A Royal Corgi Christmas (2022 TV Movie) User Reviews

Just another "royal" movie

[Jackbv123 · 5/10 · 26 November 2022]

There have been nannies, and world-class skaters, and matchmakers, and so many other excuses to spend time with a king or a prince. Another royal angle usually sees the prince or princess in the US where he or she is thrown together with the commoner in their world. This time it's a dog trainer at the castle. The prince has the reputation of a playboy but that persona is never seen in this movie.

There are gags centering around the dog's antics. There is some castle politics, but this queen and mother is surprisingly welcoming and so not the source of the problem.

The leads have mild chemistry. The acting is OK. The dialogue is OK. But there are no great highs or lows or surprises.

A Christmas movie with cute dogs and an OK romance

[MichaelByTheSea · 7/10 · 5 December 2022]

Hunter King plays Cecily, a corgi dog trainer who is hired to help Prince Edmond, played by Jordan Reno, who inexplicably bought a rescue corgi. I didn't really buy the premise, and I thought Reno looked more like a California surfer than an heir to the throne of the latest fake monarchy ("Comfrey"). But the dogs are really cute.

I'm really only writing this review to react (negatively) to Cecily's repeated bowing to royalty.

Americans should be polite, but they shouldn't bow to foreign leaders. This may be a bit lawyerly (I can't help it, I'm a lawyer) but the US Constitution (Article I, section 9, clause 8) prohibits titles of nobility or monarchy in the U. S. and it is considered inappropriate for Americans to bow or curtsy towards any foreign monarch or noble. We fought a war to get rid of kings and queens.

Nevertheless, in fairness to how the character was written, Cecily is a bit of a ditzy nervous fish out of water who undoubtedly wasn't sure what the protocol was. It's come to my attention (through my daughter) that the King sisters have generated rather strong mixed reactions. Joey King has built a successful career (the Kissing Booth) and Hunter King was entertaining in Hallmark's Hidden Gems. I find them appealing in an unconventional way and they're both talented. But I can see how that might not be a universal view.

This was actually a pleasant movie to watch. The corgis are cute and are wisely included in most of the scenes. One of my favorite scenes is when the future king is told to address the dog's "basic needs" by picking up its poop.

I can do without the overused "almost kiss" which occurs here during a "steamy" scene.

I enjoyed the reference to Charlotte's Web by E. B. White:

"We take to the breeze, we go as we please."

Prince Edmond dreams of such freedom, and Cecily has it.

I keep saying that I'm tired of the Royal and Regular Person trope but I have to admit, this wasn't a bad entry in the long list of Hallmark movies that repackage that trope.

Another royal mess

[shobbs-86081 · 5/10 · 27 November 2022]

I only watched this one because of the corgi... almost always skip the royalty Hallmarks because of so many (consistent) letdowns....

This time the prince is a piece of work who really didn't convince me that his commoner dog trainer could have fallen for him, much less he for her... the ending is a bit of a mess because the princess's evil boyfriend who wants to be the power behind her throne if he can manipulate the monarchy transfer - well, he tries to expose our heroine with a notebook that supposedly shows she only came to the castle to get the prince to support her charity. That sounds terrible but the bad guy shows his true spirit of ugliness and gets ignored and thrown out by the sister princess (who ends up being queen on her own.) Why our prince and his dog trainer make up after the big fall out doesn't really make enough sense for me to root for their happily-ever-after, especially after the smashed-up kiss that supposedly shows how he really feels... Sorry - not to be a downer but this isn't what most of us are looking for in a holiday Hallmark movie...

Fun if utterly predictable

[VetteRanger · 6/10 · 27 November 2022]

Let's face it, most of the originality in this film goes to the dogs. They're cute and you do get a couple of almost real dog-training tips out of the experience.

For the romance, we have a famous dog trainer with a successful book and a Youtube presence, and a screw-up prince who may soon become King when his mother steps down from the throne. Of course, she has a long-denied romance with a handsome royal advisor. Don't they all?

The princess would have stolen the movie if they gave her more scenes, they did a better job of writing that character than the romantic leads, who seem to fall in love more because they like the problem dog than they find real affinity themselves.

