie adaptation with an excellent cast, including Judi Dench, Reese Witherspoon, Frances O’Connor, Colin Firth, and Rupert Everett. In the US, you may be able to borrow the movie for free from your library using the hoopla app.
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (classic romantic comedy play)
This play was first performed in 1773, and its class-based humor does not translate for modern audiences particularly well. Nevertheless, it is still quite enjoyable. Like The Parent Trap, it is a cleverly plotted romantic comedy with two related females (in this case cousins) who are involved in deceptive shenanigans intended to orchestrate romance (although in this case their own). Two fathers also try to matchmake one of the girls with the other’s son. There is also a prank-playing brother. A desirable, wealthy young man who is too nervous to speak to women of his own class is tricked into thinking that his father’s friend’s home is an inn. The daughter of that homeowner pretends to be a barmaid so that their visitor does not feel too shy to talk to her, while her father becomes increasingly enraged that he is being treated like an innkeeper. After a lot of silly comedy, both cousins get their desired romantic resolutions.
Laughing Gas by P.G. Wodehouse (classic comedy)
Fans of the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap (with its British and Californian characters) may particularly enjoy this classic comedy that involves a romance between exes, one British and one American, who get back together in California after one of them has his eyes opened to how conniving his new girlfriend is. Also, there is a cute, prank-playing kid who plays a central role in the story. And two of the characters switch lives for awhile.
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (classic romantic comedy play)
In this classic, romantic comedy, a group of characters jointly plot to make Beatrice and Benedick (who bicker constantly) fall back in love. Beatrice hints that the two of them had had some kind of past romantic history together. And Hero, one of the plotters, identifies what they are doing as setting a trap for the couple: “Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.” Although their romance is playfully fun, another plot line in the play narrowly avoids becoming a Romeo and Juliet-like tragedy. Like the original The Parent Trap movie, this play is enhanced with a little singing. There is a good movie adaptation of the play with a great cast that includes Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Kate Beckinsale, Denzel Washington, and Keanu Reeves. In the US, you may be able to borrow the movie for free from your library using the hoopla app. You also may be able to watch it “free with ads” on Tubi or Pluto TV.
DON PEDRO: Come, lady, come; you have lost the heart of Signior Benedick.
BEATRICE: Indeed, my lord, he lent it me awhile; and I gave him use of it, a double heart for a single one: marry, once before he won it of me with false dice, therefore your Grace may well say I have lost it.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (classic romantic comedy play)
Shakespeare used the trope of separation by shipwreck (rather than by parental divorce) to separate his twin characters in this comedy (as he also did in The Comedy of Errors). In Twelfth Night, twins Viola and Sebastian each thinks the other has drowned. Viola, a lone woman in a foreign land, disguises herself as a boy and becomes a page to Duke Orsino, who then sends her to court his heart’s desire, Olivia, on his behalf. Olivia instead falls for Viola (thinking she is male) and Viola falls for the duke. When Viola’s doppelgänger twin Sebastian (who of course had not died in the shipwreck, this being a comedy) appears on the scene; even more silly, romantic confusion and shenanigans ensue. Like The Parent Trap; this is a romantic comedy involving doppelgänger twins (since the female twin has disguised herself to look like her brother), assumed identities, and efforts to orchestrate romance. In general, it is a lot of fun, except for some cruel pranking of the supporting character Malvolio. The play has an epically great first line: “If music be the food of love, play on.” If you don’t feel like reading the play, or if you don’t have an opportunity to watch a live theatrical production of it, you can always listen to a full cast audiobook edition, watch it as a movie, or read or watch modern retellings of the story (like She’s the Man). The 1996 Twelfth Night movie has a great cast, including Helena Bonham Carter and Sir Ben Kingsley. And She’s the Man (starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum), although a little cringe-inducing at times, has its fun moments. It sets the Twelfth Night story at a modern boarding school. A sister pretends to be her twin brother to help her brother and so that she can play on a boy’s high school soccer team. The retelling feels like a cross between Twelfth Night and the Men’s Life manga series, with some juvenile humor added in. In the US, you may be able to borrow both movies for free from your library using the hoopla app. If you read, listen to, or watch a version of the original play, keep in mind that all of the parts were played by male actors in Shakespeare’s time, so Viola would have been played by a male actor, pretending to be a woman who was pretending to be a man. And the original audience would have picked up on the humor of that.
