On the day of his marriage to Princess Gwendolyn, Prince John finds himself in a compromising situation with a damsel in distress. As punishment, he and his squire, Rodney (Martin Short), are subjected to a "frogging," tra... more »nsforming them into frogs for all eternity, or until the prince can convince a maiden not only to kiss him but also marry him. After centuries on the pond, John and Rodney are accidentally transported to New York's Central Park and an amazing new world full of taxis, skyscrapers, graffiti and-of course-damsels. In no time at all, the prince gets his kiss and he and Rodney return to human form. But staying that way won't be easy. It's streetwise Kate (Christina Applegate) who has captured John's heart, but, unfortunately, she's not the woman he kissed. In order to break the curse forever, he must convince Margo (Bernadette Peters), a Broadway diva, to marry him.« less
Pinktulip | Chattanooga, TN United States | 10/29/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"CHRISTINA APPLEGATE IS WONDERFUL IN THIS CAPTIVATING AND REFRESHING NEW TAKE ON A MAGICAL FAIRY TALE. I WATCHED THIS ON TNT THIS FIRST NIGHT IT AIRED, THINKING IT WOULD BE A MINDLESS MOVIE TO SLEEP THROUGH. WRONG!WRONG!WRONG! THE PRINCE IS A RAKE BUT EVENTUALLY HE LEARNS THAT LOVE IS WHAT LASTS. HE LEARNS THIS THROUGH CENTURY'S AS A FROG, HIS SQUIRE PLAYED BY TALENTED MARTIN SHORT, AND HIS HEART'S DESIRE, CHRISTINA APPLEGATE. IF YOU LIKE MODERNIZED FAIRY TALES, YOU WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE. ALSO, CHECK OUT JACK AND THE BEANSTOCK - THE TRUE STORY AND SNOW WHITE PRODUCED BY HALLMARK ENTERTAINMENT. THEY ARE AWESOME AS WELL."
Charming in the old fashioned way!
David H. Birley | Rock Hill, SC USA | 10/30/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There was a time when fairy stories could only be told in Disney cartoons. There was Snow White, and Cinderella, and they had their requisite combination of magic and "lived happily ever after". "Real" people portrayed in movies could not, somehow, be presented that way -- it just didn't "work".
Then somewhere along the road a film called Pretty Woman figured out one way to do it with a PG13 rating, and Rob Reiner kicked it up (and down) a notch with The Princess Bride where the fairy story element became more as we remember as little children. Andre the Giant was a real giant, and who can forget Billy Crystal as the crone?
So Disney took another whack at it, and the Princess Diaries came along, and the fairy story worked some more. And we loved them, and they were family fare, and we watched them with our kids!
I saw Prince Charming at an unearthly early hour in Phoenix Arizona when my body was still on South Carolina time, and immediately fell in love with it. It has that same true fairy story quality about it -- a bit of cinematic froth with just enough believability to keep you drawn in to the characters.
Martin Short holds the entire package together, and is utterly in his element with the opportunity to take his Canadian origins out for a run with a flawless English accent and delivery throughout. Christina Appleton may have been a bit of an also-ran ditz in Married with Children, but here she shows some delicious emotional depth that carries us beyond the fundamental froth of the plot. Bernadette Peters uses every ounce of her Broadway chops to play a jaded diva just to the edge of over playing without quite tipping over -- mastery of her craft. The young man who plays the prince is new to me, but fits the role perfectly, an expert swordsman, and clearly the director decided to take every opportunity to show that off -- smart move.
Now I note that one reviewer decries some implied sexuality in the plot and presentation. May I assure one and all that no 7 year old would ever "get" what was "going on" because of the extremely (and delightfully) clever way in which this was handled. The "bell" scene mentioned is at once hilarious, and essential to the understanding of the character of the prince, and to the core of the plot. How I would dearly wish that Hollywood would understand that "sex scenes" do not require the depiction of either nudity nor sex to get the point across to adults without corrupting the minds of children.
I intend to buy this DVD and keep it on hand to play for my grandchildren when they visit. It will also be available for my Bishop's children to see (I am LDS), and others who share my rather conservative feelings about film content.
I consider this to be one of the most delightful and charming films I have seen in years."
This Is A Delightful Movie For Young And Old!!!
John Baranyai | 07/29/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In this movie we see Prince Charming and his sidekick played by Martin Short who are sentenced to a "frogging" in Medieval England. One soon learns that they should have chosen a flogging instead. As an aside I have heard that some guys are "into" that sort of thing. Prince Charming and his friend end up in Modern Day New York where they get a horse and carriage ride with Christina Applegate who is a delight to watch as always. Christina thinks that these two are a couple of eccentric losers because of their continual reference to Central Park as being "Cental Forest" which is a funny joke in itself. However she soon changes her mind when the Prince pays her with a very valuable Antique coin. This movie is a gem for young and old and I believe I have too much class to attack another reviewer's opinion of this movie."
Prince Charming
Becky | UK | 07/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have just seen this film for the forth time on TV and I love it! It was a great storyline and was very amusing to watch! I am planning to buy it on DVD in the future as it is the same people who made The Tenth Kingdom which I bought on DVD and the book of. The setting was perfect and I loved the script. My favourite scene is when John takes Kate to the museum to prove who he is and confesses some of his feelings for her. Well done Hallmark for a wonderful adventure film"
3.5 stars really
Margaux Paschke | New York | 04/09/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It was a slightly better then average movie but since it's obviously made for TV, judging it on that basis would have earned it 4 stars. I know I shouldn't like this movie. It was corny, we're talking silos here, but it was still enjoyable. I know Prince Charming started off as a cad (that was the point) but it did show his reformation thru true love. Martin Short did his usual schtick and it was amusing in parts. The frog years were hilarious and made the movie. Due to his inappropriate behavior, Prince Charming and his Squire (Martin Short) were sentenced to a "frogging." They were turned into frogs until Prince Charming could get a lady to kiss him. He would then return to being a man but had to get the lady, his one true love, to marry him before the next full moon or they would be condemned to being frogs forever and ever. Prince Charming's return to manhood was the result of a kiss by Bernadette Peters, playing an aging starlit named Margo who refused to admit her age. Her love interest (Hamish/Billy Connelly) was a stereotypical cad so this should be easy. But he meets Christina Applegate and things get tricky. The whole heroine must believe the hero is from another time period has been done better (and by Applegate herself in The Visitors) but it works. Prince Charming must marry Bernadette Peters to remain a man but he falls in love with Christina Applegate. We see the Prince mature and become a real man as he comes to terms with the real meaning of love. It's a fairy tale so of course you know how it will ultimately end but getting there was fun.
The movie made me laugh (those frog years were pretty funny) and although the script was not great, it was watchable. It's a movie to watch on a rainy day or if you need a fairy tale to take you away for a moment.