After finishing Anne of Windy Poplars, I watched the TV movie Anne of Avonlea again. The movie is combination of the three books, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Windy Poplars.

First, I can highly recommend this movie and Anne of Green Gables, to which it was a sequel. They star Megan Follows, he is a very charming Anne and I think perfectly cast. How often can you find a natural red head who is perfect for Anne?

Anne of Avonlea is mostly Windy Poplars. Many of the elements from the first two books are slipped in here and there, and it is amazing what they do.

First, the whiz through Anne's time as a teacher in Avonlea. The book that chronicles this is all but gone. Gone are Paul Irving and Miss Lavender, Dora and Davy, and Mr. Harrison. Some of the adventures still exist though. Anne's dilemma with the jersey cow in Mrs.' Lynde's fields, and the Rolling's Reliable Baking Soda contest, I think. That is about all that still exists. Dora and Davy to finally make it when the TV series, Avonlea, spins off from these mini-series. Davy is the same meddlesome innocent that lives in Montgomery's story. Anne's life at Redmond College is wiped out by her earning her BA through correspondence. The Pringle's and Anne's new school is moved from Summerside to Kingsport, so she does leave the Island. So Kingsport becomes the setting for Windy Poplars instead of Summerside. What we do miss, is how Anne finds wonderful places to live. First, she discovered Green Gables, which obviously endures in the movies. But, Patty's Place and Windy Poplars no longer exist. Obviously, since Anne doesn't go off to college, Patty's Place can not be. When Anne goes to teach in Kingsport, she boards at the school proper. That is one thing I love about Anne in the books. Her ability, since finding Green Gables, to find such wonderful, interesting places to live. Patty's Place and Windy Poplars were characters all their own. So, what about our other favorite characters? Many of them are still there, but have been greatly condensed, and to great success, I think. Morgan Harris and his family take on aspects of many of the characters that are not Pringle. Morgan Harris is Royal Gardner, Anne's main suitor after denying Gilbert. He is also the absent father that of Emiline, who is an older version of Little Elizabeth, living under the stern restrictions of her Grandmother. Mrs. Harris is not only the Old Lady next door to Windy Poplars, but she is also Mrs. Gibson, and with her is Pauline. In the movie, Pauline does get her day off, but instead of the day on the porch that Mrs. Gibson gets, Mrs. Harris gets a whole Fall picnic!! Emiline gets to play the part of Mary Queen of Scots that the Jen Pringle we all know from the book tries to ruin by playing sick. Katherine Brooke is pretty much the same. She is a cynic who acts much older than her age, and through a vacation to Green Gables, learns that there is beauty in life, no matter how it has treated you in the past. What I missed from the book was Anne's revelation to Katherine that her life was not always as rosy as Katherine sees it. The scene was almost there, as Katherine opens up to Anne during a walk through the fields. That was such a bonding experience for the two. I am sure it wouldn't have been much more dialogue to make it happen. Ah well. What is interesting about the movie, is watching how it drops little bits of the books into movie. Gilbert takes Mr. Harrision's role and urges Anne to write what she knows. Anne is proposed to by Morgan Harris, though with much less expectations than Roy Gardner had. The movie ends as the second book it is based on ends, with Anne and Gilbert finally committing to each other. This is preceded by Gilbert's sickness that helps awaken Anne's heart. Instead of the news being blurted out by Davy, as the end of the book tells, it is blurted out by Minnie Mae, Diana's little sister that Anne saves from the illness in Green Gables.

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Page last updated on Jun-25-99