Prince Charming (2001 film)

Prince Charming (TV film)

Prince Charming
Directed by Allan Arkush
Produced by George Horie
Martin Walters
Matthew O'Connor
Written by Doug Palau
Based on The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm
Starring Martin Short
Christina Applegate
Sean Maguire
Bernadette Peters
Music by Lisa Coleman
Wendy Melvoin
Cinematography Jamie Anderson
Edited by John Duffy
Distributed by America Video Film
Argentina Video Home
Bridge Entertainment Group
Hallmark Entertainment
RTL Entertainment
Turner Home Entertainment
Videosonic Arts
Release dates
 October 21, 2001, Peru
July 13, 2003, US, (TNT television)
Running time
 87 minutes
Language English

Prince Charming is a 2001 made-for-television film. It is a comical fairy tale, relating the story of a Prince who is cursed and transported to present-day New York City. The movie stars Martin Short as a wizard squire of modest talents trying to keep his prince (Sean Maguire) from harm, with Christina Applegate as a young woman skeptical of the prince's story, who nevertheless wins his love, and Bernadette Peters as an actress who inadvertently lifts a 500-year curse.

Plot

On his wedding day, Prince John commits a romantic indiscretion and is cursed by being turned into a frog forever, unless a woman kisses him and marries him within a week. For good measure, his squire Rodney is similarly "frogged".

Transported forward 500 years, the Prince and Rodney, in the form of frogs, find themselves in New York's Central Park, where the Prince sees Kate driving her horse-drawn carriage and falls in love with her. However, an aging actress, Margo, impetuously picks up the Prince-frog and kisses him, breaking the curse until the next full moon, and turning the Prince and Rodney into their human selves (although dressed in Renaissance garb).

Prince John and Rodney begin their search for the woman who kissed John, with the reluctant help of a skeptical Kate. After a series of comic encounters and setbacks, the Prince, in his human form, finally meets Margo, who is performing Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". She decides to make her unfaithful lover, Hamish, jealous by initiating a romantic tryst. The Prince, realizing that he must marry Margo in order to permanently break the curse, proposes marriage. Meanwhile, Rodney finds in Serena a fellow "wizard", and they try to find potions that will break the curse.

In the end, the three couples manage to find themselves with the right person, the curse is forever broken by true love, and all marry to live happily ever after.

Characters

Source: TCM [1]

Production notes

The Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, New York, was used during filming of the Shakespeare productions. The television film was initially broadcast in the United States on the TNT station in July 2003.[2]

Guru Studios, a Special Effects Company provided additional character animation.[3]

Critical response

The New York Times reviewer wrote "She [Applegate] and Mr. Maguire make a suitably cute couple, and Mr. Short throws as much energy as he can muster (as usual, a lot) into the comic sidekick bit. Ms. Peters and Billy Connolly, as a full-of-himself director, do what they can. Only Andrea Martin, as Serena, Margo's put-upon gofer, manages to find (or invent) some real comedy."[4]

Trivia

This movie reunites Bernadette Peters and her costar from Broadway's The Goodbye Girl, Martin Short,[5]and her director from the movie Heartbeeps, Alan Arkush.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Credits, 'Prince Charming' " tcm.com, accessed June 24, 2013
  2. ↑ Simonson, Robert and Gans, Andrew. "Tony Winners Peters, Martin and Short Star in TNT's "Prince Charming," July 13" playbill.com, July 13, 2003
  3. ↑ gurustudio.com
  4. ↑ Wertheimer, Ron. "Television Review. Transforming Frogs and Teenagers" The New York Times, July 12, 2003
  5. ↑ "Diva Talk:The Three B’s: Betty, Bernadette & Barbra in Concert" playbill.com, October 6, 2000

External links