Samantha: An American Girl Holiday

Samantha: An American Girl Holiday
Also known as	An American Girl Holiday
Written by	Anna Sandor Valerie Tripp
Directed by	Nadia Tass[1]
Starring	AnnaSophia Robb Mia Farrow[2] Kelsey Lewis Jordan Bridges Rebecca Mader
Music by	Chris Hajian
Production
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network	The WB
Original release	November 23, 2004 (2004-11-23)
Chronology
Followed by	Felicity: An American Girl Adventure

Samantha: An American Girl Holiday is a 2004^[1] television film, based on the American Girl children's books written by Susan S. Adler and Valerie Tripp. The film follows young, wealthy Samantha Parkington's adventures with three poor orphan girls.^[3] Shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the 86-minute film features lavish period costumes and settings, and was nominated for three Young Artist Awards, winning one.

Samantha is the first in the series of An American Girl films.

Plot[]

Young Samantha Parkington lives with her grandmother, "Grandmary" Edwards, in a world of wealth and privilege in fictional Mount Bedford, New York, in 1904. Nellie O'Malley, a domestic worker girl about Samantha's age, moves into the house next-door with her father and two younger sisters named Bridget and Jenny. Samantha is an unspoiled young girl without class biases or prejudices and takes an instant liking to Nellie, teaching her to read and sharing Nellie's household tasks such as carpet beating, darning, and other small jobs. Samantha and Nellie become fast friends. The girls turn to each other in happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger, and grow as close as sisters.

It is then learned that Nellie's mother died last fall and that Samantha is an orphan as her parents died in an accident by the river. One of the mementos she has of them is a locket with their pictures. Shortly, Samantha's Uncle Gardner, who is settled in New York, pays a visit home with his fiancé Cornelia. Uncle Gard announces that he and Cornelia are engaged. Samantha is unhappy by this turn of events but agrees to be the bridesmaid for the wedding. Soon after, Samantha moves to New York to attend a new school.

After Nellie's father dies, she and her little sisters Bridget and Jenny are sent to a dismal orphanage run by a thieving matron. Samantha rescues the girls and hides them at home. Nellie secretly takes a job in a factory to support her little sisters. Samantha tracks her down and brings her home, then bravely speaks out against the cruelty of child labor at her school. Eventually, Samantha's Uncle Gard and his new wife Cornelia adopt the orphan sisters. The film ends with the girls happily enjoying a Christmas sleigh ride through cotton candy-like drifts of snow.

Awards and nominations[]

Young Artist Awards[]

Cast[]

• AnnaSophia Robb as Samantha Parkington
• Kelsey Lewis as Nellie O'Malley
• Mia Farrow as Mary Edwards
• Jordan Bridges as Gardner Edwards
• Rebecca Mader as Cornelia Edwards
• Olivia Ballantyne as Jenny O'Malley
• Hannah Endicott-Douglas as Bridget O'Malley
• Michael Kanev as Eddie Ryland
• Karen Eyo as School Principal
• Keir Gilchrist as Factory Boy
• Shary Guthrie as Teacher
• Jackie Brown as Factory Lady
• Shae Norris as Agatha
• Clare Stone as Emma
• Nancy E.L. Ward as Lillian
• Janine Theriault as Beatrice

References[]

External links[]

• Samantha: An American Girl Holiday at IMDb