Annabelle's Wish

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Annabelle's Wish
AnnaBelle's Wish, VHS cover.png
DVD cover
Directed byRoy Wilson
Written byDan Henderson (short story)
Jane Baer
John Bettis
Ken Blackwell
John Couch
Gary Edwards
Bruce Faulk
Kathy Grover
Riki Hobin
Jay Johnson
Jaime Barton Klein
George Larrimore
John Lewis
Barbara Dunn-Leonard
Sheryl Scarborough
Based on"Clarabell the Christmas Cow" by Dan Henderson
Produced byBarbara Dunn-Leonard
StarringKath Soucie
Randy Travis
Cloris Leachman
Jerry Van Dyke
Jim Varney
Rue McClanahan
Narrated byRandy Travis
Edited byTom Gleason
Clay Iverson
Terry Moore
Music bySteve Dorff
Production
company
Ralph Edwards Productions
Distributed byHallmark Home Entertainment
Release date
October 21, 1997
Running time
54 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Annabelle's Wish is a 1997 American direct-to-video animated Christmas film that revolves around a young calf who aspires to learn to fly and become one of Santa Claus' reindeer.[2] It is narrated by American country singer Randy Travis and stars voice actress Kath Soucie as the voice of Annabelle. Hallmark Home Entertainment released the film to video on October 21, 1997, followed by a television broadcast later that year on Fox.

Plot[]

Annabelle, a calf, is born on Christmas Eve in the farming community of Twobridge, Tennessee. Upon meeting Santa Claus, she becomes fascinated with reindeer and their ability to fly, and wishes to fly herself.

Having been granted the temporary ability to speak, she befriends the farmer Charles' grandson, Billy, who is mute from inhaling smoke from the fire that killed his parents. They go sledging with Billy's friend Emily and crash into Gus Holder's fence, whose sons Bucky and Buster bully Billy over his muteness. Charles cannot pay for the fence so Gus takes Annabelle until Charles can raise the money, which he does by pawning a music box that belonged to his late daughter Sarah (Billy's mother). Annabelle enjoys spring, summer, and fall with Billy and Emily.

Winter comes around and Bucky and Buster harass Emily and Billy. Annabelle knocks them down. The boys lie about the incident to their father who calls the sheriff, who already knows the truth from the bus driver. Gus sends his sons to their room and the sheriff talks to him about how his behavior since his wife's death is affecting his sons.

Billy's aunt Agnes comes to claim him to complete her "perfect Christmas", despite not having wanted to take him in when his parents died. Her attorney found a way for her to take custody, but if Billy can overcome his muteness and start talking again, he can stay with Charles. The animals push Agnes' car into the mud so she has to spend the night with Charles and Billy. That night, Santa comes and Annabelle asks him to give her power of speech to Billy. Touched by her selflessness, he agrees.

The next morning, Billy finds a present and, opening it, he magically gets his voice back, allowing him to stay with Charles. Gus, Bucky, and Buster arrive and apologize for their behavior. Gus reveals that he bought the music box and gives it to Charles. Agnes falls in love with Gus, and Billy finds out that Annabelle has permanently given up her ability to speak so that he could have it.

When Billy and Emily have grown up and are married, Santa Claus fulfills Annabelle's dream to fly by making her one of his reindeer and returns her ability to speak.

Cast[]

Music[]

The film's score was by Steve Dorff, who also wrote the film's songs with John Bettis and Travis. The songs were performed by Travis, Alison Krauss, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Dolly Parton, Kevin Sharp, and Nanci Griffith.[3][4]

Release[]

Annabelle's Wish was released by Hallmark Home Entertainment on October 21, 1997,[5] and was the first film created by Ralph Edwards Films to be released.[5][6] The film later aired on Fox on November 30, 1997.[3][7][8]

Reception[]

The special received mixed reviews from critics. Lynne Heffley of the Los Angeles Times praised Travis' narration, the score and songs, and the film's "gentle message of selfless love".[3] Andrea Higbie of The New York Times referred to the character of Agnes as the film's version of Cruella de Vil, and wrote that the film would appeal to young viewers but that "its narcissistic dysfunction angle ("If Aunt Agnes doesn't love Billy, why does she want to take him away from Grandpa?") will leave them wishing for a villainess who simply has fur coats on her mind," in reference to de Vil.[9]

When the film premiered on Fox, it was the highest-rated television program among children between the ages of two and five.[8] Annabelle's Wish was also among the top-five best-selling videos during November and December 1997,[10][11][12][13][14] and was Hallmark Home Entertainment's best-selling video as of January 1998.[15] A portion of the video sale revenues were donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Zad, Martie (November 8, 1998). "TV 'Lion King' Sequel Shows Pride of Simba – Kiara". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  2. ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 14–15. ISBN 9781476672939.
  3. ^ a b c Heffley, Lynne (November 29, 1997). "'Wish,' 'Smudge' Celebrate the Spirit of the Holidays". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  4. ^ Harrington, Richard (December 12, 1997). "Santa's Mixed Musical Bag". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Richmond, Ray (November 11, 1997). "Gamer Edwards into pix: Prexy Gary Edwards joined by Dunn-Leonard". Variety. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  6. ^ Archerd, Army (September 24, 1997). "'Zorro' buys $1.3 mil Super Bowl ad". Variety. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  7. ^ Harris, Lee (November 30, 1997). "A cat named Garfield goes country; if cows could fly; Disney's old 'Love Bug' is new again". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Bierbaum, Tom (December 1, 1997). "Homes are where CBS' 'Hearts' is". Variety. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  9. ^ Higbie, Andrea (December 10, 1997). "Television in Review: Annabelle's Wish". The New York Times. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "What's Hot". Los Angeles Times. November 6, 1997. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  11. ^ "'Lost World' Finds Way to Top in Rentals, Sales". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1997. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  12. ^ "What's Hot". Los Angeles Times. November 27, 1997. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  13. ^ "What's Hot". Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1997. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  14. ^ "What's Hot". Los Angeles Times. December 18, 1997. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  15. ^ "Company Town / Video View". Los Angeles Times. January 20, 1998. Retrieved February 15, 2018.

External links[]

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