Customer Reviews

The Angel Doll

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is a story of love, sacrifice and giving. The film is set in the 1950s in North Carolina. A boy from an impoverished family tries to find a way to buy his younger sister with polio an angel doll for Christmas, to accompany her favorite book, "The Littlest Angel." The child actors are superb. The story is extemely touching. The movie is for everyone. It will be given to many of my friends and family this and every Christmas.

I have watched this movie at LEAST 3 times! The young boy who plays WHITEY is EXCELLENT! The rest of the cast are fantastic.

The movie touches on predjudices and on CHOOSING how to act and beleive.

This IS a sad movie but one EVERYONE should watch. EXTREMELY WONDERFUL!

That a boy should love his sister so much that he spends his salary to buy her a special doll, is so heartwarming. It also shows how special friendships can be.

If you have not seen it DO SO! You will miss out on a great movie if you do not!

Angel Doll was a sweet, heart warming movie. Unfortunately, there were two scenes that ruined it as a family movie. The first was inappropriate shot of a customer's heavily endowed and exposed (on purpose) chest of one of the boy's customer on his paper route. The boys dicuss the display at a camp-out with the word "boob" being banted around excessively. Are they marketing this movie to families or to pre-teen boys? The other scense had nothing at all to contribute to the movie. It showed the main character showing his buddy how to rip off candy with out getting caught.
I thought the over all movie was great. I really enjoyed it when I didn't think about the inappropriate scenes to which I had just exposed my children.

We bought ANGEL DOLL after reading about it in a piece for the St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis (the film has a connection to this facility). Our expectations were not high, but the film was quite a pleasant surprise. There are no big stars in the movie, but the performances are solid and believable. I've seen my share of similar plot-lines (i.e., poor kid or family overcomes hardships to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas or friendship or loyalty or whatever. But Angel Doll does not cross into hokeyville. It manages to remain true to its themes and entertaining to the viewer. For the price, it's a wonderful value for any video collection.

This appeared to be the kind of movie I like: a heart-warming family/Christmas movie. Yet, the movie was disappointing. The actors were likeable enough (luckily) and did a good job. So, what was it?

This is a nostalgia movie, not a Christmas movie, and the Doll comes in only at the end. Okay, nothing wrong with that. But like so many such movies, this one tried to mute every possible effect. First of all, use of a narrator put the audience at one remove from the story. On top of that, the events of the story happen to somebody else, not to the main character. The main character is merely an observer, which puts the audience at an additional level of distance from the story. As if that weren't enough, the screenwriter has the major event of the movie, the death of the little girl, happen off-screen. It is told, not shown. All of this makes for a movie of such emotional torpor that the story hardly touches the heart. And the story could have and should have. The effect of emotional tepidity is reinforced by the fact that there are only two events in the entire story, which means that for most of the screen time, "nothing" is happening, only the day-to-day life of a ten-year-old boy. Add to that a rug-pull ending: the event we have been waiting for...doesn't happen, and you have an unsatisfying viewing experience.

Bottom line: rent or borrow this DVD, since this is not a movie you'll want to watch more than once.

Every Christmas season I look for gifts that will "keep on giving". This year when I saw "The Angel Doll" I knew right away that I had found the perfect gift for my grandchildren and their parents.

Ever wonder what people were thinking when they bought your present? Ever wonder what you were thinking when you bought theirs? Give this little holiday movie as a Christmas gift and there will be no guessing. This is a bittersweet, funny, nostalgic gem of holiday cheer. Let the people you care about know how much you like 'em with this as a stocking stuffer. The Angel Doll truly captures an era when times were simple but life still had all the same obstacles and tribulations. It captures the essence of Christmas, the spirit of love that permiates this holiday, while understanding that this spirit is more human than religious. Past all the glitter and wrapping and "buy buy buy" mentality the commercial enterprises try to apply to the central focus of this holiday, you will find The Angel Doll. Watch it with an open heart and some people you care about. They will love you for it, and you can thank me later.

In the way "It's A Wonderful Life" shows the triumph of the human spirit over life's obstacles and injustices, so "The Angel Doll" transports the viewer to a time of loyalty and simplicity. At Christmas and beyond, the film reminds us that what truly matters is choosing to care enough to go the extra distance. We can recall that, like the Littlest Angel, giving that which is dearest to our hearts -- our love -- is the greatest gift of all.

