Customer Reviews

Pollyanna [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

A vast improvement on the cutesy, blatantly unrealistic and cliched book on which it's based, the Disney film version of Pollyanna has a very charming feel to it. The talented cast are all great, and really make you believe in them and forget they're all stereotypes, unlike in the book, which was the total opposite. Jane Wyman is quite good as Aunt Polly, and so are Agnes Moorhead, Adolphe Menjou, and espicially Karl Malden. Hayley Mills more than holds her own, delivering a very calm, subtle, BELIEVABLE performance. It's really obvious that she's made such a difference in the town because she interacts so well and effectively with everyone and does it throughout the movie, instead of chatting her mouth off about nothing and thinking that every cold act of her aunt's is an expression of love, like in the book. She stays with each person just long enough to subtly get her point across, but her presence lingers. She deserved her special Academy Award; her performance is excellent, astonishing for a 14-year-old who had only done one other film. She continued to enchant audiences throughout the '60's in other Disney films, all of which (that I've seen) are good and deserving of her talent. There, I've said enough. Get the movie; it's wonderful.

Pollyanna is a innocent spirit in a strict world ruled by adults who somehow lost the connection with their inner child early in life. She enjoys the moment and this irritates people until they learn that the way she sees life really does bring happiness to their own existence on the planet.

Adopted by her Aunt, she learns to live a new life after loosing her missionary parents in the British West Indies. Her father seems to have taught her how to deal with life and she often quotes something wonderful he has said. Of course, the grownups in the story don't understand her at all and tell her not to repeat the wisdom of her father. That in fact showed how out of touch they are with a child's delicate feelings.

Unshaken, Pollyanna is happy just to have her own room and still desires to see life in a positive way. She also gives everyone more than one chance to see the beauty in life. She becomes a ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air in a stuffy town filled with grumpy lives. Yet, even Pollyanna gives up for a few minutes, then realizes what a responsibility she has to bring happiness to the lives of those she has learned to love.

Almost single handedly, she rallies the entire town to a good cause and helps to raise money for a new orphanage. Like a little angel, she touches each life she meets with a sweet innocence and creative flair.

Just as Pollyanna has changed so many lives for the better, her life takes a drastic turn for the worse. Even in the face of tragedy, what she does achieve is actually quite miraculous. The ending is spectacular and shows how love can really change the world you live in. You will not cry for the sadness of the situation, but more for the overwhelming realization of what one life can achieve.

Perfect for all ages and a much needed ray of light in our pessimistic world! After viewing this movie, you might start to see more good in life and in others. It is there if you find the time to look.

You will smile, laugh and cry.
Absolutely Charming!

~The Rebecca Review

That's what crusty Adolphe Menjou snaps at Hayley Mills (Pollyanna), but even he is won over eventually by the indomitable orphan girl determined to bring the Glad Game to her new hometown. This town, like so many places really, is filled with unhappy people who have lost the ability to see that the life they've been given is full of blessings, that they have more to be glad of than they realize. Adolphe Menjou believes that everyone hates and fears him, Agnes Moorehead is a hypochondriac ruining her daughter's life, Karl Malden is a minister who can't preach anything but damnation, and Jane Wyman has stopped listening to her heart and only thinks of social status. These and others in the town are affected by Pollyanna's message of hope. Yet the biggest test of the Glad Game will be for Pollyanna herself, when she faces personal tragedy.
This is one of Disney's Americana classics, the sort that Main Street USA in Disneyworld is based on. It's a funny, cheerful movie that is filled with workman like performances by many solid Hollywood performers, most of whom are bound to be familiar to any viewer who's owned a TV during the last couple of decades. Hayley Mills does give an exceptional performance for a girl of only 14, chock full of insight and charisma.
Watch "Pollyanna" with the little boys and girls in your life--you'll all be "glad" you did!

If you thought Shirley Temple was an great child star, wait 'til you see Hayley Mills' performance in one of the most wonderful movies I've ever watched : Pollyanna. Hayley makes her first appearance in a Disney movie in this lovely story about a little orphan girl sent to live in Harrington with her aunt Polly, who controls the town founded by her family. In living there Pollyanna preaches the gladness of the heart and bring it into those of most cross townspeople. Everyone is pefect in their performance, especially Miss Mills' who even won an Oscar for hers. Disney really has the formula when it comes to family films and this one proves it while sending out a very positive message. Hayley Mills is one of my very favorite actresses and this movie is a tear-jerker even for someone (me) who only once cried in 2 movies including this one. It is purely WONDERFUL.

