Hitchcoc This movie is so syrupy. After having seen other renditions, including the new series on Netflix, "Anne, With an E," this one is put to shame. First of all, as a teacher, I used these books many times. They are extremely well written and have a real edge to them. Marilla's slow acceptance of Anne is totally lost here. She is a harsh, practical woman and Anne really gets on her nerves. I'm a big fan of Martin Sheen going back forty some years. But his portrayal of Matthew is a total miscast. His cutesy, confident character is the opposite of the Matthew I know. First of all, Matthew is generally frightened of his sister and doesn't dare to confront her. The problem is that she gives up right away and lets Matthew have much more freedom than the real story portrays. Anne's previous experiences are so harsh and are hardly exposed in this new telling. When Marilla starts to accept the sad little girl, it is when she sees the pain of loneliness brutality she has experienced. This makes her turnaround an act of triumph. Ann is also less interesting. She so quickly catches on with the other children, we lose the harshness and unfairness of them. There is only one girl who is really unlikable and she quickly becomes at least tolerant of Anne. Mostly, I just found this so quick and formulaic and lacking in depth with easy plot transitions.

melissajobower This movie is an excellent choice for small children discovering Anne! Although the best series by far is Kevin Sullivan's Anne of Green Gables, it is nearly unavailable in the United States in 2017. So, this version is a great introduction. It is very cute and sweet and very appropriate for children under the age of 10. There is another series by Moira Beckett called "Anne with an E" that I have been enjoying as an adult, but would not recommend for young children. It's just too dark and scary. I was thrilled to hear that L.M. Montgomery's family was licensing a televised version of these classic stories.

jwatsn Why do they even bother to remake successful movies? As much as I like Martin Sheen, he does not do this role near the justice it deserves, likewise the other major cast members. Check out the 1985 version with Farnsworth, Follows, Dewhurst for a much superior film adaptation. If Hollywood writers can't come up with new plot ideas, why don't they do something else? If you can't write a good script, you're not a good scriptwriter. Isn't it obvious?

DiscGolfer I absolutely loved the 1980s 6 hour version. How dare they remake a classic! (actually the 1985 version was the 9th time they made Anne of Green Gables into a film). If you watched the 1985 version, do yourself a favor and just watch this as it is... a 1 and 1/2 hour movie based on the books of L.M. Montgomery. It's well done. The actors did great. It only covers the first part of Anne's story. Which I liked. I was wondering how they could cover so much material with only one and a half hours. It didn't stray much from the story as so many remakes do... trying to be new but was different enough to still feel fresh. I tried to hate it but couldn't