Heidi (1993)
After charming her reclusive grandfather and falling in love with the beautiful mountain he calls home, Heidi is uprooted and sent to Frankfurt where she befriends Klara, a young girl confined to a wheelchair.
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Reviews
An enjoyable film and for the most part well done, but very annoying due to the use of both English and American actors - resulting in both accents amongst supposed family members!! So jarring and sadly all too frequently done. I understand the marketability of TransAtlantic appeal but please, please, why can't they all sound alike?? Unfortunately it does suffer from Disneyfication with very large helpings of saccharine and some predictable "gushy" emotional scenes. There's a particularly wearing scene where Heidi tumbles down the hillside and ends up hanging over the river gorge clinging to a tree branch - all the time while Peter is trying to rescue her, Klara is shouting "Heidi!" at 1 second intervals. I felt like shouting "Shut the **** up!" Otherwise the scenery, sets, etc. are lovely - nice period details and gorgeous mountains! (Filmed in Austria though and not Switzerland - although I daresay we have to be grateful it wasn't filmed in Montana!)
I've watched at least two of the other Heidi versions, and this is probably my favorite. I liked the Shirley Temple version a lot, too, but this one is very charming and Noley Thornton is very cute as Heidi. I watched an older version of Heidi today, and it was good as well (with Jean Simmons), but it was definately not as good as this one (though they both have their strong points).
Excellent movie!! This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It is beautifully acted and I never get sick of watching it over and over!! Noley Thorton is cute as a button and perfect as little Heidi and Lexi Randall's performance as Clara is amazing! Jason Robards is wonderful as grandfather and Jane Seymour is great as Freuline Rottenmier, the character you love to hate! I think this is one of the best if not the best family movies of all time! I reccomend it to anyone of any age!
If your looking for a Family film that will appeal to all ages, then look no further. This movie is well acted, the scenery is beautiful and the score is outstanding. Noley Thornton is not to be missed! Once you see this movie, it will stay with you for the rest of your life. Even if you've seen other Heidi movies, don't let that stop you, this one ranks at the very top!