This movie is part of a The Walt Disney Classics' Hayley Mills Collection with The Parent Trap, That Darn Cat!, Summer Magic & The Moon-Spinners which are all as fubulous as this one. This collection should be completed, though, because the other Disney movie she did : "In Search Of The Castaways" with Maurice Chevalier, is missing.

I think POLLYANNA is her best work! BUY it and you won't regret it!

I remember for Christmas one year My Parents got me the following DISNEY MOVIES.

One And Only Genuine Origional Family Band
Follow Me Boys!
BON VOYAGE!
Pollyanna

And I love all of them but my ultimate top favorite was Pollyanna I got the same edition as pictured above the Old white clamshell release with A Little Mickey Mouse at the Top. Well My Favorite Seen was when Pollyanna (Haley Mills) and Jimmy Bean (Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran) went to Mr. Pendergast and Jimmy was trying to climb the tree. My Favorite Actoress in this classic Disney film though was Jane Wyman as Aunt Polly. I also liked Richard Egan as Dr. Chilton. But one of the best roles other than Aunt Polly, and Pollyanna was played by Nancy Olson (SMITH!, Absent Minded Professor, Snowball Express) as Nancy. I still remember sitting by the television set. With the Video case in my hand watching in awe. At this classic Disney Film. This movie has never gone out of circulation with Disney. It is one of the few that hasn't. Those films are what started me collecting Disney. I still have those 4. And I have alot more of the old white clamshell releases of The Old Disney Films. Well Disney did a great thing when they put this classic film on Disney. I know that there has been a debate that They shouldn't have had Haley Mills sing America The Beautiful. But why don't people grow up. She did a great job and she put feeling into it. She wasn't one of those stuped singers that sings it without meaning. She sang it with meaning. This Is A Movie To Remember. If the had a 10 star rating on here. I would give it 10 stars. Other Tha Follow Me Boys! This Is the best Disney Film ever created.

This is a delightful film for folks of all ages. The Glad Game is not a game -- it's a way of life, a positive attitude. When young Pollyanna and her father were disappointed that the package from a missionary relief organization contained not a doll but crutches, they determined they would find something to be glad about. After a bit of thought, they decided to be glad they didn't NEED the crutches! At the end of the show, though, when Pollyanna is unable to walk due to an injury sustained falling from a tree, you have to think she would have been glad to have had those crutches.

Hayley Mills in her first Disney movie ever. In "Pollyanna", she plays a 12-year old orphan who comes to Harrington Town to stay with her aunt Polly (Jane Wyman). The whole town needs some happiness,so Pollyanna invents "The Glad Game" to make everyone fell better. Hayley sings a delightful version of "America The Beautiful" in the scene where all the girls dress up as the American flag. Hayley Mills won an Academy Award for her performance as Pollyanna. This movie is fun for the whole family to enjoy!

I can always judge a movie by the feeling it leaves me once itis over. POLLYANNA sends you away with a light heart full of optimism and cheer that is all too rare in today's world. Some may accuse the film as being "another one of those Disney feel-good movies." What's wrong with that? We get enough reality with our everyday lives. This movie just provided me with 2 hours of pure joy that life sometimes has in short supply. Haley Mills' charming character unassumingly spreads some sunshine in a small town trapped under a cloud of gloom. How many of you feel that way sometimes? Watching this movie is just a nice way to bring some of that sunshine to your corner. Manufactured? Perhaps. But so what? When you're in the dark, you don't wait around for the sun to come up--you turn on the electric light! END

How refreshing to show the kids a movie without anyone getting kicked in the groin, smartass kids whose attitudes are supposed to be funny or questionable language! This is a wonderful, pick-up-your spirits movie with a beautiful performance by Halley Mills. The small-town setting and the message that you can always find something to be glad about make this a terrific movie for children who haven't become jaded after seeing the typical fare that passes for kids entertainment these days. My 13-, 12- and 3-year-olds loved it and my husband and I ended up watching with them just because it was so enjoyable. Jane Wyman, Karl Malden and Agnes Moorhead have fun with their roles as townspeople transformed by Pollyanna's relentlessly sunny outlook on life. This is the type of film that, regrettably, isn't made anymore.

I saw Pollyanna for the first time when I was a little girl. I am 23 now and I STILL watch it once a week or so! Movies like this just aren't made anymore. People today would probably say it is sacchrine-sweet and cheesy. I disagree. This is a movie you can laugh and cry while watching. The cast is absolutely superb, especially Hayley Mills. If you enjoy Pollyanna, you need to see Summer Magic and That Darn Cat, in that order. You can watch as Mills grows up! :)