Steampunk with Parent Trap tropes
All Men of Genius by Lev A.C. Rosen (steampunk retelling)
This is my favorite Twelfth Night retelling, and like its Shakespearean inspiration, it shares some tropes with The Parent Trap. You are likely to appreciate its cleverness more if you are already familiar with Shakespeare’s original play. In this feminist, queer-friendly, nerd-appreciating, steampunk retelling; Violet (a brilliant inventor) disguises herself as her twin brother so that she can study science at Illyria College, which is run by a duke (who finds himself strangely fascinated by his new student). Her prank-loving twin brother teams up with her to help her pull off her new identity. And lots of gender-bending shenanigans, nerdiness, steampunk action, meddling in romances, and romantic confusion (which is ultimately happily resolved) ensue. There are also mechanical doppelgängers of the duke. And there are Oscar Wilde references, which are always a plus for me and which are particularly apparent when you consider some of the characters’ names. This retelling remedies the greatest flaw (from my perspective) of Twelfth Night by making the Malvolio character a true villain, which in turn makes the actions of those who try to counter him seem more appropriate and less like mere cruel pranking. This delightful book is written by the author of the YA book Camp, which is recommended further above. Both books are terrific!
Science fiction and fantasy with Parent Trap tropes
William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doescher (science fiction retelling)
It is hard to think of a better-known story about a character discovering both a previously unknown twin and father than the original Star Wars stories. And it is in Return of the Jedi that Luke Skywalker gets confirmation that Darth Vader is his father and learns that Princess Leia (with whom he initially bickered and then teamed up) is his sister. This retelling of Return of the Jedi in Shakespearean language adds a level of playfulness to the story that makes it feel a bit more comparable to The Parent Trap. Plus, the full cast audiobook edition (which includes sound effects) is particularly fun. I would love to see The Parent Trap get a similar Shakespearean retelling.
VADER: “Give thyself unto the dark Side. … O what is this I sense within him now? Another secret kept conceal’d from me? Shall I e’er be the last to know my past? [To Luke:] Indeed, thy thoughts betray thee, for thou hast Strong feelings for thy friends, especially For one thou dost call sister. Aye, thou hast A sister, and a twin. Thy feelings have Betray’d her too. … If thou shalt not toward the dark side turn, Mayhap she will.”
“‘So, if your mom is my mom and my dad is your dad . . . then we’re like . . . sisters.’ ‘Sisters?’ Annie was in shock. ‘We’re like . . . twins!’ Tears came to her eyes. She reached out to hug Hallie. Hallie was crying, too.” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold (science fiction space opera)
Miles Vorkosigan is my all-time favorite fictional character. And in Brothers in Arms, delightfully, we get three of him. First, there is his actual identity as a low-ranking military lieutenant and the son of one of the most powerful noblemen on his home planet, Barrayar. Second, there is his covert identity as the admiral of a space fleet of mercenaries. And third, there is his newly introduced clone, who was created by some of his father’s enemies. Miles and his clone doppelgänger running around the same planet at the same time, while frequently swapping between three identities, is a lot of fun. Miles regards his clone as his twin brother. And like in The Parent Trap, the two siblings have an adversarial start to their relationship before they team up. Miles, who is used to being able to outsmart almost all of his opponents, soon realizes that he may have finally met his match. The first time his clone outwits him, Miles muses, “Well, I always was my own worst enemy.” The banter is delightful. At one point, the clone challenges Miles: “D’you think I’m stupid?” And Miles, shaking his head, replies: “I know exactly how stupid you are, I’m afraid.” When a superior officer asks Miles “is it you?” Miles responds, “I don’t know. … Which me were you expecting?” Miles also begins a fun romance with a strong, interesting woman. This book is not a stand-alone. You can learn about how to get to it in its series, the Vorkosigan Saga (which has a complicated reading order) in my guide to the series here. I was inspired to write that earlier post about the Vorkosigan Saga by my inability to find anything similar to it that I could link to in this paragraph, which I had already begun drafting.
“‘I swear I heard your evil clone sneezing all the way across the mess hall,’ Zoe claimed.” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Mickey7 by Edward Ashton (science fiction)
Mickey’s 7th clone (the narrator of this book) was not expected to survive a dangerous situation, so his 8th clone was activated. When the two clones meet, their relationship starts off a bit on the adversarial side, but they soon become a team, secretly plotting together to survive complicated planetary, workplace, and romantic situations. They try to hide the fact that there are two of them so that neither will be destroyed, and they frequently switch places. The overall tone of this science fiction story is on the light side, although there are thrilling parts.
