Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel is a 1987 Canadian television miniseries film. It is a sequel to the 1985 miniseries Anne of Green Gables, and the second in a series of four films, based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island and Anne of Windy Poplars.

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel
DVD cover
Genre
  • Drama
  • Family
Based onAnne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars
by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Written byKevin Sullivan
Directed byKevin Sullivan
StarringMegan Follows
Colleen Dewhurst
Wendy Hiller
Frank Converse
Jonathan Crombie
Marilyn Lightstone
Schuyler Grant
Rosemary Dunsmore
Kate Lynch
Geneviève Appleton
James O'Regan
Music byHagood Hardy
Country of originCanada
Original language(s)English
No. of episodes4
Production
Producer(s)Kevin Sullivan
Trudy Grant
CinematographyMarc Champion
Editor(s)James Lahti
Mairin Wilkinson
Running time57 minutes (approx.) per episode
228 minutes total
Production company(s)Kevin Sullivan Entertainment
DistributorBuena Vista Television
BudgetUS$4.8 million[1]
Release
Original networkDisney Channel
Original release19 May –
9 June 1987
Chronology
Preceded byAnne of Green Gables (1985)
Followed byRoad to Avonlea (1990–1996)

The miniseries aired in four hour-long installments, in May and June 1987, on the Disney Channel as Anne of Avonlea: The Continuing Story of Anne of Green Gables, and in two 150-minute installments, in December 1987, on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and in March 1988, on PBS, as Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel.[2] The film was also shown theatrically in Israel, Japan, and Europe as Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel and has been released on DVD under that title.

Finally, in 2017, the miniseries was officially retitled Anne of Avonlea for its North American Blu-ray Disc release by Sullivan Films, as part of the Anne of Green Gables Collector's Set.

Plot

Anne concludes teaching at Avonlea School and she has dreams of becoming a writer, but her story "Averil's Atonement" is rejected by a magazine. Leaving the post office one day, Anne runs into Gilbert Blythe, who tells her that her best friend Diana Barry is engaged to Fred Wright. Anne is initially bewildered by Diana's decision, calling it impulsive. Meanwhile, in the last two years, Marilla's eyesight has greatly improved and she believes she can manage the farm on her own. She encourages Anne to resume her old ambitions, which have been on hold since giving up the Avery Scholarship.

Anne's misadventures in Avonlea continue. Unbeknownst to her, Diana submitted "Averil's Atonement" into a contest to introduce the new Rollings Reliable baking powder to the public, and it wins first prize. On the way home, Anne sees her jersey cow Dolly in Rachel Lynde's potato field, which she had promised would never happen again. Exasperated at everything that has happened that day, she hastily sells the cow to Gilbert and his father. Things only get worse when she realizes that she accidentally sold the Lyndes' cow instead of her own. She and Marilla go over to explain, during which Rachel's husband Thomas suddenly passes away. At a clambake celebrating Fred and Diana's engagement, Anne and Gilbert wander off to a bridge, where Gilbert proposes. Anne rejects his offer, convinced that their marriage would be unhappy and unsuccessful.

At Diana's wedding, Anne sees Gilbert with a young woman named Christine Stuart. Gilbert tells Anne that he and Christine are just friends, then offers to wait for her if there is any hope of them getting together. Anne rejects him again, and Gilbert suspects that there is someone else, despite Anne's assertion there is no person she cares about more than him. Anne returns to Green Gables, where Marilla reveals that Rachel will be moving in with her. Anne sees her opportunity to accept a job from her former teacher Miss Muriel Stacey as an English literature teacher at Kingsport Ladies' College in New Brunswick.

Initially, Anne finds her new job to be difficult. A member of the local community — and member of the powerful Pringle family — had also tried for Anne's post and was rejected, causing resentment. However, Anne gradually earns the respect of her students, their families and her colleagues, including the severe and critical Katherine Brooke and the Pringle family. She organizes a play to raise money for the college, which is greatly appreciated, and grows close to one student, Emmeline Harris, whom she tutors at home. Emmeline lives with her stern, controlling grandmother Mrs. Margaret Harris, and her repressed Aunt Pauline, Mrs. Harris's daughter who is a virtual prisoner in the house. Anne is able to convince the agoraphobic Mrs. Harris to leave home and go to a community picnic, and to let Pauline attend a friend's wedding overnight in another town, where she strikes up a romance. Her dream of being published is also finally achieved after she writes a series of short stories based on Avonlea inspired by a suggestion from Gilbert. Anne takes a trip with the Harris family to Boston, where Emmeline's widowed father Morgan, a well-to-do traveling businessman, owns a spacious house. Morgan later proposes marriage to Anne, which she declines.

After Mrs. Harris dies, Anne decides to return to Avonlea for the summer and convinces Katherine Brooke to come with her. After arriving back at Green Gables, Anne finds out that Gilbert is ill with scarlet fever, which he had contracted at Halifax Medical School. Finally realizing her true feelings for Gilbert, Anne visits him and shows her published book, dedicated to Gilbert, Matthew, and Marilla. After Gilbert regains his health, and Anne decides not to go back to Kingsport, he proposes once more. Anne accepts him with a kiss, declaring: "I don't want diamond sunbursts, or marble halls. I just want you."

