A Christmas Carousel (2020 Hallmark)
Cast: Rachel Boston, Neal Bledsoe, Jennifer Vallance
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Synopsis (via Hallmark)
When Lila is hired by the Royal Family of Ancadia to repair a carousel, she must work with the Prince to complete it by Christmas.
Thoughts
Lila is a teacher, maybe, who also restores carousels with her father. She is sure to mention the “wishing horse,” which I’m sure will come into play at some point. They get a call from the town of Ancadia and are summoned to come to fix the town’s carousel.
In the snow mountain town, Lila and her father Roy visit the carousel that is in need of repair. Lila almost knocks a painter off a ladder and has witty banter with the handsome stranger. Lila mentions that she heard the Prince is a womanizer. Of course, the man IS Prince Whitaker. Lila thinks he is dating a woman named Margaret, but that is cleared up quickly. He is 100% single and loves that Lila is an art teacher. (He respected teachers! As he should.)
With that out of the way, Lila and Prince Whitaker are free to romp around town romantically. They feed horses apples and pet them while talking about pressure from their fathers and Lila’s promotion opportunity back home. Then they paint the carousel while barely looking at what they are doing. The Prince inexplicably wears a bandana. (Maybe for COVID precautions?)
While Lila and Prince Whitaker grow closer, so do Roy and the house manager, Heidi. Double romance?!?! The kind seems to have other plans and isn’t thrilled about the Americans coming in and wooing his staff/son. He asks his son to stop spending frivolously time with Lila and art. The King wants Prince Whitaker to marry Margaret and focus on running the country.
Prince Whitaker starts to give Lila the cold shoulder. He explains that he will have to give up everything to be King and decide by the Christmas gala. They agree to be friends and then share a champagne toast. Two things that don’t really go together.
The grand opening for the new town art school happens, and Prince Whitaker goes off the cuff with his speech, charming everyone. Including Lila. The two are not interacting as “just friends.” He even gifts her a necklace from the Christmas market.
Eventually, the King accepts Prince Whitaker for who he is and gives him his blessing to pursue his dreams/Lila. He also tells his son he is proud of him, which he has never done. Prince Whitaker and Margaret talk things through and decided not to get married. She doesn’t love him anyway.
Meanwhile, Lila thinks that Prince Whitaker has chosen Margaret, and she is sad about it. She thinks he is announcing his engagement at the gala and plans to leave after the party.
At the gala, a little girl sings the “Coventry Carol.” (Which is 100% some witch music, so creepy.) The little girl forgets the words, and an old man joins in to help her out. Afterward, Lila runs and is chased after by the Prince.
Prince Whitaker jumps on the Wishing Horse on the carousel and makes a wish for Lila to come back. It works and he tells her that he was in love with her since the moment he met her. They kiss and quickly explain how she and her father will move to town. Then they all ride the carousel together. The end!
Side Note
Minority Report: Nicole, Margaret,
There is nothing LESS relatable than the Christmas Prince storyline. Can we be done with this?
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Overall rating
🎄🎄 (2 Christmas Trees)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)
*Photo Credit: © 2020 Hallmark Crown Media
