Happy Christmas, Miss King

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Audience Member Missing a lot of regulars...but if you love AVONLEA like I do...it's great:) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Think of having a Friends reunion with only four of the characters (your pick) and you get an idea of why fans of Road to Avonlea were less than thrilled with this 1998 television movie. The premise of An Avonlea Christmas is that the King family has gathered together during the First World War to celebrate Christmas, but word comes that Felix has been listed as missing in action in France. Other plot lines have Aunt Hetty (Jackie Burroughs) hurting her back, Aunt Olivia (Mag Ruffman) thinking of moving back to Avonlea, and Felicity (Gema Zamprogna) trying to find a new career. The problem is that which each of these last three plotlines each character is missing their key counterpart from the series: Sara Stanley, Jasper Dale, and Gus Pike respectively. The Story Girl and the two husbands appear in old footage, but that just emphasizes the fact that they should have been there. The story is by Raymond Storey, although those who have read the entire Lucy Maud Montgomery canon will recognize the son missing in action bit from 'Rilla of Ingleside,' the last of the Anne of Green Gables books. In a sense, that novel becomes my basis for comparison as much as the original series, because that is the one book I have read that really gave me a sense for what the First World War was like for the people of Canada (I'm VERY proud of my country and it's people during the wars!). The war went on for years before the US entered and Montgomery really gave a sense of how long it was, whereas An Avonlea Christmas takes place during the holiday season. However, to be fair, this story is not as disappointing as the Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, which finds Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe still not married during the war years (which counters all the other storylines from the books and Road to Avonlea). It was nice to see familiar faces, such as Cedric Smith as Alec King, and Patricia Hamilton as Mrs. Rachel Lynde, not to mention the rest of the family (who over the years I adopted as my own), but if you are going to bring most of the cast back it should have been for something more special than this. Dealing with the war really should have been the dominant focus without the half-hearted efforts to get us up to date on some of the characters. Against the backdrop of a world war the petty marital squabbles of Olivia and Felicity seem rather childish. Besides, the television series ended with Felicity's marriage and it is just wrong to throw out that happy ending without serving some greater purpose than what we have here. An Avonlea Christmas will disappoint most viewers, simply because of the heightened expectations they will have based on their memories of the beloved series. Fans will want to see it, but they should do so with lowered expectations. Regardless, for all its faults and loose ends, I still treasure this video as a window into the lives I've spent so much time watching over the years. To those who made it: thank you, and please send more! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member "sappy" is the correct word to describe this movie. I was dissapointed in this movie because like the III Anne movie it didn't capture the origonal charm the series had. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved this show, but the reunion movie was very disappointing. Too many loose ends that weren't tied up at the end of the series were left dangling after this. Don't judge the show by this movie... Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Having grown up watching Road to Avonlea, I couldn't help but fall in love with this movie. I watched it again this Christmas, and still adored it - great to look back on it with fondness from my childhood. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Oh this is just so cute! I watched it on TV the other day!!! :) Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Happy Christmas, Miss King

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