Comments on: Samantha – An American Girl Holiday

By: V. Baskerville

V. Baskerville — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:32:08 +0000

A mere week after the premiere of “Samantha-An American Girl Holiday,” I may have seen the movie more than anyone in the world. We taped it for our 8-year-old but, while she’s at school, our 2-year-old repeatedly asks to watch “Amackan Girl.” So, watch it we do. This movie is a must see for the American Girl in your household. Technically, it’s not particularly good, but your children will not notice the bad acting. Instead, they’ll take home the movie’s lessons and empathize with the girls in the movie.

Rebecca Mader as Cornelia far and away does the best job of re-creating the character we meet in the books (and her acting is the best in the show). But, poor Mia Farrow doesn’t have a chance to embody her book counterpart; screen Grandmary was written as a far less stern (and far younger) presence than print Grandmary. I think the print Grandmary better portrays the way women were in 1904.

So, do yourself a favor: Don’t let your children miss this movie, but please read the books!

Rating: 4 / 5

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:12:54 +0000

We first saw this when it debuted on tv. After sitting through the entire movie and being entranced by it, my girls actually imitated the politeness of Samantha and the other girls. They answered “Yes, Ma’am” or “No Ma’am”. It was so refreshing to see a movie for the kids that was fun for them to watch and taught them some history about that time period. When it was first released on DVD, I bought it. My girls still love watching it. Recently, we picked up the 6 book set of Samantha books. They are anxious to get started on the books since they already know the characters. Had I been introduced to the American Girls Series as a kid, I would have definitely had an interest in learning History/Social Studies. But since I’ll be reading the books to my girls, I guess it’s never too late to learn….
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Campbell

Campbell — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:02:55 +0000

My 6 year old daughter has read all of the Samantha adventures, and was excited to get this movie as a gift. It is a nice story with all the books woven together. The acting, scenery, costuming, and music are all first rate and true to the American Girl line. Most importantly, it is wonderful to have a movie that captivates children and has such wonderful lessons of kindness, giving, standing up for what you believe, and sacrificing for others. It’s very hard to find true gems like this among all the trash they make for girls these days. As a mom, I am so grateful that there are people still willing to make quality movies with traditional values for young girls today. This is definatly a must have for any girl age 6-12.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: SereneNight

SereneNight — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:36:29 +0000

I’m a big fan of period drama, and while Samantha- An American Girl Holiday, is clearly geared towards girls, I found myself really enjoying this film, and I’m an adult! This follows the adventures of Samantha- an orphan who lives with her strict Grandmother GrandMarie in Upper New York. She befriends a young Irish girl who was hired to be a maid for a next door neighbor. Samantha’s friendship with Nellie was very well portrayed, and all the characters- included Sam’s aunt and uncle were great.

This is a fun classic for those who want a warm, feel-good story to perk up those winter months, or to share with your kids or other kids at heart! I certainly hope they make more books in this series as this film was wonderul and entertaining! Five Stars.
Rating: 5 / 5