have you ever loved a movie so much when you were younger, and then seen it as an (ugh)adult, and found it a lot more, umm, comical than you had remembered? i adored this tv series and had both anne of green gables and anne of avonlea on vhs. i had completely forgotten how hilariously dramatic anne is!
despite her sensationalism, l.m. montgomery's anne shirley is an endearing, beloved storybook heroine. fiery, fearless, a hapless troublemaker, terrifically smart and impossibly daydreamy. i admire anne for her big heart and wild imagination, and her ability to keep a boy in check. and so many mishaps! raspberry cordial mix-ups, tragic mice drownings in pudding sauce, falling off ridgepoles, and sinking rowboats...eeps!
lovely diana barry. such a purely good victorian girl. a loyal, faithful friend and kindred spirit. her prim and properness reminds me of the samantha american girl doll (who i just found out has been RETIRED-what?! she's the best one!)
anne and diana. a wonderfully dear, sweet friendship. i really have a soft spot in my heart for true blue, thick-and-thin friendship. their story is a good one.
gilbert blythe. poor boy is always neck-and-neck, academically, with the object of his affection. he survives countless snide comments and snubs from anne, and even recovers from a slate being shattered over his head. clearly, he likes the chase. and, he is mighty easy on the eyes, but something about his character seems a little more feminine than i had remembered...
gratuitous fashion shots. i'm like a broken record when it comes to the fashions from 1830-1930. those 100 years were the jam. the details, the colors, the construction. yum.
schoolhouse. a rather key player in this story. where we meet miss stacy, anne's inspiring teacher and mentor. where said slate incident occurs. where anne and gilbert develop a highly competitive rapport. where diana and anne gossip and friendships flourish.
marilla and matthew cuthbert, anne's caretakers. the perfect balance of gentle and stern. matthew is the kind, timid, grandfatherly man who i instantly want to hug. marilla is the curmudgeonly sister whose warmth is revealed, albeit slowly, as the story progresses.
avonlea. prince edward island was one of the top 5 places ed and i had considered honeymooning to. i want to go so badly! the haunted wood, the lake of shining waters, and white way of delight(which reminds me of cherry blossom row). let me flop down in the tall grass with a book and be paddled across the water in a row boat, please!
*funny side-note. the word "bosom" is a word that i have hated since i was a little girl. makes me cringe and squirm. just hate it, so everytime diana and anne refer to themselves as "bosom friends" my skin crawls. blech.
21 comments:
ah, ginny, this post has made me melt! anne is my most kindred of spirits. gilbert is my man. i know l. m. montgomery's universe almost better than i know my own.
everything you said is right. the tv series was silly and over the top and a bit nonsensical, but i could watch it a million times and never tire.
ohh, it's posts like this that make me so sad that you've left new york!
i wore my ginger braids with such pride when visiting PEI. it is (along with much of the canadian east coast) so completely magical.
Seriously.. I was SO, so , so obsessed with this movie!!! I made my dad drive me to Prince Edward Island when I was 14!! It is gorgeous and I want to go again. You would love it.
I read all the books too. I haven't watched this for years.... I think a viewing is in order.
...I went looking for my ideals outside of myself,
I discovered it's not what the world holds for you,
Its what you bring to it. The dreams dearest to my
heart are right here....Anne
Well I hope you keep on dreaming.
It will be three years before I finish Medical School,
even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls....Gilbert
I don't want sunbursts or marble halls.
I just want you....Anne
Oh, can we please become friends?! I refrained from asking you to be my bosom buddy.
I'm going to have to go home and find my VHS tapes - if they still work after how many times they've been watched over the years. Oh, how I longed to live on PEI as a girl and have Anne as a kindred spirit!
I have read, read and re-read the entire Anne series so many times that the jackets have worn off. I actually put my VHS movies of this in our garage sale last summer (we no longer have a player) and when someone started eying them, I lied and said my neighbor already bought them- quickly removing them and placed them back into the basement-where they have stayed, un-viewed since then...but they are still mine. How many phrases do we owe Anne that we still use? Kindred spirit...Jonah Days...I still say of clothing I like that it is better than puffed sleeves....
my childhood addiction!! I think I have these all memorized. awesome.
oh be still my heart. I re-read that book every summer for seven years and plan to quote "Anne of Avonlea" in my wedding! Sigh.
p.s. I saved up all my allowance to buy the Samantha doll. She was the best.
Still on my dream list - I have loved this story since I was about 4, so over 40 years, and my grandma loved it as a girl in the 20s, too!! One day, I WILL go there...
this was my FAVORITE movie growing up. I remember actually wanting carrot red hair, and always wondering what her rasberry cordial tasted like. This post is so amazing, it brings such a smile to my face. thank you!!
-sara
So funny you posted this! I was just reminiscing on my days rewinding those same vhs tapes you mentioned. So the other day I added both Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story and Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning to my netflix! Oh I cant wait for the silliness!
Oh I loved the series. What girl doesn't want to take a pilgrimage to PE Island because of Anne. It’s funny, no matter how punky I may have been growing up, I will always discard the tarty attitude and curl up to watch Anne of Green Gable and Avonlea.
I like the series...I like the snapshot you took
Ooooh thank you so much for this post. I am such a huge Anne lover - my Nanna gifted me Anne books every year for my birthday (either new editions or her own, beautiful, first editions).
And I, too, cringe at "bosom" which coincidentally was a word used by above Nanna. Bosom and Brassiere!
Oh and hello! I'm a new reader to your lovely blog x
Love your post about Anne of Green Gables ... make some think of my sister and I watching these movies when we were younger. And yes, Anne is quite dramatic =) Stumbled across your blog, very fun!
http://twitter.com/Design_Owl
Hey there,
I just found you through a link on Frolic! and I am seriously wondering why I haven't seen your blog sooner. It is pretty much amazing and you seem like my "kindred spirit". Totally feel you on the Anne love and also-what>? They retired Samantha? Huh? Too bad.
Anyway, wonderful space you have and I will surely be back.
p.s. don't know if you were a "Goonies" fan growing up..but I suggest that if so you should not watch that movie as an adult...it's just wrong ;)
OMG this just took me away
i watched these cassetes a hundred million times as a kid.
gilbert got weird in the end. remember the fever scene? i couldn't recoup after that.
i dragged eric to PEI years ago - it was breathtaking but there was nowhere to get a coffee.
really???? no coffee!! cruelty! and you should see regis and kelly on PEI this week-ha! they even re-enacted some scenes from the AOGG.
YES!!! BOSOM!!! SO VERY VERY ICKY!!!! Also, SAMANTHA RETIRED!?!?!?! I have heard nothing of this and am outraged. Yes, she was the best one (though Kit??? was a close second.)
Have you ever read LM Mongomery's Emily books? I love them. LOVE. THEM. It's only a trilogy, which might be why I love them more, by the end Anne was getting on my nerves (don't hit me) but Emily...oh how I adore her. I reread those books at least twice a year. Check them out if you are not familiar with them.
Also her book, The Blue Castle. That and the Emily books are hands down my very favorite of hers.
Hi I was going through a situation today that needed me to remember the inspirational story of Anne of Green Gables...Thank you for sharing
While many people praise the character that is Anne, Matthew Cuthbert is my favourite...I'd wanna be a Matthew Cuthbert to an Anne someday...
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