Scrooge McDuck’s money pit and 9 other on-screen home amenities we still want

Mia’s fire pole

When we set aside the purposefully extravagant homes of characters like Richie Rich or Cher from Clueless, movies and TV shows, especially in the ’90s and early ’00s, still have a knack for slipping in cool living spaces in which no actual normal person would live. Enter Mia Thermopolis. As if the fact that she was an actual princess with a castle wasn’t enough, the character played by Anne Hathaway also lived in an old firehouse with her mom. Yes, we would understand this residence choice if the two were cast members on The Real World, but this is a single mom and her daughter just straight inhabiting a home out of, well, fine, a movie, and acting like it’s no big deal.

As a firehouse dalmatian apparently wasn’t included in the house’s amenities, clearly the coolest part of living in an old firehouse is the fact that Mia used a fire pole to get downstairs from her bedroom (how she gets up to her room remains a mystery). At the heart of the movie’s conflict is whether or not Mia will give up her life as a regular American teen and ascend the throne in the made-up nation of Genovia. She considers things like her relationships with her friends, her school, her mom, her crush, and ultimately decides she will fulfill her royal duty after all.

And yet nowhere in this emotional struggle does Mia consider she’s giving up the super cool fire pole any other non-royal teen would kill for. Here’s hoping more cool home amenities are in store when Princess Diaries 3 hits theaters.