Even though I am an adult and a guy, my absolute favorite movie is still Anne of Green Gables by Sullivan Entertainment. Even 22 years after it was originally released as a four part miniseries in 1985, Anne of Green Gables still tops my list of all-time favorite movies. Anne of Green Gables hes developed a reputation for being a children’s story, despite the fact that L.M. Montgomery, the original author of the Anne of Green Gables books, intended the books for adults as well as for children back in in the early 20th century. Despite this reputation, my own view is that anyone who has even the slightest inkling of romanticism or who knows what it means to be a “Kindred Spirit,” as Anne would say, will love this movie and make it near to his/her heart.
Anne of Green Gables follows the story of a young orphan named Anne Shirley who is adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, an elderly brother and sister living on a their old family farm on Prince Edward Island in Canada. The Cuthberts send for a boy to adopt to help with the farm, but somehow their request gets mixed up and they end up being sent a girl, Anne Shirley, whom they eventually decide to keep despite her not being a boy. Anne of Green Gables follows the adventures of Anne Shirley as she grows from an imaginative twelve year old to a maturer sixteen years old, and as she deals with the stigma of being a social outcast because of her orphan heritage.
There are many memorable and classic scenes in Anne of Green Gables, such as the scene in which Anne breaks her slate over Gilbert Blythe’s head at school after he was teasing her about her red hair by calling her “Carrots. The fact that Anne and Gilbert will eventually fall in love is thinly veiled and should be a well known fact to anyone familiar with the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery.
Other classic scenes include Anne dying her hair green, the death of Mathew Cuthbert (a tear-jerker), Anne’s boat sinking while acting out a scene from the Lady of Shalot and her subsequent rescue by Gilbert, the mouse that drowned in Marilla’s plum pudding because Anne was too swept away by imagination to remember to put the cheesecloth over the pudding the night before, and a host of other scenes that all have their individual charm.
Part of this charm comes from the writing itself and part comes from the terrific host of actors and actresses that make appearances in Anne of Green Gables. Megan Follows provided such a classic appearance as Anne Shirley that I doubt anyone else could adequately capture the nuances of Anne quite like she did. Colleen Dewhurst was an admirable Marilla who portrayed a crusty exterior and a gentle and loving interior. And Richard Farnsworth as Matthew Cuthbert is lovable on film from the moment we first see his face on screen.
In conclusion, Anne of Green Gables is a classic film adaption of a classic story, and is suitable for children or for anyone who is a romantic at heart. To appreciate this film, you must be what Anne would call a Kindred Spirit, and if you are one then you will know it in your heart. I seriously doubt whether Anne of Green Gables by Sullivan Entertainment could ever be usurped by another film in my mind as the greatest film of all-time.
