Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (DVD, 2004)

Samantha Parkington, an orphan living with her grandmother, is lonely since her best friend, her Uncle Gard, is away in Europe. To her delight, some new servants come to work at a neighbor's house. When Samantha discovers that the family includes three girls and one of them is her age, she is delighted. Samantha quickly becomes best friends with Nellie, the oldest.

After a while, Uncle Gard returns from his trip. Samantha is delighted of course until she finds out that the woman he brought back with him, Cornelia, is his fiancee. Samantha is mad at Uncle Gard because she thinks that he will forget about her. But fortunately Cornelia loves kids and becomes fast friends with Samantha. After their wedding, Samantha takes an extended trip to visit them in New York City.

While in New York, Samantha finds out that Nellie, her best friend, and her sisters have been orphaned and sent to an orphanage in the city. Samantha goes to visit them and discovers the squalid conditions they live in. Then things become even worse: Nellie is going to be separated from her two sisters and sent out West to a farm. Determined not to let that happen, Samantha hatches a daring plan to rescue Nellie and her sisters.

"Samantha: An American Girl Holiday" was truly a delightful film for the entire family. The acting and casting was top notch especially for a TV movie. AnnaSophia Robb (also in "Because of Winn-Dixie") really shines in her movie debut. She captures the Samantha of the books perfectly and is great! Jordan Bridges is also perfect as the playful and fun-filled Uncle Gard. While this movie doesn't follow the books perfectly, it totally captures the spirit and is a great movie all around! If you love the American Girl books, you can't miss this movie! Rated 5/5