It was saddening for me to not like 'A Christmas Carousel' more. Hallmark did do some surprisingly very well done films in 2020, which one doesn't expect from a company that usually works to tight deadlines and low budgets and then with the pandemic on top, with some of the best coming from the Christmas block. Have seen some of Rachel Boston's other work and have liked her in other things. Also did like the concept and thought it quite charming potentially.

'A Christmas Carousel' unfortunately turned out to be rather bland and charmless and even Boston can't redeem it. 2020 did see some good Hallmark Christmas films, actually thought the Christmas batch was a lot better than expected on the whole, but there were also some misfires. Of which 'A Christmas Carousel' is one of them, and one of the worst. If there is a contender for the worst 2020 Hallmark Christmas film, this would be a strong contender, or at least the blandest.

There are a few redeeming qualities. It is a nice looking film, with very attractive and at its best magical scenery that really does give off a festive vibe. Complemented beautifully by the photography.

Did think the film started off decently and that Neal Blesdoe had a nice charismatic charm.

However, the rest of the acting is at best bland and nobody looks as though they disappeared into the roles and instead looking as if they had just about memorised the script. This is including Boston, who comes over as rather cold and uptight. She and Blesdoe generate very little chemistry together in a severely undercooked in writing relationship, and none of the characters came over as interesting or likeable. Boston's character's arrogance was taken to extremes for example.

Furthermore, the story is very atmospherically bland and very unengaging from doing absolutely nothing new with familiar ground, so it all feels tired. Pace wise, the film drags quite a bit. The script is awkward and goes overboard on the corn and schmaltz. Absolutely agree regarding the ending, which is horrendously cheesy and is not even entertaining enough for unintentional laughter. There is not much memorable about the music, which is very typical Hallmark in tone and could have been used with more subtlety. The far too sugary sweet mutilation of one of the most beautiful carols ever written was unforgivable.

Concluding, pretty weak. 3/10.

I could tell it wasn't going to get better, but we watched it from beginning to end. It didn't get better.

No chemistry, no story, acting was terrible, and usually in a movie like this, the location saves the movie...not this one.

I hate reviewing movies negatively.

This is Hallmark's second 'Royal' Christmas movie this season (the first being One Royal Holiday, which is arguably a better film). I have mixed feelings about this one: on the one hand, the plot is very generic (except for the carousel element) and the script is quite ordinary; on the other hand, the acting was very good overall. That said, in the end, I thought it was a decent movie, but not one of Hallmark's best, I'm afraid. I did think it was great getting a glimpse at the craftsmanship and artwork that goes into making and upkeeping a carousel. I had never really thought about it before, but it seems to be a very artistic endeavor. A pity we did not spend more time watching Thomas Carousel Restoration (which was the name of their business in the film) at work. The story here centers around Lila (played by Rachel Boston),who works for her father Roy (played by Stuart Hughes) at the family carousel restoration business, though, recently, she has been thinking about following her own path (career-wise, that is). They are hired by the Royal Family of Ancadia to restore an old carousel that Lila's great-grandfather built some 100 years earlier. Upon their arrival, they meet Whitaker (aka the Prince, played by Neal Bledsoe, our other protagonist in this story) who has taken an interest in the restoration. And so, our journey begins as Lila and the Prince team up, and we watch their relationship grow and blossom into romance in the snow-covered mountains of the Kingdom of Ancadia. The movie draws a little on a very popular plot device this Christmas season: i.e., deception and mistaken identity. I thought this worked well. Indeed, the first 20 minutes or so of the film were great, I thought. There were some nice scenes where we got a look at the craftsmanship I mentioned above, and there were some nice banter and interactions between our two protagonists. However, once we got to the palace of the royal family, the story started to become less appealing, I thought. The sub-plot around the father and son relationship (the King and Prince) was unexceptional: we have seen many movies where the Prince is not living up to the royal standards. There were some good dialogue and scenes between the Prince and Lila. However, the chemistry between the two never really developed on screen, which is a problem in a romance film. Boston had a pretty good performance; she usually does well (as a Hallmark regular) in this genre of film. Bledsoe too had a decent performance (his accent did not bother me, as it seems to have been for some of the reviewers on here). As another reviewer observed, he had a bit of a Hugh Grant vibe to his performance, which I, for the most part, enjoyed. The problem was, there was no real chemistry between the two. At least, I did not see it or feel it on screen. The supporting cast was strong, some solid performances, I thought. What was up with Roy's little boy haircut? It was a bit distracting at first. Finally, the film did have a very nice Christmas feel to it. There were some beautiful scenic shots of the castle and mountains. The scenery, props, and sets were elegant and quite festive (such cozy royal stables). All in all, it is a decent Christmas movie. If you enjoy Royal themed Hallmark (or Hallmark like) movies, then I suspect you will enjoy this one too.