The ending is utterly predictable with the unsolvable crisis occurring with a mere seven minutes of screen time left to suddenly solve it ... which is the timing for 95% of Hallmark romances.

Still, there were some fun moments and a couple of real laughs. For us, it's worth a watch but not repeat viewings.

I wasn't going to watch this

[mbiv777 · 7/10 · 26 November 2022]

A Royal Corgi Christmas? Give me a break.

But I know sometimes Hallmark gives stupid names to some pretty good movies.

Then I saw it was directed by Clare Niederpruem, who directed Holiday for Heroes, Christmas Bow and One December Night, good movies all.

I am really sick of the whole royalty thing, but they keep making them so they must appeal to someone.

This was a little different.

The American commoner is a dog trainer hired by the monarchy to tame a Corgi which has been gifted to the queen by her son. She is clumsily respectful at first, but in time she comes to interact with them as people and eventually comes to playfully mock them and their royal trappings.

Hunter King as Cecily is so good. She is not the typical Hallmark beauty, but her personality is what makes her special. This is not to say she's unattractive.

She and Jordan Renzo as the prince have excellent chemistry.

Julie Lamberton as the princess is also excellent. I would not be surprised to see her in leading roles in the near future.

The only reason I would grade down a little is the traditional Hallmark misunderstanding at the 100 minute mark is a little clumsy, and the reconciliation left me scratching my head a little.

Otherwise, well worth watching.

Disappointing dud

[skwrpl · 4/10 · 27 November 2022]

I made it halfway through. I don't think the piece was well conceived. The prince acted like an immature jerk. He brought an untrained Corgi to his mother, the queen, but didn't present it himself and left it for others to deal with, not considering the trouble that could result. He often left others hanging. He showed no redeeming qualities until all of a sudden he became generous to some children, no doubt due to the influence of the leading lady, but there was no character development. Usually you can root for a character to grow, but I had no interest in either of the leads even though I think the actors did their best with the material they had to work with.

I kept waiting for dog training scenes, but the characters seemed to do anything but. The dog was supposed to appear at an event in two weeks, so where was the intense training? And why was the new dog trainer helping the royal family decorate their (sparse) Christmas tree?

I like "royal" movies, but it's unbelievable the someone going to a royal castle wouldn't do a quick search about protocol. The leading lady's attempts to curtsy with hands in an obeisant posture came off as silly and made her look inconsiderate and not very bright.

I didn't see the end, but I can guess: conflict arises to interfere with the budding romance, the conflict gets resolved, and the guy gets the girl. AmIright?

Ok, I didn't hate it and the dogs are adorable.

[cgvsluis · 6/10 · 30 October 2023]

I am not Hunter kings biggest fan, but I actually think she did well in this film and I loved her in her Royal hiking outfit with the cap. Prince Edmund is played well by Jordan Renzo, but the dogs are the real stars of this film starting with Mistletoe, of course!

Prince Edmund's staff hire dog trainer and author of Dog-ma, Cecily (played by Hunter King). She comes with bit of an agenda, to get the Royal family to sponsor her charity, which predictably leads to bad feelings on the Prince's part as he sees her as a grifter.

I really appreciated that the Princess and the Queen were played by good people...in fact there is only one misguided member of the Royal household. It. Was fun to have Cecily's friend and business partner, Jacob, be a Royal watcher (as I do know they exist).

Overall I enjoyed it...but mainly because of the dogs, so I recommend it to dog lovers especially those fond of Corgi's (whichbyiu can guess by the title).

Another unwatchable rom-com about some fake royals.

[Avidviewer-02847 · 2/10 · 1 December 2022]

Hallmark and all the other rom-com film producers always screw up movies about royalty, it's usually fake with bad scripts and acting and direction and this is one of the worst. The script and dialog is just bad, there are better actors out there with real English accents, the accents here were not good. The plot was uninteresting and I turned it off after an hour. They should get a new casting director.

Writers of these rom-coms should watch "The Crown", "The Queen", "The King's Speech" and other solidly written films that are about royalty. They should bring in good British screenwriters when they're going to do stories about royals, not cartoon writers. Scenes can be comedic without being just plain dumb, it's like these were written by 3rd graders.