“‘Say Sharon—are you from outer space?’ ‘Oh no!’ Sharon quickly replied. ‘I’m from Boston.’” - The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Vic Crume
Network Effect by Martha Wells (science fiction)
A particularly outstanding book in the fantastic Murderbot Diaries science fiction series, this book is not a stand-alone. But it is well worth reading through the series (starting with All Systems Red) in order to get to it. Besides having exciting action, Network Effect is notable for its wonderful characters and their captivating, non-romantic relationships. When the main character/narrator of a book is a genderless, sentient, robotic construct; is it more appropriate to call its delicious, burgeoning relationship with an artificial intelligence that is running a spaceship an “itmance” rather than a bromance? Whatever it is called, theirs is an incredibly enjoyable fictional relationship and their banter is a delight. The two of them are dramatically and satisfyingly reunited in this book after having been apart for awhile. And in response to pressing needs thrust upon them by some action-packed mayhem, the two of them orchestrate a plan that involves duplicating the narrator’s consciousness and attaching it as code to killware so that it can infiltrate an enemy network. The narrator (Murderbot) then teams up with its own duplicate consciousness/sentient killware (Murderbot 2.0) to save the human crew of its AI transport ship friend and escape a dangerous situation. At first, Murderbot is surprised to encounter Murderbot 2.0, not knowing it had already been deployed, but it does not take long for them to team up and start working well together.
The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell (YA superhero/supervillain fantasy)
Like The Parent Trap, this playfully fun fantasy includes the tropes of a young person discovering and getting to know a previously-unknown parent and siblings. He also, at times, takes on different identities. Damien expects to become a supervillain, like his single mother is, on his sixteenth birthday. Instead, he learns that his previously unknown-to-him father is a superhero, and (much to his dismay) that there is a chance he could become one too. After he discovers the identity of his superhero father, his father (who had not known Damien exists) insists that Damien live with his superhero family for awhile. This story follows Damien as he grapples with becoming part of a superhero family, gains a brilliant-inventor sidekick, and tries to work through his feelings about his supervillain ex-girlfriend. He also grapples with having both heroic and villainous tendencies. The ebook edition is available on Kindle Unlimited.
A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga (middle grade science fiction)
Fans of Andy Weir’s near future, science fiction books The Martian and Project Hail Mary might also enjoy this wonderful, middle grade, adventure story told from the perspective of an anthropomorphic, robotic rover named Resilience who is sent on a mission to Mars. Before he goes; he meets, feels jealous of, and then teams up with another rover who is practically identical to him. They have an amusing relationship, communicating in “a form of language at a frequency that [humans] cannot hear and do not understand.” And while they are separated during his exciting adventure on Mars, he misses her even though he had found her to be annoying when they were first together. The book is enhanced by moving letters written to Resilience from the daughter (initially middle grade aged) of one of his programmers. And the audiobook narration is great.
“There is another Mars Rover. One that is almost exactly like me. I learn of this Mars Rover the day my cameras are connected to my brain. … I am able to see all around me now, not just sense the presence of objects. And in all this seeing, I spot the other rover. She is in the room next to mine. I can see her through the glass-windowed wall that separates us. She is like me, but different. She is not in pieces. … ‘You and this Rover are the same. Identical. You are like siblings,’ Xander tells me.”
“‘Ohmygod! I’m not an only child! I’m a twin! There’s two of me . . . two of us . . . this is like . . .’ ‘Mind-boggling,’ Annie finished. ‘Totally,’ Hallie said. ‘Ohmygod.’ ‘Ohmygod,’ Annie echoed.” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Contemporary fiction with Parent Trap tropes
Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie (contemporary fiction)
A relationship skittish, queer, African American woman who spends most of her time traveling for work; Skye (the narrator) neither planned to have children nor expected the egg she had sold to her childhood best friend from summer camp would turn up in the form of a twelve-year-old girl (Vicky) seeking a mother figure. Vicky’s mother had died of cancer, and she is being raised by her aunt. After she learns about her origin story, Vicky decides to track down her egg donor. Eventually overcoming her initial reluctance to build new relationships, Skye grows throughout the course of the book and comes to love both her genetic daughter and the girl’s aunt. The writing in this book is fantastic. I do not know what magic the author performed to get me so invested in rooting for Skye to get her act together. Normally, I would not want to keep reading a book after the main character acted as egregiously as Skye did in the beginning. She tried to crawl out of a window to escape her 12-year-old genetic daughter the first time they met. She showed up drunk to a school event. She does not get the therapy she clearly needs. And so on. And yet, amazingly, I was not annoyed. I did not dislike Skye. Instead, I felt compassion for her. The book is heartwarming and filled with an inviting sense of humor. It was a pleasure to root for Skye and learn about how she perceived her experiences. The city of Philadelphia is also a vivid and important character in this book. It was first published in 2021 and also delves into the issues of police brutality and gentrification.