Timeline of events (1902–1903)
  • Late spring 1902 – Anne, now 18, finishes teaching at Avonlea school.
  • Summer 1902 – Diana marries Fred, Anne takes a teaching position at Kingsport Ladies College.
  • September 1902 – Anne begins teaching at Kingsport Ladies College.
  • 26 November 1902 – Production date of Anne's play at Kingsport Ladies College.
  • Summer 1903 – Katherine Brooke spends summer break with Anne at Green Gables. Anne commits to Gilbert.

Cast

Awards and nominations
  • 2 Cable Ace Awards: Best Costume, Best Supporting Actress (Colleen Dewhurst), 1987
  • 6 Gemini Awards: Best Dramatic Miniseries, Best Photography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Performance by Lead Actress (Megan Follows), Best Performance by a Supporting Actress (Colleen Dewhurst), 1988
  • Silver Award - International Film and Television Festival, New York, 1987
  • Best Family Series - TV Guide, 1987
  • CFTA Award - Best New TV Production, 1987
  • Chris Award - Columbus International Film Festival, 1987
  • Honourable Mention - International San Francisco Film Festival, 1988
  • Crystal Apple Award - National Education Film and Video Festival, 1988
  • ACT Award - Achievement in Children's TV, 1988
  • Golden Hugo Award - Chicago International Film Festival, 1987
  • Gold Award - Houston International Film Festival, 1987

Sequels and spinoffs

Road to Avonlea is a television series which was first broadcast in Canada and the United States between 1990 and 1996. It was inspired by a series of short stories and two novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Many of the actors in the Anne of Green Gables movies also appear in storylines crossing over into the long-running Emmy award-winning series, including Patricia Hamilton as Rachel Lynde, Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla Cuthbert until her death in 1991, and Marilyn Lightstone as Muriel Stacy. Jonathan Crombie returned as Gilbert Blythe in a one-time guest appearance in the finale episode of season three, which dealt with Marilla's death. Other actors from the first two Anne films portrayed different characters in Road to Avonlea, including Rosemary Dunsmore, who played Katherine Brooke in this film but returned as "Abigail MacEwan" in the television series.

Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story was released in 2000, and followed Anne Shirley as she embarked on a new journey, taking her from her home in Prince Edward Island to New York City, London, and into war-ravaged Europe. This film is an original story not based on any of Montgomery's novels.

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning was released in fall 2008, serving as a prequel to the previous films, and is not based on the books. Set between two different time periods, Anne Shirley, now in her fifties, looks back on her early childhood before arriving at Green Gables only to uncover answers to questions that have plagued her throughout her life.

Production

When Kevin Sullivan was commissioned by CBC, PBS and The Disney Channel to create a sequel he started by combining many different elements of Montgomery's three later books: Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), and Anne of Windy Poplars (1936) into a cohesive screen story. Sullivan invented his own plotline relying on several of Montgomery's episodic storylines spread across the three sequels, He also looked at numerous other nineteenth century female authors for inspiration in fleshing out the screen story.

The film succeeded in re-popularizing Megan Follows and Colleen Dewhurst in their original roles. Sullivan also cast British veteran actress and Oscar winner, Wendy Hiller, in the role of the impossible Mrs. Harris whom Sullivan created based on a composite of several matriarchs found in the series of novels.

In Canada, the film became the highest rated drama to air on network television in Canadian broadcasting history. This Sequel became known as Anne of Green Gables - The Sequel when shown around the world, and as Anne of Avonlea - the Continuing Story of Anne of Green Gables when it premiered on The Disney Channel.

ACE Award nomination

Megan Follows was nominated for an ACE Award in 1988 by the National Academy of Cable Programing in the Ninth Annual System Awards for Cable Excellence for Disney's "Anne of Avonlea".[3]

Home Box Office led with 112 nominations for the ACE Award, or Award for Cable Excellence. Showtime was awarded 48, Arts & Entertainment 33, and the Disney Channel and Cable News Network 10 each, respectively. 30 categories of the 174 ACE Awards were presented on a live broadcast on HBO on January 24, 1988. The other categories were presented at a non-televised dinner in Las Vegas, on January 22, 1988. The ACE awards were established after cable programs and performers were excluded from the Emmy Awards. The National Academy of Cable Programming[4] was established in March 1985 to promote excellence in cable television programming.[3]

See also

References
  1. Johnson, Brian D. (1987-12-07). "ANNE OF GREEN GABLES GROWS UP | Maclean's | DECEMBER 7, 1987". Maclean's / The Complete Archive. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  2. "Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel". L.M. Montgomery Online. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  3. "ACE Nominees Announced". Houston. HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2 STAR Edition. Associated Press. November 10, 1987. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02.
  4. "About the NCTA". National Cable & Telecommunications Association. 1996. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14.

Bibliography
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