Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

random_avenger In the 1770s, a 10-year old independent upper-class girl named Felicity (Shailene Woodley) is living in Williamsburg, Virginia and handling the many challenges life brings to her: taming a stubborn horse, taking care of the family when the mother is ill and choosing sides when tensions rise between the loyalists and the patriots in the American Revolution.Like Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (the previous installment in the An American Girl series), the film is technically well created: the costumes, music, scenery and photography are all well above the average TV movie level. The story, however, is less diverse and the overwhelming righteousness of Felicity starts getting uninteresting soon. There are also some excruciatingly cheesy moments in the film. Even so, the target audience (young girls and their families) can expect to like the movie alright.

HallmarkMovieBuff Having stayed up way too late on Saturday night to watch a key football game that I'd recorded while out at a concert, I was feeling feverish on Sunday from too little sleep. By mid-afternoon, when I got home from church, etc., I wasn't up for anything challenging; so in order to recuperate, I went to bed for the easily-watchable American Girl double feature on the Hallmark Channel. This was the second-made, but first-shown, of the two.This review may contain spoilers, but who cares? This is one of those happy-sad family movies with no big surprises. It has all the required elements of such a film, including the loss, and threat of loss, of certain family members. But you know such elements without my saying, elements which, if well-executed, can make one weep for joy.When I first started watching, I thought, "Oh, another girl-and-her-horse story. How trite." But it turned out to be more. "More" in this case includes the following.A. There are no BAD people in this movie, not even one. Not the boy who breaks his contract of apprenticeship in hopes of joining the Revolutionary War militia, not the bounty hunters who go after him, not even the man who abuses his horse in trying to break it, the horse that Felicity loves, trains in secret, releases from captivity, and eventually owns. There are people who do bad things, to be sure, but all are redeemed in the end. ("God bless us, every one.") B. The title character, Felicity, is especially and particularly GOOD. As played by Shailene Woodley, she is forever bright and cheerful (but not overly so); and of her own volition, she commits a series of kind and generous acts toward others (doubtless due to her upbringing by good and understanding parents, played to type by Marcia Gay Harden and John Schneider), including one beyond expectation (especially for a child of 10) toward the imprisoned horse-beater, whom she had every reason to dislike and avoid. Had I watched this film when it was first released, I might be watching Woodley's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" today. (Season 1 is on hiatus with but two episodes remaining as I write this.) I called this a weeper because in my weakened state, the tears flowed perhaps a bit more easily than they would have otherwise. But tissues were not necessary -- the overflow was caught by the blanket on my bed. Needless to say, I recommend this film, whether you're sick or not. Special kudos go to Valerie Tripp for the books and to Anna Sandor for the teleplay, writers who, along with director Nadia Tass, are responsible for creating another worthy entry in the body of American family films.

Maia Appleby We have all three of the "American Girl" movies currently available and this one is my favorite. The plot may sound a bit corny, but it's a captivating story and the cast is wonderful.Felicity lives in a difficult era -- her father and grandfather, though they live in the same house, are on opposite sides of the issue of American independence. All the adults seem to have strong feelings one way or the other about the war and undertones of uncertainty are everywhere, making it confusing for Felicity and her friend Elizabeth.Intertwined with this question of American freedom is Felicity's strong commitment to free an oppressed horse from its abusive owner. She is a bit disobedient at times, but you can't help admiring her determination to do what's right, especially given that she lived in a time when a girl's "education" was limited to lessons in dance and tea-service.The historical value and the human themes make this a fascinating movie for the whole family.

kimberly_shick I grew up with the American Girl stories with Samantha being my favorite. Of course I adored Samantha's holiday movie and was planning to show quite a bit of favoritism as I watched Felicity's Adventure. However, I was amazed by what I saw. I had not read Felicity's stories since I was in 4th grade near ten years ago so watching the movie was so refreshing and I actually cried. Set right before the American Revolution we are introduced to Felicity Merriman the daughter of a shopkeeper in Williamsburg, Virgina. Shailene Woodlyn who played the part of Felicity gave such strength and spirit to her role. The rest of the cast did great as well. Every actor gave justice to his or her characters. The costumes and scenery were just astonishing. And ladies...your heart will flutter when you see Kevin Zegers who plays Ben Davidson, Mr. Merriman's apprentice. I strongly recommend this movie to an American Girl fan. The movie explains Felicity's life so well that even those who have no clue of what the American Girl Adventures are about will enjoy this story. There are so many historical references that stimulate thought about ones beliefs. Such as the dispute between the Loyalists and Patriots. When Mr. Cole is thrown in jail for an unjust reason, the characters are forced to choose sides and do as their hearts tell. These references allow for enjoyment for adults. This movie will grip your heart.