I have always been a huge Anne of Green Gables fan. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE!! I've read all of the books in the series more times than I can count (and am re-reading them as we speak). I've also seen the movie quite a few times. By the time I was in middle school, Anne and I were already fast friends (or kindred spirits as she would say). So when summer vacation rolled around and my parents decided on Maine, my little mommy thought to herself, "Maine, that's right next to Canada. Prince Edward Island is part of Canada. Let's add a trip to PEI to the trip.". Just as an FYI- it was about 500 miles away. Not quite so "right next to," but whatever.
So off we went to PEI. And a better vacation I have never had! We went to Green Gables. I was actually offered a job due to how much I knew about the series. Sadly, I was too young. And didn't speak either French or Japanese fluently. Maybe I missed my true calling back there. I certainly still know more about Anne than about most other things. I got to see the Lake of Shining Waters and stroll through the Haunted Woods. I got to visit everything I'd ever wanted to see in Anne's world. And it thrilled me to my very fingertips!
By the time I had become an Anne fan, the first Anne movie had been made. While it wasn't exactly like the book (when is a movie ever exactly like the book?), it was so close that I was in raptures watching it. Megan Follows is unparalleled in her portrayal of Anne Shirley. A second Anne movie was also filmed. While it wasn't as faithful to the books as the first had been, it did a pretty good job of combining several of the books as best it could and certainly still captured the spirit of Anne. I own the first movie and hadn't watched it recently. So I decided to do so. Then I Netflix'd the second movie. Imagine my surprise to discover that in 2000, a third Anne movie was made (Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story) and in 2008, a fourth movie was made (Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning). So I promptly Netflix'd both of them as well. The third movie has the same actors reprising their roles during WW1. Which is the last book in the series, when Anne's sons (not Anne and Gilbert) go off to war. While Megan Follows can still do no wrong as Anne, the movie itself was miserable. They introduced characters not in any of the books and story lines that would have made LM Montgomery cringe. They even had Anne and Gilbert move to New York City briefly, before they were married, so that Gilbert could work at Bellevue Hospital for a while. In the 1900's, that wouldn't have happened, even if they were living in separate apartments. No woman, unmarried, would have moved with a man. Anne got involved in espionage in France during the war. Gilbert was a POW. Needless to say, I was bitterly disappointed.
Then movie four arrived. After 30 minutes, I was already "in the depths of despair," as Anne would say. Anne is now a widow because Gilbert was killed during WW2. Now, Anne of Green Gables takes place in 1878, when Anne is eleven. Which means that by WW2, Anne would be in her VERY late seventies. The movie has her in her late forties at best. This movie was beyond disappointing. It completely changes Anne's history and back story. It changes everything about who Anne is. It doesn't even capture the spirit of Anne, especially guilty of this is the actress who plays the older version of Anne. It took every bit of my will power to actually finish the movie. And as far as I am concerned, this movie no longer exists. There were 2 Anne of Green Gables movies. And you will never be able to convince me otherwise! Sadly, it's 2+ hours of my life I'll never get back. But if nothing else, I'm completely enjoying rereading the Anne books. I'd forgotten how much I truly love them. They might have to be a yearly reread!
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