I gave it a rating of "2" because I liked the corgis.

A bit un-corgi-nated

[MickyG333 · 7/10 · 24 December 2022]

7.1 stars.

In my specific demographic I am an expert on rating Hallmark Christmas movies. 50+, male, single, middle class, white collar, American, now on review #118 of this genre. That being said here is my 2 cents on 'A Royal Corgi Christmas'. The sound mixing was atrocious. Why couldn't they get the sound right? I thought Hallmark fixed this problem last year, or 2020, but alas not for this installment. I wear headphones when I watch movies, so my sound experience is actually much less prone to the horrific mixing and dubbing debacles. In this case, there was no saving it. Terribly loud and obnoxious British sort of Classical music themes throughout were clumsy, and deafening. The ear piercing quality of background music while our characters are in the middle of intense and crucial dialogue is a massive detractor of the any possible enjoyment. Ok, enough about that.

I like the female lead, and this is the first I've seen her "I do believe" (imagine that in a British accent), although it's hard to be certain. She seems a bit green, but I think she will mature into becoming (hopefully) a frequent female lead in upcoming Hallmark films. She is likable, if a bit rough around the edges, and of course she is gorgeous. The male lead is very British. I was comfortable with his acting, he is easy to like, maybe not the total hunk sort, but he's got a nice way about him, very proper-ish.

The supporting cast were fantastic. The princess: I hope to see her in many more films. She has poise and a gift for proper beauty. The Queen Mother has an infectious acting style which was very entertaining. The royal butler, or court servant, I forget what he was (the older fellow) was quite dashing in his own way as well. The villain was easy to dislike, so he fit the mold nicely.

This movie is fairly flat for the first hour. I was ho-hum for a while, but I know how Hallmark has a way of sneaking up on you sometimes, and this film was one of those sorts that takes its time in gaining momentum. I will watch this every 5 years or so.

Not my cup of tea!

[kaseyus · 3/10 · 28 November 2022]

I was all for watching a movie about a rambunctious royal corgi, but when I first saw who would be the male lead, I quickly got discouraged. Jordan Renzo just didn't fit the image of a royal prince. Hallmark has had it's fair share of actors portraying future kings and they have until now fit the role perfectly. Unfortunately, Jordan Renzo falls below the benchmark. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's a good actor but for me, this was just the wrong role for him.

So despite the cuteness of the corgi and Hunter King's bubbly presence as Cecily Bowman, the dog trainer, I just couldn't find a good reason to finish watching this movie.

Extremely Cute!

[HallmarkJenny · 9/10 · 29 November 2022]

Cecily travels to train the newly adopted Mistletoe, a corgi of no notable blood line, which an unruly Prince Edmond will gift to his Mother, the Queen. Cecily and Edmond train Mistletoe together and bond as they both love charity work.

Summary: Cecily travels to train the newly adopted Mistletoe, a corgi of no notable blood line, which an unruly Prince Edmond will gift to his Mother, the Queen. Cecily and Edmond train Mistletoe together and bond as they both love charity work.

"I think he thinks that we're both his person." -Cecily, when Mistletoe puts a paw on each of them.

MeetCute: Cecily walks into a large ball room as Edmond is fencing. He takes his fencing helmet off, turns around and there is a palpable moment. Cecily and Edmond are both captivated by one another and have to take themselves out of the moment to get to the dog-training business. Cecily asks if Mistletoe has a crate or a bed. Edmond looks at her like she is crazy, tells her she has to train Mistletoe in two weeks, for the Christmas Ball and leaves the room. Cecily yells out that Edmond must be involved in the dog training, but he has already left the room.

Baking Scene: Comfrey Cottage Pie Edmond makes a reservation in town for dinner with Cecily, but the papparazi is swarming the restaurant. He decides to teach Cecily how to make a Comfrey Cottage Pie in the castle's kitchen.

He rolls dough and it is obvious that he has never done it before. Cecily teaches him to push and roll the roller.

While the pie bakes, they talk then Edmond asks Cecily to dance in the kitchen!

