Movie Review: A Princess for Christmas (2011)

Every holiday season, I enjoy watching Hallmark Christmas movies. For anyone who read this blog for a while, this probably comes as no surprise. Even though I enjoy the new movies that are released every year, there are a handful of movies that I enjoy watching more than all the new and old movies Hallmark makes. One of these movies is A Princess for Christmas.

The plot synopsis of the movie on the Hallmark Channel page for it is as follows…

When Jules Daly’s sister and brother-in-law are tragically killed in an accident, Jules Daly (Katie McGrath) becomes guardian to her young niece Maddie and nephew Milo. On top of balancing the daily hysteria of becoming an overnight parent, Jules was recently laid off at work, her car is on the fritz, and the kids’ shenanigans have caused a dozen nannies to flee.

When an ominous knock on the door comes late one evening, Jules wonders, what now? At the door is Paisley Winterbottom (Miles Richardson), a proper English butler, with a curious invitation: a Christmas holiday with grandfather, Edward (Roger Moore), the Duke of Castlebury Hall, who was absent from the kids’ lives, but wants to reconnect out of love for his late son. Jules initially wants to decline the trip, but her eventual acceptance makes for a magical Christmas season for everyone.

The movie is also known as three other titles: Christmas at Castlebury Hall, A Princess for Castlebury, and A Christmas Princess: Sometimes Dreams Come True. The movie was directed by Michael Damian.  The movie stars Roger Moore, Katie McGrath, Sam Heughan, Charlotte Salt, Leilah de Meza, and Travis Turner.

The plot of the movie is similar to Cinderella, a rags to riches story where the main character, Jules, marries the prince, but it is a variation of the story. The prince is engaged to someone else, which causes conflict between the prince, his family, his fiancée, and her family. Since the engagement is an arranged engagement, the prince’s heart really isn’t in it, which give the servants in the castle an opportunity to encourage Jules to pursue the prince.

The movie can be called by some too sweet and too simple of a movie, but for me, I love it. It’s easy to follow with a plot complicated enough to keep the watcher’s attention. It is a family movie, but it is the kind of movie children will see it in one perspective while the adults see something else. This is why I love the movie so much. It is my favorite movie to watch with my friend’s children if they want me to watch something with them from the Hallmark Channel.

Another selling point of the movie are the actors. The actors in the movie include Katie McGrath, who is known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shows, Roger Moore, a legendary actor who is best known for his time playing James Bond, and Sam Heughan, best known for his role as Jamie Fraser in the TV series Outlander.

As you can tell, I really like A Princess for Christmas and I high recommend this movie. It is a great movie to watch with your family, children, or anyone who loves a fairy tale inspired Christmas movie. It is also a great movie for anyone who are fans of any of the actors in the movie.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!

Image used in this post is from the official A Princess for Christmas Hallmark movie website, located here.