Anne of Green-ish Gables

Last night my 9-year-old daughter Bridget and I were invited to attend the Toronto premiere of "Anne of Green Gables, A New Beginning", in which writer/producer/director Kevin Sullivan explores Anne's time before she gets to the Gables, and also her life as a mature woman with grown children.

Bridget was especially thrilled that the young girl who plays Anne, 12-year-old Hannah Endicott-Douglas, was at the screening. She's great, as is Barbara Hershey (who plays Anne in her later years), with Shirley Maclaine stealing every scene she's in as the indomitable Mrs. Thomas. You'll have to see the movie to figure out her role in the story.

Bridget asked me why all the grown ups kept laughing at the way Anne speaks - you know, "Oh my heart is filled with such glee that I cannot contain myself" - that sort of thing. I said it was because she spoke in such an unusual way for a child, and that frankly I was relieved that my children spoke in less flowery terms, for surely I would not be able to contain myself from telling them to get to the point.

The movie is shot on location, with Dundas and Rockwood Ont standing in for PEI and it's beautiful...as is the theatre which presented the movie, the Regent, in the Mount Pleasant and Eglinton area. Bridget was a little miffed that they didn't have the now-traditional cup holders built into the well worn seats, and I didn't think it prudent to point out to her it was probably ashtrays that were installed there originally.

The movie will be aired on CTV on December 14th. Watch for it. But don't pull out the ashtrays just for old times sake.