American Girl (film series)

American Girl
Directed by Nadia Tass (Samantha/Felicity)[1]
Joyce Chopra (Molly)
Patricia Rozema (Kit)
Martha Coolidge (Chrissa)[2]
Vince Marcello (McKenna/Saige/Isabelle/Grace)
Written by Anna Sandor (Samantha/Felicity/Molly)
Ann Peacock (Kit)
Mary Casanova/Christine Coyle Johnson (Chrissa)
Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin (McKenna/Saige/Isabelle/Grace)
Based on the American Girl book series
by various authors
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (1-5)
Universal Pictures (6-10)
Country United States
Language English

American Girl is a line of books, movies, dolls, and accessories based on pre-teen girl characters from various periods of history including the 21st century. Several of the characters from the American Girl books have since had their stories adapted into films, the majority of them released as direct-to-DVD or television films, with the exception of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, which saw a theatrical release. Starting with the debut of the Maryellen Larkin doll, American Girl has since expressed interest in producing webseries based on their characters.[3]

Synopsis

In 2003, American Girl teamed up with Julia Roberts' Red Om production company to create the first American Girl movie An American Girl Holiday. Samantha was played by AnnaSophia Robb.

In 2005 came the second American Girl TV movie An American Girl Adventure. It starred Shailene Woodley as Felicity.

The third American Girl television movie appeared in 2006. Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front featured Maya Ritter as Molly.

The first American Girl movie to appear in theaters was Kit Kittredge: An American Girl; it opened in wide release on July 2, 2008. It was produced by Picture House. Kit was played by Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin and notable co-stars included Stanley Tucci, Chris O'Donnell, Julia Ormond and Joan Cusack.

The first Girl of the Year movie was entitled An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong. Chrissa was portrayed by Sammi Hanratty.[4] It was released by HBO directly to DVD on January 6, 2009.[5]

McKenna Brooks, the "Girl of the Year 2012", has a movie named McKenna Shoots for the Stars released July 3, 2012. The movie, starring Jade Pettyjohn as McKenna, started filming in July 2011 and aired on NBC July 14, 2012.

Saige Copeland, Girl of the Year 2013, has a movie named Saige Paints the Sky released July 2, 2013. The movie, starring Sidney Fullmer as Saige, was released on NBC July 13, 2013.

A film based on Girl of the Year 2014 Isabelle Palmer entitled Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight was released July 22, 2014, starring Erin Pitt as the title character.

A film based on Girl of the Year 2015 Grace Thomas entitled An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success, with Olivia Rodrigo playing the title role, was released June 23, 2015.[6][7]

In November 2015, short independent films were uploaded on American Girl's YouTube page, based on the Maryellen Larkin and Julie Albright characters, the latter in lieu of the previously-announced musical film project slated in 2007. The films star Harlie Galloway and Jolie Ledford as Maryellen and Julie, respectively, and marks American Girl's venture into digital content and independent film production.[3]

A live-action web special based on Melody Ellison's stories entitled Melody, 1963: Love Has to Win, an American Girl Story was released by Amazon, starring Marsai Martin as the title character.[8][9] Love Has to Win will then be followed by An American Girl Story - Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas, starring Alyvia Alyn Lind as Maryellen Larkin and to be released by Amazon on November 25, 2016.[10]

DVD release dates

Film Main character Region 1 Rating
Samantha: An American Girl Holiday Samantha Parkington November 30, 2004[11] G
Felicity: An American Girl Adventure Felicity Merriman December 6, 2005[12] G
Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front Molly McIntire November 28, 2006[13] G
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Kit Kittredge October 28, 2008[14] G
An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong Chrissa Maxwell January 6, 2009 PG
An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars McKenna Brooks July 3, 2012[15] G
An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky Saige Copeland July 2, 2013 G
An American Girl: Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight Isabelle Palmer July 22, 2014[16] G
An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success Grace Thomas June 23, 2015[6] Not Rated/G
An American Girl: Lea to the Rescue Lea Clark June 14, 2016[17] G
An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has to Win Melody Ellison October 20, 2016 PG (BBFC)[18]
An American Girl Story - Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas Maryellen Larkin November 25, 2016[10] TV-Y

References

  1. "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday". iTunes. Apple, Inc. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  2. "An American Girl - Chrissa Stands Strong". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 "American Girl® Debuts New Digital Content For Girls, About Girls, And Starring..". PRNewsWire. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  4. http://www2.variety.com/finguide2008_listings.asp?company_id=42020
  5. http://www.videobusiness.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6595606
  6. 1 2 "An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  7. Cohen, Steven (4 March 2015). "'An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success' Blu-ray Announced for June". High-Def Digest. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  8. Cavassuto, Maria (25 August 2016). "TV News: Marsai Martin of 'Black-ish' Becomes First American Girl". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  9. Barsanti, Sam (25 August 2016). "Black-ish's Marsai Martin cast as American Girl Melody". A.V. Club. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  10. 1 2 Raynor, Madeline (3 November 2016). "This American Girl Christmas special trailer will warm your heart — exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  11. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00064AMEE
  12. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ARXFA0
  13. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HEWEFS
  14. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WGVEAC
  15. http://www.americangirl.com/play/girl-of-the-year/mckenna/index.php#page=movie
  16. http://www.americangirl.com/play/girl-of-the-year/isabelle/#page=home&popup=videos
  17. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-girls-2016-girl-of-the-year-stars-in-its-first-ever-action-adventure-movie-300239367.html#continue-jump
  18. "An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has to Win". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
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