When I was a little girl these type of period films about children and largely for children were very popular. And I haven't seen that many as of late, but I'm hoping that this light and heartwarming film might revive the genre. Samantha an American Girl Holiday was sweet, and light. Those two words are the perfect terms to me. The friendship between the fortunate orphan Samantha, and the unfortunate orphan sisters is fairly realistic, but lets not forget that the main actors in this movie are children. Mia Farrow has a pretty small, yet important part as the Grandmere of Samantha and the guardian for the little girl ever since the death of her mother. After going to visit her uncle and his new bride in New York, the story takes a slightly darker turn as she attempts to help the three girls escape from a local orphanage in which the lady over it is crooked and heartless. There is a scene inside of a factory which shows just a small portion of the horror of factory life for poor children. The end is incredibly happy, and her aunt and uncle could not be more perfect and loving. I adore her uncle. Stronger examples of the genre would be The Secret Garden (1993) and A Little Princess.
