I won´t come into the old debate "book vs. movie"; They´re different mediums, and in the translation from one to the other a number of things have to be changed or left out. In the case of "Anne of Green Gables: The sequel" the problem´s not as much things ommited as the strange mix we get. There are elements from "Anne of Avonlea", "Anne of the Island" and "Anne of Windy Poplars" in here. Trying to be all of them to some extent, it ends up being none.
The producers got themselves into unnecesary problems, and ended up making too many wrong decisions. Firstly, there´s no sense in mixing three novels when almost all of the actions belongs to "Windy Poplars". This way, what we get is a kind of twisted version of this novel. It´s Windy Poplars without Windy Poplars! Why do you adapt this lovely book removing the main element in it, the titular boarding house? The delicious widow sisters and the wacky lady who lives with them are a no-show. Instead, characters which were almost anecdotical, like Katherine Brooke and the Harris come to the forefront. I could barely remember them from the book! Introducing Captain Harris as Anne´s love interest, this seems done in order to fit a wrapped up story in four hours, which seemed by far the biggest worry of Mr. Sullivan.
Anne and Mr. Harris´ romance is very objectionable. I don´t think she would ever in the world be interested by a 20-years older than her businessman. It´s absolutely against her character! If they wanted to introduce a love rival for Gilbert, it should´ve been some young guy with the romantic appeal Anne´s always been craving for. There´s not even real competition: Gilbert´s absent from the scene, studying in Halifax!
Anyway, not everything´s bad, by a long shot. Virtues from the first part are still there, such as very adequate production values and performers. Megan Follows is a good Anne no doubt, though she´s very tiny, and in some scenes she seems all hair. We get a good rendering of the Avonlea universe, and some parts are well reflected, as her handling of the Pringle clan. Along with the defects we get a reasonable amount of "Anneish" moments.
I believe they could have avoided most of the problems adapting "Anne of the Island": It tells far more transcendental events in the life of Anne, and it´s got a far more coherent and satisfying love story. I have a hard time understanding why they went with this strange compendium.
All in all, a nice if somewhat flawed rendition of L. M. Montgomery´s world. I think Mr. Sullivan does not despise the story, but he doesn´t care enough for it either. I wouldn´t say his is the definitive version of the Anne universe at all. This should be made not into a mini series, but a long one, that delivers all the little details in the novels, which are the real joy of them. Check out the japanese animated series, an absolute masterpiece. Meanwhile, we´ll wait for a more comprehensive treatment of this most exceptional story.
The producers got themselves into unnecesary problems, and ended up making too many wrong decisions. Firstly, there´s no sense in mixing three novels when almost all of the actions belongs to "Windy Poplars". This way, what we get is a kind of twisted version of this novel. It´s Windy Poplars without Windy Poplars! Why do you adapt this lovely book removing the main element in it, the titular boarding house? The delicious widow sisters and the wacky lady who lives with them are a no-show. Instead, characters which were almost anecdotical, like Katherine Brooke and the Harris come to the forefront. I could barely remember them from the book! Introducing Captain Harris as Anne´s love interest, this seems done in order to fit a wrapped up story in four hours, which seemed by far the biggest worry of Mr. Sullivan.
Anne and Mr. Harris´ romance is very objectionable. I don´t think she would ever in the world be interested by a 20-years older than her businessman. It´s absolutely against her character! If they wanted to introduce a love rival for Gilbert, it should´ve been some young guy with the romantic appeal Anne´s always been craving for. There´s not even real competition: Gilbert´s absent from the scene, studying in Halifax!
Anyway, not everything´s bad, by a long shot. Virtues from the first part are still there, such as very adequate production values and performers. Megan Follows is a good Anne no doubt, though she´s very tiny, and in some scenes she seems all hair. We get a good rendering of the Avonlea universe, and some parts are well reflected, as her handling of the Pringle clan. Along with the defects we get a reasonable amount of "Anneish" moments.
I believe they could have avoided most of the problems adapting "Anne of the Island": It tells far more transcendental events in the life of Anne, and it´s got a far more coherent and satisfying love story. I have a hard time understanding why they went with this strange compendium.
All in all, a nice if somewhat flawed rendition of L. M. Montgomery´s world. I think Mr. Sullivan does not despise the story, but he doesn´t care enough for it either. I wouldn´t say his is the definitive version of the Anne universe at all. This should be made not into a mini series, but a long one, that delivers all the little details in the novels, which are the real joy of them. Check out the japanese animated series, an absolute masterpiece. Meanwhile, we´ll wait for a more comprehensive treatment of this most exceptional story.