Tuesday, September 27, 2016

'L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables' TV Movie starring Ella Ballentine



MOVIE REVIEW

Movie: L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables

Network: PBS

Original Air Date: November 24, 2016 (Thanksgiving Day!)






CAST:

Ella Ballentine ... Anne Shirley
Martin Sheen ... Matthew Cuthbert
Sara Botsford ... Marilla Cuthbert
Julia Lalonde ... Diana Barry
Kate Hennig ... Rachel Lynde
Stefani Kimber ... Josie Pye
Linda Kash ... Mrs. Barry
Drew Haytaoglu ... Gilbert Blythe
Kyle Gatehouse ... Mr. Phillips
Tannis Burnett ... Muriel
Richard Binsley ... Stationmaster
Sophia Roberts ... Lily
Jaime Feggi ... Minnie May
Sean McCann ... Dr. Spencer
Alanis Peart ... Mary Jo


PLOT: A retelling of L.M. Montgomery's story of Anne Shirley, an orphan who is accidentally sent to a couple looking to adopt a boy instead.

Here's the scoop via Country Living:
"A new movie based on the first book in the Anne of Green Gables series will premiere on PBS on Thanksgiving night (NOVEMBER, 2016), followed by the 2005 version of the movie Pollyanna, another childhood favorite. The holiday programming will begin at 8 p.m.,( 7 central ) just in time for your post-feast couch collapse. (Please note: Times may vary, depending on your area!)

"Both movies are based on beloved children's novels that revolve around orphaned characters and their new beginnings. As fans know, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of adventurous Anne who is sent to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a strict sister and a fun-loving brother."

"These two films are great examples of the quality, family-friendly programming PBS strives to provide during the holiday season and all year long," Beth Hope, PBS's Chief Programming Executive said in a press release."







Movie Review:

This is an extra sweet, delightful family-friendly movie!


See or Skip:

Absolutely see!


My Thoughts...
Like many of you, I am a huge fan of the original Anne of Green Gables series starring Megan Follows, as the beloved red-head, Anne Shirley. I remember the first time I watched it, when PBS ran it in the 80's. Our family recorded it all on our new VCR and we absorbed every minute of this amazing, uplifting family story. It is a delight to see PBS bring the Anne of Green Gables Movie back to their network with this new movie, on this upcoming Thanksgiving Day!!! (2016)



If the young actress pictured above, Ella Ballentine (who portrays Anne Shirley), looks familiar to all of you Hallmark fans, then you are right! She portrayed the young girl, Karen, in the Hallmark Christmas Movie, "Baby's First Christmas." I was also honored at that time, to interview young Ella before the premiere of her Hallmark Christmas movie! You can see that Interview, HERE!

This Anne of Green Gables movie is Available to Order on DVD:


Plus...







8 comments:

  1. It's going to be interesting to see how I like this one. The other character actors really touched my heart with the one with Megan Fellows.

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  2. This is exciting news! I hope this movie ends up being good, so that it could have a chance to be nominated for next year's "It's A Wonderful Movie" awards and/or have PBS create a brand new movie series about Anne Shirley. What would be really cool is if Megan Fellows made a cameo appearance in this new movie!

    Speaking of upcoming historical fiction movies, I noticed the "American Girl: Maryellen" movie on the 2016 Made-for-TV movie list. I did try to find out infomation about the movie, but I only found a short film on YouTube about a Maryellen story. Do you think that this particular movie could premiere around Christmas time? It's been several years since we've seen an American Girl movie about one of the historical fiction dolls (Samantha, Felicity, etc.) on television, so it would make sense for the American Girl company to do that if it were the plan.

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  3. Interesting! One on hand, it will be great to see if it brings a whole new generation of Anne lovers aboard, I'm hesitant to believe it could be as good as the other one! The other one was surely a classic, and so well done and well loved. PBS has a big job on their hands, and I believe they're up to the task.

    My friends and I even had Anne of Green Gables tea parties into our high school years. I was thrilled that the movies brought these stories to all of my friends, because Anne had already been a long beloved heroine in my heart after reading all of the books as a child. I hope this "refresh" ensconces Anne into the hearts of many more growing girls and adults.

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  4. I watched the trailer. I know, it was only 30 seconds, but it wasn't even close to being as good as the one by Sullivan. Maybe, I'm too biased, but it's not even close. Was this even filmed on Prince William Island?

    Misty

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  5. This sounds like a great show to watch! I've always loved this era.

    Enjoy the Autumn days, my friend.

    ~Sheri

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  6. Freeform 25 days of Christmas Schedule 2016... Coming Soon!!!

    List-

    Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
    The Year Without a Santa Claus
    The Polar Express
    Frosty's Winter Wonderland
    A Miser Brothers' Christmas
    Jack Frost
    Rudolph's Shiny New Year
    Micky's Christmas Carol
    The Santa Clause
    Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
    Fred Claus
    I'll Be Home for Christmas
    A Very Brady Christmas
    Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
    The Little Drummer Boy
    Disney's A Chritmas Carol
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
    Pinocchio's Christmas
    The Little Drummer Boy Book 2
    Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas
    Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
    Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas
    Toy Story That Time Forgot
    Disney's Prep & Landing
    Disney's Prep & Landing: Naughty Vs. Nice
    Disney's Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa
    The Santa Clause 2
    Arthur Christmas
    Shrek the Halls
    A Chipmunk Christmas
    Prancer
    Snow
    Scrooged
    Santa Baby
    Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe
    All I Want for Christmas
    Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
    Snowglobe
    Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too
    Holiday in Handcuffs
    A Very Pink Christmas
    Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special
    Merry Madagascar
    Ernest Saves Christmas
    Snow 2: Brain Freeze
    How the Grinch Stole Christmas

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  7. Can you believe I have never read this book...but saw a movie of it once. I some times think the movies can help people understand certain books. Bless you, xoxo, Susie

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  8. Just watched this movie recently and it was fantastic! I felt that it pretty much resembled the original series. I would be shocked if this movie doesn't get nominated for the "It's a Wonderful Movie" awards, as it is totally deserving of a nomination. I just hope that PBS continues to create movies for the rest of the books in the series because there's so many more stories that need to be told.

    ReplyDelete

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