“The Nine Kittens of Christmas,” starring Kimberly Sustad and Brandon Routh, premiered on November 25 during 2021’s Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark Channel. It’s a much-awaited sequel to 2014’s “The Nine Lives of Christmas,” which quickly became a favorite of most Hallmark fans.
Erinne Dobson wrote the screenplay of this chapter of the story, having previously written Love, For Real as well as 2019’s Merry & Bright, to name just two. She was not responsible for the original 2014 movie script, but she did a great job keeping the tone of the original, as did director David Winning. Winning’s other Christmas movie this year was You, Me and The Christmas Trees.
This movie poster is adorable. Admittedly, I love cats, and this poster is HEAVY on photoshopped cats while not being obviously Christmas at all, but I don’t care!
Music: During the montage where they took pictures of kitties, we heard It’s Christmas Time by Devin Jay Hoffman, Holiday Rogers & Skip Armstrong. This is a song that’s frequently used in Hallmark holiday movies.
In a nutshell
I couldn’t have asked for a better sequel to the original movie, “The Nine Lives of Christmas,” which is a Hallmark Christmas movie I watch every year without fail.
The Plot of “The Nine Kittens of Christmas”
Cat lovers Zachary and Marilee are thrown back together at Christmas when they’re tasked with finding homes for a litter of adorable kittens.
Actors & Chemistry
Brandon Routh and Kimberly Sustad are so great together. It was nice to see the on-screen chemistry between these two was still there. It was also nice to see Gregory Harrison get a small storyline in the sequel. I don’t have much else to say about that! Great cast, great chemistry!
Tropes
Adorable animals all through out, obviously. Merilee returns to hometown for the holidays and sees old boyfriend. Cute kid. Zachary dressed up as an elf. Empty coffee cups. The rep at the Santa photo booth was holding the marble laptop.
Merilee had a Bad Boyfriend in Miami. The chief’s house had a front porch. So did Merilee’s sister. And Zachary. Front porches for everyone!
Did I Hear/See That Right?
Those were not 10-week-old cats. Those were 6-month-old cats.
Are we really to believe that Duchess tossed Merilee the phone to call Zachary?
Feelgoods
Um c’mon – the movie has KITTENS. And I love kittens. In fact, this Thanksgiving weekend my family went over to our local Humane Society and put in an application on a kitty cat named Jimmy. We’re hoping to bring him home soon!
We had a Paul Campbell cameo! I love that our Hallstars are randomly dropping into each other’s movies.
General Thoughts
I’ve seen some confusion posted online from some viewers about the timeline of the movie, so I thought I’d clear it up based on what I saw/heard in the movie. Merilee at some point stated that they dated for two years and she was ready for the next step while Zachary wasn’t. At that point they broke up, and she moved to Miami. Six months later Queenie died (Merilee said it was 4 1/2 years ago). It is also mentioned that Merilee had not been back to Bend for five years, which would mean from the end of 2014 through 2016 they dated, and 2017-2021 she was in Miami. That’s seven years, which is the time frame between the first movie and the second movie as well.
Re-watchability of “The Nine Kittens of Christmas”
I’ve already watched it two times. =)
The Ranking
“The Nine Kittens of Christmas” was so much fun and a nearly perfect sequel to the original, which I also love.
- The Santa Stakeout (air date: Oct 24) – 730 pts – weighted score: 122.3 (85.8%)
- A Christmas Family Tree (air date: Nov 14) – 730 pts – weighted score: 121.9 (85.5%)
- You, Me and The Christmas Trees (air date: Oct 22) – 716 pts – weighted score: 121.3 (85.1%)
- Crashing Through The Snow (air date: July 10) – 705 pts – weighted score: 118.1 (82.8%)
- The Nine Kittens of Christmas (air date: Nov 25) – 690 pts – weighted score: 116.5 (81.8%)
- One December Night (air date: Nov 13) – 695 pts – weighted score: 116.3 (81.6%)
- A Mrs. Miracle Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 688 pts – weighted score: 116.2 (81.5%)
- Boyfriends of Christmas Past (air date: Oct 23) – 673 pts – weighted score: 116.1 (81.5%)
- Next Stop, Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 682 pts – weighted score: 114.7 (80.5%)
- It Was Always You (air date: Feb 27) – 668 pts – weighted score: 114.2 (80.1%)
- The Christmas Promise (air date: Oct 30) – 675 pts – weighted score: 114.1 (80.0%)
- Gingerbread Miracle (air date: Nov 5) – 671 pts – weighted score: 114.0 (80.0%)
- Christmas In My Heart (air date: Oct 23) – 675 pts – weighted score: 113.9 (79.9%)
- A Kiss Before Christmas (air date: Nov 21) – 671 pts – weighted score: 111.9 (78.5%)
- Open at Christmas (air date: Nov 12) – 658 pts – weighted score: 111.6 (78.3%)
- You Had Me At Aloha (air date: June 5) – 675 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
- Five More Minutes (air date: Nov 21) – 645 pts – weighted score: 110.8 (77.7%)
- Sweet Carolina (air date: May 15) – 648 pts – weighted score: 110.1 (77.2%)
- Taking a Shot at Love (air date: Jan 2) – 641 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
- Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (air date: Mar 27) – 636 pts – weighted score: 108.5 (76.1%)
- Right in Front of Me (air date: Apr 18) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
- As Luck Would Have It (air date: Apr 10) – 638 pts – weighted score: 107.7 (75.5%)
- Her Pen Pal (air date: June 19) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.1 (75.1%)
- The Baker’s Son (air date: June 13) – 637 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
- South Beach Love (air date: Oct 9) – 615 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
- Love Strikes Twice (air date: Oct 2) – 608 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
- A Holiday in Harlem (air date: Nov 7) – 628 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
- Christmas Sail (air date: Oct 31) – 606 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
- Christmas in Harmony (air date: Oct 29) – 605 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
- A Christmas Treasure (air date: Nov 7) – 625 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.4%)
- A Winter Getaway (air date: Jan 23) – 620 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.3%)
- Coyote Creek Christmas (air date: Oct 30) – 614 pts – weighted score: 104.3 (73.2%)
- Love, For Real (air date: July 31) – 607 pts – weighted score: 103.6 (72.7%)
- Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone (air date: Oct 1) – 595 pts – weighted score: 103.0 (72.2%)
- Mix Up in the Mediterranean (air date: Feb 20) – 590 pts – weighted score: 102.5 (71.9%)
- Advice to Love By (air date: Oct 16) – 599 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7)
- Two For The Win (air date: Jan 16) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
- Taking the Reins (air date: Sept 28) – 574 pts – weighted score: 101.2 (71.0%)
- Raise a Glass to Love (air date: Sept 18) – 590 pts – weighted score: 100.7 (70.7%)
- Nantucket Noel (air date: Nov 18) – 585 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
- Chasing Waterfalls (air date: Mar 20) – 570 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
- Roadhouse Romance (air date: Sept 11) – 571 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
- Sweet Pecan Summer (air date: ) – 576 pts – weighted score: 97.3 (68.3%)
- Sand Dollar Cove (air date: June 26) – 557 pts – weighted score: 96.8 (67.9%)
- Hearts Down Under (air date: Apr 24) – 547 pts – weighted score: 95.2 (66.8%)
- Fit for a Prince (air date: Mar 6) – 546 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
- A New Year’s Resolution (air date: Jan 9) – 516 pts – weighted score: 90.5 (63.5%)
- Finding Love in Mountain View (air date: ) – 504 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
- A Little Daytime Drama (air date: Aug 21) – 511 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
- Baby, It’s Cold Inside (air date: May 8) – 495 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.0%)
- Playing Cupid (air date: Feb 13) – 466 pts – weighted score: 82.6 (58.0%)
- Beverly Hills Wedding (air date: Feb 6) – 431 pts – weighted score: 80.6 (56.5%)
- Journey of my Heart (air date: ) – 450 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)
- Snowkissed (air date: Jan 31) – 402 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)
To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!
What did you think of “The Nine Kittens of Christmas”? Comment below and let me know!
I am a fan of the first movie (not only do I watch it every time I catch it on TV, but I also own a copy on DVD). This one did not disappoint. I liked that it did not pick up on the “happy ending” we were all left with at the end of “Nine Lives.” I also completely enjoyed the Paul Cambell cameo. Can we get more cameos in these films since so many are up there filming? Granted, they all have quick filming schedules, but I have enjoyed the unexpected appearances this year.
I watch the first movie every year but I don’t think the director did, ha ha! Her sister Jaclyn didn’t have 5 dogs or take in strays anymore, and the chief’s wife wasn’t allergic to cats anymore? Someone needed to do their homework 🙂
I did remember the four dogs (I thought it was four, not five) but gave them the out that maybe they all died in the 7 years since we heard about them? I didn’t remember about the chief’s wife’s allergy. Good catch!
While I forgot about the 5 dogs, I did remember the Chief’s wife was allergic to cats. Maybe she discovered Zyrtec! I really, really enjoyed this movie. I was tickled to see Paul Campbell show up. I’ll watch at least the second half whenever I see it’s on.
I loved this movie. I had 6 foster kittens at the time this movie made it’s debut on the Hallmark Channel. I watched it more times than I can count (I recorded it on my Sling DVR). My fosters were fuzzy little tuxedos so Rudolph was particularly precious. The only thing I would have changed here was the relationship between Miles and Marilee. It bothered me to see him get hurt at the end of the movie. I think I would have had them be friends and partners instead of having them be romantically involved.