I bought this movie and watched it with my family and it was most heart tugging movie, some might think its corny but, i thought it wasn't. Its a great family movie with a great storyline and plot.

However, it is narrated by a BOY and is from his perspective. It should appeal to both genders. I think of it as a boy coming of age movie.

(I am moving my comments from another review to create a new review.)

My message contains spoilers:

I would like to clarify the "exposed chest" comment made in another review: the woman's [...] were not exposed in the sense of being fully nude, her well endowed "cleavage" was exposed. The young man, a paper boy, was a "victim" of the woman's brazenness--she came out on her front porch in her loosley closed bathrobe to retrieve her newspaper and "offered" a view of her front when she stooped to pick up her newspaper.

Growing up with a brother and being called Mom by three sons of my own (now grown), this scene in the movie was not a shocker for me. Boys get to an age where they begin to "notice" female anatomy. Like it or not, boobs do become a topic of discussion among adolescent boys. Yep, the word "[...]" is used to describe [...] in this movie and I imagine elsewhere as well.

The "[...]" incident and the ensuing campfire discussion along with MANY other scenes/issues dealt with in this movie are excellent conversation starters for discussion. What a wonderful way to present some sensitive topics to our children/grandchildren to help them formulate their views/values based on positive family reinforcement.

There are two scenes in the movie involving theft--one about candy and one about $[...]. While neither "theft" resulted in "justice" in terms of the perpetrators being caught and seriously punished, greater lessons were learned. While the candy theft was not dealt with directly in the film, I felt the lessons learned with the $[...] theft encompassed the candy theft. The young man gave away $[...] of his own money anonymously (repaying the "debt" of the person who actually did steal the money). It was also a gift of sacrifice and love--without being a direct punishment for his theft of candy. It is nice to have the theft topic left "open ended" on the film to allow for family discussion.

ps: The boy who steals the $[...], ends up with a new bike and never "seems" to suffer any consequences. Another discussion topic.

There is gambling in this movie. The two boys bet each other daily over who will finish their paper route first.

There is drinking, smoking, angry language and a live-in boyfriend. A young mother is widowed while either pregnant or with a new baby girl and a six year old son. Ages four and ten in this movie. The little girl is seriously ill and crippled. The family is financially destitute and the mother is hurting on many levels--she turns to alcohol to "help" her cope with the pain in her life and allows a boyfriend into their lives who is bad news. When she has been drinking, you will see her son be obedient to her--even when she is clearly being unreasonable (in my opinion). The ten year old son, "Whitey," has had to grow up beyond his years in many ways. You will see him minister his sister tenderly and read to her. His heart's desire is to give his sister an Angel Doll for Christmas--he doesn't ask for anything for himself. In spite of everything else "wrong" in his life, Whitey's heart is huge. His unconditional agape love for his sister is enough to give even the toughest among us pause to reflect on our own relationships.

As a counterpoint, the young man who narrates the story is part of a "traditional," "Leave it to Beaver" type of family. You will see this family bow their heads to say grace at the dinner table, share family time in the evenings, hear sibling squabbles, hear the young man ask for an expensive bike for himself (near the beginning of the movie) and be a part of his journey to the discovery of what is really important in life. He will also learn to give selflessly. The events in this movie are life changing for him.

Death and illness touch this movie. So does profound love and the lives it molds. The death is not shown, but is handled in a very beautiful way--Whitey is given a view of his sister as a perfect and beautiful angel. She is no longer sick or crippled. This is such a radiantly beautiful scene in the movie--my favorite.

A few possible topics of discussion:

Love for our family and others.

Inappropriate "sexual advance" by an adult--how to handle it--even when "touching" is not involved.

Theft

Drinking--why some people drink (fear, hurt, escape, feeling powerless, etc) and how we can choose better alternatives than drinking to find comfort.

Loud Angry Voices

Giving

Sacrifice

Compassion for others

Sibling relationships--friendly and caring or otherwise

Views on serious illness--possibly terminal and/or contagious--how do we treat others? How do we address our fears about illness? (Could be polio, AIDS, cancer or even a common cold...)

Death

Death of a child--Yep, children die through both accident and illness--sadly, even abuse.

Faith

Honesty and personal integrity

Turning "lemons" into lemonade

I laughed and I cried. Then I smiled. This is a heartwarming movie.

I rate this movie FIVE stars. It has become a holiday classic for our family. I have purchased a number of copies to give as gifts and made sure that all three of my sons have copies to share with their families.