Animated / TV
2003 / 26 episodes x 25 minutes each
Rating: 7/10
It’s an animated Anne brought to you by Sullivan Entertainment, the same folks behind the original Anne of Green Gables movie series. As always, Anne means well – it’s just that sometimes her exuberance gets the best of her! From her quest for puffy sleeves, to her first exposure to head lice, whatever Anne does she learns valuable lessons…though usually the hard way.
I remember watching this with my girls when they were smaller and they loved it. So when I discovered that it is available for free now, I took a look over the first three episodes to see if it was as good as I’d remembered. And, for anyone with young daughters, it is indeed!
In episode #1 Anne comes to accept her red hair, she in #2 she helps Gilbert babysit, and in the third, she realizes that she need to try to return the stray dog she’s fallen in love with. As we’d expect, there’s loads of hijinks, and just as much heart!
Cautions
The only caution would concern Anne’s imagination, which has her seeing a quintet of dryads – mythical tree spirits – in the first episode that assure Anne that her red hair, now turned green, is a part of who she is, and she should accept it, and enjoy it. So, good message, but some weird messengers for it. And kids might get a bit confused here about whether the dryads are real or something in Anne’s head.
Anne’s flight of fancy is more clearly just in her head in the third episode where a couple of trees, and a bunch of flowers, also give Anne a brief talking to.
So, nothing all that problematic. I’ll also note that while there are 26 episodes in all, I can only vouch for the first three that I rewatched, but if my memory serves, the others were also charming and gentle.
Conclusion
This is actually the second time that Anne of Green Gables has been given the animated treatment, with the first a Japanese Anime version that I’d really love to track down some day, but which doesn’t seem available yet on this side of the ocean.
But this animated series can be watched for free – all 26 episodes. Watch episode 1 below, and watch the rest here.
