"The Nine Kittens of Christmas" - SPOILER ALERT

Merry Christmas to all who observe!

"The Nine Kittens of Christmas" is the sequel to "The Nine Lives of Christmas". The sequel premiered this year on Hallmark. Since I watched "Nine Lives" this year for the first time, I didn't have to wait six years for the sequel and I'm so glad for that! While "Nine Lives" is based on a book (that I have not read), I believe "Nine Kittens" is only a movie.

Most often sequels do not live up to their predecessors. I am please to say, that was not the case this time. As if it could not get any better, it did! I really enjoyed "Nine Lives", so this is saying a lot!

"The Nine Kittens of Christmas" takes place five years after the end of "The Nine Lives of Christmas". I was shocked and saddened to see that, at the beginning of "Nine Kittens", Marilee and Zachary were no longer a couple. Marilee's beloved cat, "Queenie" crossed Rainbow Bridge a few years before the beginning of the sequel and she now has a new kitty named Duchess. This captured my heart right away because my best friend Stephanie's childhood dog was named Duchess. Marilee has opened her own veterinary practice and she has been dating her colleague, Miles. She is living and working in a big city, but she goes back home for the holidays. She stays with her sister's family.

Zachary is now Captain at the fire department in his hometown, where he and Marilee originally met. He still has his buddies at the station, but all except the chief are different. This was one of the movies few flaws for me. I really missed the banter between Zachary and his original buddies. They seemed to have more colorful personalities, though I did not dislike his new buddies. One of them is the fire chief's daughter (and no, there is nothing going on between her and Zachary). They are just all friends. The chief is planning to retire soon and he has asked Zachary to become the new chief. Zachary is undecided about whether or not to accept the position. One day, Zachary discovers a box of nine kittens that somebody just left there. Another day, being a small town, he runs into his old flame, Marilee. And so begins the main story.

Marilee and Zachary set out to find good homes for the kittens throughout the movie.  They name them all after Santa's reindeer. Along the way, they (reluctantly) rekindle their romance. Marilee breaks up with her man over the phone because he just won't make time for her, so she is once again a single woman. Zachary is also single. He cancels his ski trip so he can focus on finding good homes for the kittens. The man has his priorities straight!

Eventually, good homes are found for all of the kittens. Two of them go to the retiring chief and two of them go to Marilee's sister's family. They had been keeping all nine kittens there while searching for homes for them and Marilee's niece proved she can take good care of them. So she received two of them for Christmas. 

Close to the end of the movie, Marilee's former flame shows up and tries to make everything right. It doesn't work. He wasted his time and money because Marilee's heart is with Zachary. However, she is not sure Zachary will want to rekindle their romance. She resigns from her veterinary position in the big city (her man bought the practice from her, so it's a win win) and she decides to move back home in the small town permanently. She wants to be close to her family even if she doesn't end up with Zachary.

When Marilee's former flame tries to make things right, Zachary misunderstands their meetup and thinks he has no chance with Marilee. Marilee realizes what happened, but she doesn't think she has a chance with Zachary. Duchess, her cat, knows otherwise. Duchess digs in Marilee's purse to get her phone and tosses it to her. This is a really cute and funny scene in the movie. It was so well-edited. So, Marilee calls Zachary, but Zachary does not answer. Thankfully, Ambrose, his cat, does! This was also a cute and funny scene. Marilee and Zachary are reunited over the phone because of their cats. They meet up in person one day and Zachary surprises Marilee with a marriage proposal in front of the house he now calls his home and hopes that Marilee will join him in it. Marilee accepts the proposal. Not only that, but they also decide to adopt the ninth kitten, Rudolph, together! Rudolph was there to witness the marriage proposal. In fact, Marilee was holding Rudolph at the time of the proposal. It touched my heart also because Rudolph is black and white, like my Qandi. It was so beautiful and purrfect.

There is a subplot in this movie regarding an Advent calendar that has been in the family for a long time. This subplot had great potential, but it fell flat. However, the main plot, the main characters, and the kittens, which were beyond adorable throughout the movie, make this one of my favorites of the year.