The Switch by Beth O’Leary (British contemporary fiction)
In this well-written, satisfying story; Leena and her grandmother Eileen decide to switch homes, friends, and phones for two months. Leena moves into her grandmother’s cottage and becomes enmeshed in English village life, while her grandmother moves in with Leena’s roommates in London and tries her hand at dating in the city. Both women meddle in each other’s romantic lives, with Grandmother Eileen going so far as to send a fake message to try to help bring about the end of Leena’s current relationship. She also locks Leena in a storage closet with the man she thinks Leena should be dating. This is a story about grief and sisters, as both women are mourning the death of Leena’s sister. It is also a personal growth story for both women, as well as a family drama. And both women find romance. The narration is in the first person, and switches between the two women’s perspectives. The audiobook edition is extremely well-narrated.
“‘This is so amazing. What a city!’ The sights and sounds of London were fascinating. From the backseat of the Bentley, Hallie was having a hard time keeping her comments to herself.” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
500 Miles from You by Jenny Colgan (British contemporary fiction)
A female nurse living in London temporarily swaps homes and jobs with a Scottish man living in a rural area in the Scottish Highlands. As they message and text to help each other acclimate to their new situations, they slowly fall in love. They don’t meet in person until near the end of the story.
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman (contemporary fiction)
A recently retired gay lawyer, who had been angst ridden about having lost touch with the daughter he had adopted many years before when he had briefly been married to the girl’s mother, reconnects with her again now that she is an adult. She had not remembered much about him or known that he had ever temporarily adopted her, and he is thrilled to renew his paternal role in her life. She moves into the downstairs maisonette in his townhouse in NYC, and they happily become enmeshed in each other’s lives. He also reconnects with his very colorful and complicated ex-wife, who both drives him crazy and intrusively sets him up with a great guy. One of my favorite scenes in this book is when he convinces his new boyfriend to come out (very belatedly) to his Jewish mother. She reacts very amusingly. Lipman writes interesting characters, some of whom are not as likable as I would prefer.
“‘Do you want to know why I keep saying ‘Dad’?’ ‘Because you missed your old man?’ ‘Exactly!’ Annie said. ‘In my whole life—I mean, in the last eight weeks, I was never able to say the word ‘Dad.’ Never. If you ask me, a dad is an irreplaceable person in a girl’s life. Just imagine a life without a father.’” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (contemporary fiction)
Although I do not love this book, I did enjoy listening to the audiobook narrator, and I found the characters to be very interesting, the writing quality to be very good, and the historical details (it was written over 30 years ago) to be enjoyable. It easily kept my attention. Like the kids in The Parent Trap, the adult main character in this book (April) is surprised to meet and get to know parents she had not known, and then she tries to orchestrate them into getting back together. April is a Radcliffe graduate living in the Boston area and teaching high school Latin. After her adoptive parents pass away, her dramatic (compulsive liar of a) birth mother finds her and wants to build a relationship. A lot of the book is about their complicated, new, mother-daughter relationship. But April also falls love with a socially awkward librarian (a Harvard graduate) and she meets her nice birth father. Her own romance lacks chemistry and is not particularly gripping. The book is rich in references to Boston area spots.
