Customer Reviews

Road to Avonlea:Avonlea Christ

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Note: This DVD is the same movie as the earlier released "Happy Christmas, Miss King".

I really enjoyed this movie. From what I remember, it was filmed and released after the Road to Avonlea series had finished filming its 7 seasons. The movie stays true to the Avonlea characters and scenery.

For one of the reasons that Kevin Sullivan stopped the filming of the charming RTA series... the Christmas movie shows the time of war. The boys of Avonlea (including Felix King) go to war and all the innocence of Avonlea is temporarily lost.

However, this is a Christmas movie, and 'The Road to Avonalea Christmas' depicts the Christmas theme with all the charm and detail that the Road to Avonlea series has brought us.

I would definitely add this DVD to your personal or child's collection.

Think of having a "Friends" reunion with only four of the characters (your pick) and you get an idea of why fans of "Avonlea" (a.k.a. "Road to Avonlea") were less than thrilled with this 1998 television movie. The premise of "Happy Christmas, Miss King" 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. The war went on for years before the United States entered and Montgomery really gave a sense of how long it was, whereas "Happy Christmas, Miss King" 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. Too bad, because "Rilla of Ingleside" was one of Montgomery's better novels because of its treatment of what happened during that time.

It was nice to see familiar faces, such as Cedric Smith as Alec King, and Patricia Hamilton as Mrs. Rachel Lynde, 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. "Happy Christmas, Miss King" 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.

I am a big fan of Road To Avonlea. This movie is great. It is nice to see again the characters return from the original series, alothough not all are in this movie, but the main characters are there and being their usual selves. I would recommend this movie to all who are fans of Avonlea.

Generally quite a good movie, however there's no Sara Stanley and not enough screen time for Felix, even though the movie begins and ends with him.

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