A Christmas Carousel

A Christmas Carousel (2020) - Hallmark

Reviewed by Lisa Sue

This definitely falls into the Royal Christmas Movie theme- the prince being Whitaker (what kind of royal name is that?) who wants to restore the Ancadia Christmas Carousel. So he calls the best in the business carousel restorer Roy and his daughter Lila (Rachel Boston), after all it was Roy’s grandfather who actually made the Ancadia Christmas carousel. So off to the winter wonderland of Ancadia with its snow capped mountains and lush forests go Roy and Lila. Initial evaluation is there is lots of wear and tear on the carousel machinery and general neglect that leaves a lot of horses needing fresh paint but they think it is doable to have the carousel up and running for the Christmas Eve Gala in two weeks. If a functioning carousel is scary, what about a dilapidated one? Or are all carousels in some form of dilapidation no matter the age?  The set up goes like this- Whit is known as a playboy prince, who doesn’t like the pomp and circumstance. He finds telling people he is a crown prince tends to be a conversation stopper, Whit would rather spend his time and energy on art, including restoring the carousel murals himself. Lila doesn’t just work on carousel restorations, a few years back when the business was slow she started teaching art and she really loves working with the kids. There is an opening at her school for her dream job, a program director position but that means not restoring carousels with her dad, and Lila drags her feet on actually applying for the job. Her bestie at the school keeps texting her to see if she applied over the holidays, I’m thinking the friend needs to chill. It is the holidays, what school is actually actively screening applicants during vacation?

The carousel restoration is part of Whit’s larger art initiative, including opening an art school at a nearby manor. The manor belongs to a very stuffy Duke, who isn’t about art, feelings, or bringing joy to little kids. So how to convince the Duke to pick Whit’s proposal over the other offers the manor is reviewing? Enter Whit and Lila’s genius idea to make the theme of the Christmas Eve Gala “The Art of Christmas” and show the Duke firsthand the power of art, to give him a taste of what the school will do for the town/country(?) of Ancadia. Luckily Lila is prepared for this, her program director skill set being tailored made to showcase visual art and music, the gala to do list is set with the singing solo going to Whit’s niece Princess Maya who likes to skip and sing. I don’t know why skipping was added, shouldn’t singing be enough? I get everyone is trying to find a niche these days, gotta set yourself apart from the crowd. Or maybe she is just really energetic? So Lila spends her mornings restoring the carousel with dad and then in the afternoon she and Whit work on the gala.  I should mention Lila’s wardrobe is more art program director, less carousel restorer. I mean she paints in a white wool trenchcoat, without a smock. I get the fashion choice to have her in cute winter outfits but still I’m just concerned for the clothes, you know? Seems like the coat and mittens are screaming for paint to drip and mess them up.

While this movie is art focused, they do manage to squeeze in the required holiday events- there is the decorating of the tree at the palace. Which seems wholly unnecessary as shots of the royal residence clearly show many trees already up and decorated, royals more than any other group literally have someone else to do this. Maybe they decorated a family tree? While I have questions, the movie moves past this and we’re left with just the finished tree and a plate of cookies that Whit and Maya made. Again, I figured they have people to do the baking and when in his day did Whit find time among the mural painting, gala planning, and shopping to then bake cookies? We only see them eating the cookies, so no montage of flour being needlessly thrown around with laughter while furiously stirring batter. While most tree trimmings are finished with the topper being added and/or the lights being turned on, this movie added the Ancadia royal tradition of lighting the carousel which involves a candle inside a miniature carousel. I guess carousels are really big in the fictional country of Ancadia, either that or maybe Roy and Lila’s family came from Ancadia? If there is a Christmas carousel does that mean there is also like an Easter carousel? This wasn’t explicitly stated, whatever story was about to be told regarding the Christmas carousel was stopped in the movie.  So while obviously carousels didn’t come from Ancadia, thanks to wiki I did learn the modern carousel emerged from early jousting traditions and led to mechanized versions made in Germany, France, and England. The oldest stationary carousel is the Hanau Carousel in Germany built in 1780. But obviously the movie really isn’t about the carousel, so onto Whit and Lila, and their impending break.

This movie is unusual in that the largest character development is for the blandsome Canadian Prince (who magically has a British accent, naturally) instead of the intrepid heroine Lila. Next unusual thing is the movie had several mini breaks before the big split, one being when Whit hangs the art in the manor without Lila even though she totally was the one who organized the paintings. He chose to do this after a lecture from dad, King Rooney, who was concerned about how close Whit and Lila were becoming. The King needs Whit to grow up, marry the Duke’s daughter Margaret so Rooney can retire and Whit can ascend the throne. Apparently the main factor in being king of Ancadia is you must be married, so Whit and Lila are very much both at crossroads in their lives. What will they choose? Well, the all knowing Angela drops this nugget of wisdom on Whit- there is nothing more valuable than love, not even an entire kingdom. So Whit decides to follow what’s in his heart and have the conversation with Lila. Their communication skills need some adjustment, before Whit has really said how he feels, Lila assumes he’s on the same page and says they should just be friends. A broken up (and let’s assume confused) Whit then calls up Margaret to ask her to the Christmas Eve Gala. Well, this is the final push that Lila needs to realize that she really has genuine feelings for Whit now that he’s taking someone else to the gala.  To hammer it home, Margaret in a real mean girl moment tells Lila that not only is she Whit’s date to the gala, but that she expects Whit to announce their engagement at the gala as well.

This shocking news prompts Lila to do two rash things. One is finally put in that application for the art program director job, to which she promptly gets an interview. I must get a hold of her job applying magic, cause I have never gotten back feedback that fast. The second rash thing is instead of spending Christmas in Ancadia, she’s leaving right after Maya sings. So now in the final 10 mins of the movie we wrap everything up- Maya sings Coventry Carol (thanks again wiki, a real song but they did add some original verses) which happens to be the Duke’s favorite Christmas song from when he was a young boy. Turns out this shameless ploy worked, and the song cracked his crusty shell and the Duke will be giving the manor to Whit’s art school.  But Lila has now left the gala and can’t share in this wondrous news- what is a prince to do? Call for road blocks, get local law enforcement involved and stop all planes and trains from leaving? Nope. Whit turns to the power of the wishing horse at the Christmas carousel (which is fully restored as far as I can tell but has been ridden by zero people at the gala). All you need is a wish and wait for the third rotation, but will this be enough to bring Lila back? For her part, Lila looks to the necklace Whit gave her, to give her the courage to ask for what she wants.  And what does she want? Well, she comes back to the gala to Whit’s joy and surprise. Whit offers Lila the same art program director job she just applied to, but at the new Ancadia art school. Dad Roy even found someone, the all knowing and wise Angela. And Margaret? Not really a mean girl, and it is thanks to Whit and Lila who convinced her she’s deserving of someone who’s totally besotted with her. And for the grand finale they all ride the Christmas carousel and live happily ever after.