The Princess Switch: Switched Again
NetflixNetflix’s favourite Christmas Queen, Vanessa Hudgens, is back for the third year in a row. This time starring in The Princess Switch: Switched Again, the highly anticipated sequel to 2018’s The Princess Switch. This edition opens with Stacy, the American Vanessa Hudgens, recapping the first film via an animation sequence and voiceover. Stacy is still happily married to Prince Edward of Belgravia (Sam Palladio), but Margaret, the Vanessa Hudgens from the fictional Montenaro, has broken up with Kevin (Nick Sagar). After the death of Montenaro’s king and an abdication from his son, Margaret is next in line for the throne and has broken up with Kevin due to nerves.
Stacy, meddlesome but well-meaning, is adamant that Margaret and Kevin are meant to be. As the sequel’s title suggests, Stacy urges Margaret to switch places once again so she can have a break from her coronation preparations and work things out with Kevin. Meanwhile, a third Vanessa Hudgens gets introduced, Margaret’s cousin Lady Fiona Pembroke, who serves as the film’s villain. Unbeknownst to any of the other characters, Fiona has spent almost every penny of the Pembroke fortune. Jealous of her cousin Margaret and quickly catching on to the fact that they look alike, Fiona and her minions commit treason to have Fiona take Margaret’s place at the coronation, giving her enough time to steal enough money and flee to a country with no extradition policies. Obviously just to add some more spice to the movie, they accidentally kidnap Stacy instead of Margaret.
Along with the royal kidnapping, there are quite a few other side plots in Switched Again. A heartbroken Kevin is running his own bakeshop in Chicago with his daughter Olivia (Mia Lloyd), Margaret and Kevin are trying to work through their relationship issues, and Stacy and Edward are also having problems as Stacy strives to be the perfect Princess of Belgravia and accidentally starts neglecting Edward. All of these add to Switched Again’s runtime, but it’s obvious how much fun Vanessa Hudgens is having in all three of her roles.
Despite obviously all looking identical, Hudgens does a great job making the characters of Stacy, Margaret, and Fiona distinct from one another. Stacey stretches herself thin to be there for every single person in her life, having deep care for her friends and family. Margaret is also incredibly nice but very overwhelmed at the thought of becoming Montenaro’s queen. Hudgens definitely has the most fun as Fiona, her character basically being Cruella De Vil if she was an Instagram influencer. She is striking as she unleashes back-handed compliments at Margaret and her voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard each time her inflated lips call Margaret “Maggie Moo.” Vanessa Hudgens carries The Princess Switch series and that’s why she is the Christmas Queen of Netflix.
The issues with Switched Again arise in its tired tropes. Along with being yet another film inspired by Mark Twain’s The Princess and The Pauper, the film also heavily borrows from the first Princess Switch and feels extremely repetitive. It is also difficult to label Switched Again as a Christmas film, however. The only Christmas elements about the film are the set design littered in holiday decor and the fact that Margaret’s coronation is scheduled for Christmas Day. But, nevertheless, it’s still a fine addition to the NCCU – the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe. Switched Again is actually one of the better ones because it’s just fun. There are also a few easter eggs to some of Netflix’s other Christmas movies peppered in for eagle-eyed fans to recreate their own version of the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the television meme.
Netflix has already announced that a third film in The Princess Switch franchise is in the works, and we can only hope that Vanessa Hudgens ends up playing at least four different characters; it’s what our Christmas Queen deserves.