The Little House on the Prairie
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Movie Reviews of The Little House on the Prairie
Movie Review: Different Style Disney's Little House on the Prairie
Summary: 5 Stars
I gave this a 5. I am a Little House Geek and have especially followed the Micheal Landon, NBC version of Little House shows. I can never get enough so I did watch this on tv when it aired a few years ago. I decided to purchase it with some Christmas money. I thought that this movie was much more thorough on the Ingall's trip out west. I found it to have a different style then Micheal Landon's version but it was still very good. The actors/actresses did an excellent job. Even my 8 year old son enjoyed this. It is very long so you probably will want to watch in two sittings or will need to set aside a lot of time to watch it in it's entirety.Movie Review: We didn't like this version
Summary: 1 Stars
We didn't like this version at all. First of all, the claim to be "closer to the books" is not true. It is also not closer to Laura Ingalls' actual life either. A few examples: the fact that Ma constantly has her hair down and blowing all over the place with her shirt unbuttoned to show cleavage; the fact that Laura is BLONDE (horrors) when the book goes out of its way several times to talk about Laura's brown hair and how she didn't like it; the fact that Carrie is completely absent when, in actuality, she was born in Kansas (she is present in the book, but it was a fact that Laura altered when she wrote the books.) In this film, she is completely written out.
Not to mention the fact that poor Mrs. Scott is portrayed as a psycopathic nut - (poor woman; in the book she nurses them during their malaria!) And what's with Pa fighting a whole pack of wolves barehanded without so much as a scratch with Laura with him? Ma would never have allowed Laura to go on any kind of cattle drive with Pa - Mary is disrespectful and outspoken to Mrs. Scott, etc etc. Laura is way too bold and outspoken -she was actually quite a shy person in real life and mentions several times in the books about being afraid of strangers and afraid to speak to people.
This might have been a cute movie if it were just the story of pioneers, but to actually call it "Laura's" story and pretend that it's closer to the books than Michael Landon's original premiere movie in 1974 is inaccurate.
Movie Review: Very Nice Rendition of the Book
Summary: 4 Stars
Excellent family entertainment. Not overly-sentimental, but with a great degree of warmth.
The acting is fresh, and much of the cinematography is first-class (although the camera became a little too shaky during some of the high-danger scenes in my opinion). You really get a feel for what it must have been like travelling out to the plains and then living in that wild land for a period of time. Simple sets, but beautifully depicted.
Super characterizations; I especially liked the way the Scot woman and Edwards were depicted. And the comaraderie and dialogue between the 2 sisters, Laura and Mary was realistic and, at times, funny. The director did a great job working with the little ones.
Very good casting overall. I've seen the actress who played Caroline in another movie and didn't like her in the other role. But she played Caroline to a tee in my opinion. And the actor who played Charles is somewhat of a refreshing and more sober change from Michael Landon, even though the previous series a couple of decades ago was great for kids.
Thoroughly enjoyable. Hope for more of this from Disney.
Movie Review: Disney, after decades, you finally did it right!
Summary: 5 Stars
Is this really a Disney production? Seriously! Really? For the first time in many, many years you did ol' Walt justice!
This is a fine example of how to do a period TV series correctly. If you are a fan of the original "Little House" series (and a very good series at that!), you will notice a distinct difference between this version and the Michael Landon version. This newer one is, from what I have read, very close to Mrs. Wilder's original stories. It's this version of "Little House on the Prairie" that you will find a very realistic account of pioneer life in the latter part of the 19th century, accurately portraying what it was like to leave a comfortable setting with family and friends about, to traveling to begin life anew hundreds of miles away. Cut off from all they knew as well as having their nearest neighbors quite a distance away, the Ingalls family learn to survive on their wits and skills, coming across the local (angry) Indians, meeting a life-loving free spirit, as well as a rather curt couple from Scotland.
Traveling by wagon was a trying experience, and this series shows that very well. Through cold weather, crossing a frozen river, rainstorms, the family made it after two months to their land in Kansas. You will find realistic portrayals of continued hardships and illnesses.
The Indians are seen from three different angles: the Scott's hate the savages and want them all dead; The Ingalls' feel that all people - no matter what race - have good and bad in them, and that the Indians are NOT savages and should receive the respect deserved to all folks; and Mr. Edwards is somewhere in between. Not PC, but not far right, either. It also hints of the atrocities that the American government did to the Indians, and also shows that the government screwed the white folks as well.
Except for Charles' extremely white teeth, all of the actors fit the time portrayed very well, including dirty and unkempt hair for the women, burly men who, you can just tell, smelled like they haven't showered in years, and even folks with foreign accents - something rarely seen in film versions of our earlier American history.
Fear of the unknown, concern over food (or lack thereof), the sounds on the prairie at night, the solitude of pioneer life, the fact that one had to be of a tough stock to handle all that came, hopes and dreams - this version of Little House actually puts meat on the bones of not just the Ingalls family, but of all American Pioneers.
I only wish the ratings were higher when originally shown on ABC TV back in 2005 so it could have been made into a weekly series. But then, it probably would have gone down hill after a few more episodes like so many others have. Better that we have the best.
My six year old daughter, sixteen year old son, and this 45 year old reviewer all thought this was a super series!
Movie Review: Too scary for my kids
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie shows a very grim picture of the difficult times faced by the Ingalls family. While the cinematography was often stunning, it was simply too scary for my 7 and 10 year olds, and my 5 year old had no interest in the movie at all. Having just completed reading the entire Little House series of books to my kids, I would say they were much better off using thier own imaginations to envision what Laura Ingalls shared with us about this period her life. As a child, I loved the Michael Landon TV series and my children love it as well. It doesn't bother me that the episodes rarely accurately follow the story lines of the books, as it is instead like a continuation of the stories, depicting things that could easily have happened to the family. I find these shows much more suitable for my young children than the Disney movie.