“It was her mother. Hallie stood as if in a trance, taking in her beauty, her grace, her mother. At last she said, ‘I can’t believe it’s you.’” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal (contemporary fiction)
This delightful book can be read on a number of levels, one of which is a story about two estranged sisters in their 70s who are reunited after many years apart by the only grandchild that either of them has, at which time the sisters team up to help her make great beer. On another level, it is a story about three Minnesotan women in the same family who all come to love brewing and selling beer, and they do so at different ages, through different paths, and for different reasons. The book is full of wonderfully complicated and quirky characters. And the state of Minnesota is practically one of those characters. My favorite moment in the book by far is when Grandma Edith’s first beer gets reviewed. This book (more than any of the other books recommended in this post) may require the most stretching in order to see its similarities to The Parent Trap, but it is a story about sisters, and I absolutely loved it when I happened to read it recently. I was eager to find an opportunity to recommend it in a post.
Romance novels with Parent Trap tropes
Because of the enormous number of romance novels that exist (including what seems to be a very large number of romance novels involving twins swapping places), I focused on sampling romance novels in the limited sized pool of books containing the trope of children orchestrating their parents’ romances in a very evident, Parent Trap-like manner. Further whittling down the results is the fact that it turns out that I rarely enjoy second chance romances in which divorced couples get back together. If the reason the couple separated is too trivial, I get annoyed at the characters for not having just communicated better and worked things out. On the other hand, if either party did anything too egregious, I usually do not want the couple to get back together at all. I also find it very annoying if a madly-in-love, fictional couple takes too long to reconcile. Although the parents in The Parent Trap movies thread the tricky second chance romance needle beautifully (perhaps aided by the fact that their romance is more of a background story that we learn little about), I was too annoyed by most of the Parent Trap-like second chance romance novels I sampled to want to finish them or recommend them. Only two of the romance novels I sampled ended up making the cut. Both are older, contemporary romance novels, and the second one has some very dated elements in it that fall into the “so bad that it’s good” category for me. However, you may have noticed that books in which second chance romances are included as background stories (or the second chance aspect is not significant) made the cut in other genres.
Yours and Mine by Debbie Macomber (dated contemporary romance novel)
Two female, sixth grade, best friends team up to orchestrate a romance between their single parents (who are divorced from exes who are largely out of the picture). Then later, when the girls fight, their parents return the favor by “parent trapping” the girls into reconciling. Although dated, this playful and chaste romance novel captures some of the feelings from The Parent Trap movies.
“‘Just a minute!’ Their mother was putting it together. ‘You’re not trying to fix me up with your father?’ ‘We are,’ Hallie said. ‘You’re perfect for each other.’ ‘A match made in heaven,’ Annie added.” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Always in My Heart by Catherine Anderson (dated contemporary romance novel)
First published in 2002, this romance novel has not aged well and already seems problematically archaic. Among other jarring things, there are a lot of mentions of Rambo. However, among the Parent Trap-y romance novels I sampled recently, this one stood out both for its Parent Trap-iness (particularly the camping part of the movies) and for it being compelling enough for me to want to finish it. Two brothers orchestrate a sweetly devious plan to get their divorced parents back together. They run away into a large wilderness park, leaving a note saying that they want their parents to reconcile and get counseling. Their parents (who frustratingly should have gotten counseling and communicated better years before) get their camping gear and pursue their sons into the wilderness, bringing their new significant others with them. Normally, I would find the parents’ lack of communication and lack of getting counseling even more frustrating than I did this time. Their sons gave voice to my frustrations, which somehow helped make the reading experience more palatable for me. The brothers play Parent Trap-style pranks on their parents’ new significant others, driving them away. Meanwhile, they keep outmaneuvering their parents, while leaving them romantic gifts in romantic settings, with notes like: “Dear Mom and Dad, I hope you guys make up real fast. I’m having fun in the daytime, but it’s really spooky out here at night without Dad, and I get scared sometimes. Please try real hard to fall back in love fast, okay? Zach and me are anxious to go home.” This book does not have the consistently light-hearted playfulness of The Parent Trap movies (they are all grieving the death of a family member), instead it has more exciting wilderness adventuring and an extra dose of melodrama. The parents’ relationship in this open-door romance does eventually get, what some may consider, a bit spicy. However, for me, the old-school-romance-novel-type word choices in those scenes just makes them very (unintentionally) funny. This book is both compulsively readable and kind of terrible in a variety of ways. And yet, as I could happily spend hours either dissecting or laughing about the terrible parts, overall, I found the reading experience to be enjoyable. Although it is the only merely 3 out of 5 stars (for me) book I include in this post, its average Goodreads’ rating is currently over 4 stars, so many readers have enjoyed it a lot.
