Christmas Princess

This was a really good true story about a girl chosen to be on the Christmas float. Well worth watching. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 12/11/2020

Donaly Marquez (Nicole Muñoz) is a foster kid with issues about her troubled birth mom. She was adopted by the Marquez family. She tries out to be one of the princesses in the Tournament of Rose Parade.

The first half is rather flat. Donaly is probably suffering from PTSD and depression. The actress is holding it all in with her performance. The selection process is not that dramatic and I don't want it to be that movie anyways. The mother is the wild card and her entry into the story throws everything up in the air. This seems to be based on a true story and I don't expect anything crazy. If not, then the writing is too flat. The mother is one of the very few bumps in the road but nothing comes from it except for one intense scene. The story needs more intensity.

Very well done true story. Acting is genuine and the characters deal with issues in a realistic manner. Love that it is based on the true story of Rose Parade princess Donaly Marquez.

First, this is not another girl meets royal prince story. It is also not a festive Christmas movie full of baking Christmas cookies and building snowmen and going on sleigh rides.

It starts out as a Cinderella story, but even then there are hints that all is not sugar and spice. It is based on a true story, but I have no idea how accurate it is. The story in this movie is about life with ups and downs and not just disappointing-Christmas-gifts downs. The story in this movie is about a scared little girl in an 18 year old body who needs to unlearn some of the lessons life has taught her.

There are many things that could be criticized in this movie. I don't think the acting is one of those things. Yes it's sappy and some of the things that happen seem unlikely, but there is a compelling story here and it needs to be taken in fully and it can touch the viewer's heart. And hopefully it leads to some thought. .There are a lot of good things here if you are open to them. And a bit of Cinderella too.

There is some talk about God, but not oppressively so. There is a bit of preaching, more about what Donaly has learned along the way than anything else.

A now teenage girl that is now adopted along with her sister and brother has aspirations of becoming a Rose Parade Princess. Donaly and her siblings would their way through the foster system and finally got adopted. But Donaly's mother still haunts her. Can Donaly overcome the mental and physical barriers, not to mention her father's permission to enter the contest to become a Rose Parade Princess? Good messages and a nice story.