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'The Royal Nanny' (2022)

Opening thoughts: Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime and Hallmark. They can either be well-meaning, charming, warm-hearted and don't feel too heavy. Or they can be too over-sentimental, cheesy, contrived and bland. There have been many films of theirs that have fallen in both camps and in the camp where there is a bit of both. And ''The Royal Nanny' did have the sort of premise where the execution could have gone either way.

Am generally not a fan of the royalty-themed Hallmark films. There have definitely been some pleasant surprises, but they tend to be very more of the same, with cliches galore done badly and very cheesy, a lot with bad acting and lacking in intedeating or/and likeable characters. 'The Royal Nanny' is one of the pleasant surprises, and as far as the royalty-themed Hallmark films go (especially for the ones ser at Christmas) it is for me easily one of the best. With it feeling fresh and that it was a lot less formulaic than usual.

Bad things: 'The Royal Nanny' isn't perfect. It did feel too short and also a bit over-crowded, which made the film feel rushed. Particularly in the final act.

Good things: Everything else is fine. The two leads carry 'The Royal Nanny' with down to earth charm and wit, looking as if they were having fun while not over-compensating. Their chemistry is good natured and sweet, and it looked natural. The supporting cast are fine, with a nice dignified turn from Greta Scacchi. The characters are familiar in type but they have a lot of fresh personality and are not annoying.

Furthermore, the film is attractive and slick looking, the locations are beautiful to look at. The music fits well and didn't sound over-bearing or intrusive. The script is witty and doesn't ramble or come over as awkward and cheesy, the latter extreme has been the case with a lot of Hallmark's royal themed films. The story felt fresh and is a lot less formulaic than usual, while also going at a pace that has liveliness in some places and gentility in others. It is very cosy and feel good, with a lot of heart and charm, while not being over serious or too spoof-like.

Closing thoughts: Concluding, very well done.

8/10.

Hallmark nailed it with this unique, witty, and heartwarming movie. A+ acting from all involved, and the accents from the non-English actors were actually quite well done! The mystery component was a huge plus and kept me guessing until the end of the movie. The kids being pranksters as opposed to brats was also a pleasant surprise, as these "royal" movies often feature spoiled children. They were both adorable and fun to watch.

It's always refreshing when Hallmark does something different like this, and this movie will be memorable for sure. I would happily watch it again. Please keep it up, Hallmark!

I always cringe when my wife puts on a Hallmark Christmas movie that involves English royalty or a prince or a princess or a countess or a lord or a king or a queen - etc.

There hasn't been a good one since 2014's "A Royal Christmas" with Lacey Chabert and Jane Seymour.

Until now. This was surprisingly different and quite entertaining. Rachel Skarsten is perfect as the nanny of Royalty children - who isn't really a nanny at all. There's a nice blend of mystery, humor, and yuletide cheer here that keeps your attention throughout. The supporting cast is very good, too, particularly Katie Sheridan as the children's princess mother. Plus, there's the added feature of an unrecognizable Greta Scacchi as the owner of a nanny service company. She is delightful in a role that is sort of a nice tribute to the late Angela Lansbury.

Filmed partly in Belgium, the production values and sets are nice to look at, but it's really the little surprises in the story and the fine performances of the entire cast that makes this worthwhile. Well done.

The Royal Nanny.

It's one of the better movies this year.

Different storyline, mystery, comedy, romance. Very cute. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Unrealistic, of course, because an English prince would never be in a romance with an orphan MI7 agent, lol. We viewers don't mind, though.

It was interesting and held my interest throughout. Super cute use of the "brolly".

Gave it a 7.

Good acting. I liked "Scary" Poppins, and everyone was of course English, so the accents were real. Though I know someone here will say they turned it off because of it!

It was filmed in Brussels, Belgium, so other than drone views of the London skyline and Tower Bridge, the street scenes and castle were in Belgium.

I love following the real Royal Family but I'm typically not a big fan of Royal TV movies on Hallmark Channel...BUT The Royal Nanny had a mystery twist to it and because of that-I "royally" enjoyed it! It was a nice change to have a mystery element versus the overused Royal movie tropes.

Rachel Skarsten played the undercover Nanny part wonderfully. Pair that with great chemistry with Dan Jeannote and an enjoyable supporting cast made this a fun and heartwarming Christmas movie to watch!

I hope Hallmark Channel continues to include Christmas movies with a mystery twist for the years to come!!