“‘We know one thing,’ Sharon said quietly. Neither one of them ever married anybody else.’ ‘Well, what does that mean?’ ‘Secretly—in their innermost hearts—they must still be in love.’ Susan blinked. ‘I don’t get it. I think your poetry book is going to your head. Why would they stay apart all those years if they were in love?’ ‘All true lovers have a simply dreadful time,’ Sharon answered. ‘History is jammed with them. Look at Romeo and Juliet!’ ‘Where?’ Susan looked around.” - The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Vic Crume
More movies with Parent Trap tropes
Three Smart Girls (classic rom com movie)
In this 1936 classic, black-and-white, rom com movie; three sisters orchestrate a plan to drive away their divorced father’s new fiancée and reunite him with their mother. There is singing. There are pranks. There is a mistaken identity. There are nice servants who help the sisters out. There is a move from a rural to an urban setting. And, along with their father, two of the sisters find romance. The movie is playfully amusing. While not as lovable as The Parent Trap, you may find it to be an enjoyable watch if you like old movies. In the US, it is available to rent or purchase.
“‘Dad, you can’t get married!’ She wailed. ‘It’ll totally ruin completely everything!’” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Set It Up (rom com movie)
Two similarly situated assistants to very demanding bosses start off with an adversarial relationship but soon decide to team up to try to make their bosses less intolerable by manipulating them into a romance with each other that will make them happier. After their plot is underway, the female assistant tells her fellow assistant partner-in-crime that they have to continue to “Cyrano” their bosses, and he responds by saying that what they are really doing is “full-on parent trapping hard.” I love this use of “parent trap” as a verb. It is not the only time I have observed it used to mean “to manipulate others into a relationship,” and I would love to see the term used enough to get added to dictionaries. The pairs’ plotting and machinations bring them close together, and they end up falling in love themselves. In the US, this movie is currently streaming on Netflix.
“Remember, the big thing is to get Mother and Dad together.” - The Parent Trap movie tie-in book by Vic Crume
The Holiday (rom com movie)
This pleasing, rom com movie about two women who swap homes stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black. Like the sisters in the later Parent Trap movie, these women (who hadn’t known each other for long) swap homes in California and England, as well as a more urban location for a more rural location. Although the somewhat similarly situated female stars of this movie are older than the Parent Trap sisters, the love interest of one of them is a single father with two adorable young daughters who encourage the romance. And as one of the women ends up falling in love with the brother of the other, there is the potential that the home swappers could end up becoming sisters-in-law eventually. In the US, this movie is available to rent or purchase.
Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (Japanese science fiction comedy movie)
This feel-good, Japanese, near future, science fiction, comedy movie is about a group of friends and co-workers who discover a way to talk to themselves a few minutes in the future. They use their newfound power to team up with their future selves and orchestrate silly shenanigans, pranks, and romance. In the US, this movie is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
What A Girl Wants (teen comedy movie)
This is a light, playful movie (starring Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth) about a daughter who wants to get to know the father she had never met. She runs off to try to find a way to meet him in London, and they develop a nice relationship. The teenage daughter’s actions help her separated parents reconnect and play a role in driving away her father’s scheming new fiancée. She also has a rivalry with her almost new stepsister. In the US, this movie can be rented or purchased.
“‘I hope you’re not suggesting I’m marrying your father for his money.’ ‘I’ve seen Cinderella a few zillion times,’ Annie said. ‘I’d rather not end up scrubbing the floors while you’re having breakfast in bed. If you catch my drift.’” - Disney’s The Parent Trap movie tie-in book, Hallie Marshall
Other Parent Trap-y TV stuff
You can also find TV show episodes that have Parent Trap like plots, via the Vice article, “5 of the Best 'Parent Traps' in TV History.”
What are your thoughts?
Which Disney Parent Trap movie do you prefer and why?
Overall, I am partial to Hayley Mills playing the twins and the earlier movie’s campiness, but I also appreciate some of the actors and added banter in the later movie.
I am sure there are lots of retellings and stories with Parent Trap tropes that I never found. And there are others that I might not have enjoyed when I sampled them due to my own pet peeves, but that other people might enjoy hearing about. What are your favorite Parent Trap retellings or stories with Parent Trap tropes that you would recommend?
You are welcome to share your answers in the comment section below.
Oh my goodness, you went all out completionist on this - there is SO MUCH to explore! Love it!