Ending Kiss: Alec, the royal dog handler, overhears Cecily's manager talking about asking Prince Edmond for money for her charity, Rover Rehab. Alec gives Prince Edmond Cecily's ledger book with all of his net assets. Edmond is beyond hurt that Cecily would target him for his money and asks her to leave. Edmond's mother tells her son that Cecily is a good person.

"I'm just the royal that's here, beginning for forgiveness." -Edmond

"I never felt like I had a home until I met you." -Prince Edmond

Edmond tells Cecily he was a fool to mistake her; he knows she cares about him and her intentions are pure. They declare their love for each other and he kisses her! Mistletoe barks in excitement.

It Was Pretty Good for a Hallmark Movie

[RaisedVintage · 5/10 · 2 December 2022]

Now, let's all be honest here - we watched it for the Corgi. LOL.

To be honest, I've never really been into Hallmark, so it was actually pretty good for a Hallmark movie. Some things could've been fleshed out some more, like some of the relationships between the people of the castle, but over all pretty good.

Something that is odd to me, is Mistletoe was meant for Edmond's mother but ends up being His and Cecily's, was that just weird to me? Why doesn't the queen ever warm up to Mistletoe?

Check out my Youtube channel for more thoughts on this film and more! RaisedVintage.

Merry Christmas!

Came for the Hallmark Christmas Movie, Stayed for the Corgis

[story_by_corey · 4/10 · 11 December 2022]

I'll give any movie a try if it has corgis in it, and this one had wall-to-wall corgis being cute and doing cute things. As for the storyline, well its about a misbehaving royal corgi that photo bombs a royal event. The corgi becomes a national sensation which leads to all kinds of good things for the community and the royal family's reputation. Meanwhile, the female lead falls in love with the dog trainer who is also the male lead. There is not much else to this movie other than fundraising/social events that give the corgis excuses to be in the movie. Its formula Hallmark and there is barely enough storyline in it to keep your interest. I came for the movie, but only stayed to the end for the corgis.

I like the dog

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 22 July 2023]

Prince Edmond (Jordan Renzo) is the thoughtless heir apparent. He gives his Queen mother a corgi for Christmas. The untrained dog wrecks havoc at a televised event. Cecily (Hunter King) is brought in to train the dog although she insists that she train the prince as well.

Hunter King is trying to be funny for a little bit. The prince is rather nothing. They are two hot pretty people and that alone would generate some superficial heat. I rather have a little girl owning the dog. Hunter can have more fun with the kid and the dog. The prince can fall in love with who essentially is the nanny. I mostly enjoy the dog and a little bit of Hunter. That's it. It's a bland Hallmark Christmas.

Love the Corgi's and the Prince isn't bad either

[lindy-00795 · 8/10 · 8 November 2023]

Positives about this movie:

1. It has cute Corgi dogs. The Prince buys a Corgi called Mistletoe for his mother, the Queen of some never heard of country somewhere. Because all royals love corgis apparently. Actually, I've heard they tend to be aggressive and they shed. I think a good poodle mix would be much more desirable- no shedding.

2. Hunter is hired to help train the Corgi. This involves getting the Prince involved in training the pooch. Fortunately, Mistletoe, the corgi, appears to be well trained by the end.

3. The actors who are in the royal family actually speak with British accents and dress like royals. The costumes are fabulous.

3. The dress worn by the lead actress, Hunter King, to the ball is spectacular!!!

4. The baddie in the movie, the evil dog trainer, tries to get Hunter King in trouble with the Prince. Fortunately, the Princess finds out and he gets booted very publicly out of the castle.

Cecily Bowman (Hunter King)

[aab874 · 10/10 · 1 December 2022]

Favorite scene with

Cecily Bowman (Hunter King) - Cooking (Not Very Successfully), Dancing (Very Awkwardly), and Wafting (Hopefully Very Successfully) with Edmond. I Love Hunter King! She is So Dang Adorable! I'm So Glad that she became a Part of the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Family! BTW #1, I Loved this Movie! I Love Hallmark Channel Movies having to do with Royalty! BTW #2, Mistletoe the Corgi is So Dang Adorable! I just wanted to Cuddle with him during the Movie! BTW #3, I Loved Edmond's Line about Fencing Without Swords. So Very Romantic!

Set in New York and Wales.