Samantha: An American Girl Holiday

When I was a little girl these type of period films about children and largely for children were very popular. And I haven't seen that many as of late, but I'm hoping that this light and heartwarming film might revive the genre. Samantha an American Girl Holiday was sweet, and light. Those two words are the perfect terms to me. The friendship between the fortunate orphan Samantha, and the unfortunate orphan sisters is fairly realistic, but lets not forget that the main actors in this movie are children. Mia Farrow has a pretty small, yet important part as the Grandmere of Samantha and the guardian for the little girl ever since the death of her mother. After going to visit her uncle and his new bride in New York, the story takes a slightly darker turn as she attempts to help the three girls escape from a local orphanage in which the lady over it is crooked and heartless. There is a scene inside of a factory which shows just a small portion of the horror of factory life for poor children. The end is incredibly happy, and her aunt and uncle could not be more perfect and loving. I adore her uncle. Stronger examples of the genre would be The Secret Garden (1993) and A Little Princess.

This is the kind of movie that leaves you with a magical, wonderful, warm feeling. It was full of warmth, kindness, giving, bravery, joy,loyalty, beauty... The scenery was beautiful as well and complimented the wonderful storyline, which takes place in the early 1900s. Samantha is shipped off to New York, where she misses her home town and friends. In New York, however, she shows great strength and bravery as we are taken along her adventure. Children and adults alike can enjoy this movie, and Samantha, for the most part, is a wonderful role-model for young girls. I wish more movies were made of this high quality! This movie was an absolute delight, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A couple hours ago I watched this movie that i rented from Blockbuster "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday" I thought AnnaSophia Robb did an excellent job as Samantha Parkington and no one i know could have done a better job. I know it was her first major movie and in some parts you could tell she was a little nervous but she played it well and so did Mia Farrow as Grandmary. The whole cast did well! Anyway the movie is about a girl named Samantha(Annasophia Robb) around 10 years old living in 1904, who has to move in with her Grandmary(Mia Farrow) because of the loss of her parents. Her Grandmary teaches Samantha how to become a proper lady. One day a girl named Nellie(Kelsey Lewis) moves in next door to work as a servant. She lives with her father and her to sisters. Soon something happens to her father and she has to be sent to an orphange. Can Samantha get her out? Watch the movie to find out! Great for all ages! May be harder for younger children to understand. Excellent classic!

In 1904, an upper-class 10-year old girl Samantha (AnnaSophia Robb) is living with her grandmother (Mia Farrow) when her dear uncle (Jordan Bridges) comes to visit her with his new fiancée (Rebecca Mader) and takes her to stay in New York with them.

The movie was a positive surprise for me; the story, lightly touching topics such as class differences, women's rights and child labor, is entertaining and charmingly down-to-earth. The visual style is bright and pleasant, and the sets, costumes and music are all careful work too. Not even the cute child actors come across as annoying. Even though the movie is best suited for young girls, it's perfectly watchable for adults too, like a good family film should be.

I was surprised when I heard this was being made into a movie. My sister read the American Girls books when she was a kid, and I never expected them to make a movie out of them. But all things considered, I thought the WB did a good job.

First of all, Annasophia Robb is a cute little kid, and at twelve years old, she has the potential to be a talented actress. She did a great job in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and looked as if she had fun while doing it. In the movie, Annasophia plays Samantha Parkington, a ten-year-old girl living in New York in 1904. The acts of the film are divided into the four seasons. In the spring, she makes friends with the servant girls living next door. In the summer, she meets her uncle's new wife. In the fall, she moves in with her aunt and uncle in the city, and then helps her three friends escape from an orphan home. In the winter, everyone lives happily ever after.

The orphanage reminded me of a federal prison, and the warden, er, manager reminded me of Carol Burnett in Annie. I also liked the movie's message about helping the needy. That's what made it a family movie.

So maybe it wasn't Emmy worthy, but if you have kids, or you just like cute movies, you'll like this movie.