I'll tell you why so serious

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The story about Samantha Parkington, a privileged girl, who lives with her grandmother played by the wonderful Mia Farrow in Mount Bedford, New York along the Hudson River in the Hudson River Valley about a couple of hours north of New York City. In the beginning, Samantha is playing with Eddie Ryland, her neighbor and nemesis who enjoys bullying people into giving him money. Samantha befriends Eddie's new maids, young sisters--Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny whose mother died. Their father moved them to the country. Instead of working in terrible factories, they work in the Ryland estate in the Hudson River Valley. While Nellie is working there, Samantha and her become close friends despite their obvious differences. When Samantha's Uncle Gardner comes home, he announces his engagement to Cornelia Pitt, a woman's right to vote activist, and he plans to bring Samantha to live with them in New York City. Wherever Samantha goes, adventure follows. I don't know how similar this is to the books but it's an okay film. The acting is okay. The child actors are wonderful in their roles. The film reminds of an old Shirley Temple movie. It's for a family audience!

Cute young actress AnnaSophia Robb is Samantha, smart, well-adjusted, even though bot her parents died and now she lives with her grandmother in a small town in New York state. Her grandmother is Mia Farrow as Grandmary Edwards.Times are hard in the early 1900s, and a new family arrives next door, a man and his 3 young daughters. But they aren't the homeowners, they are hired as servants. The mother had died recently, and now dad and the 3 daughters worked hard, morning to night, for their keep. They knew no other option. Without schooling none of them could read or write.One of the girls, cute Kelsey Lewis as Nellie O'Malley, was Samantha's age, and they became immediate best friends. Samantha managed to teach Nellie to read and write. They were having a grand time.But things changed when Samantha's uncle showed up with his fiancée, and when they were married they asked to have Samantha live with them in New York City. While there she learned Nellie's dad got sick and died so the three were sent to an orphanage.The whole movie has a real feel to it for the times, and it tells a very touching story of friendship.SPOILERS: The orphanage is also in NYC, and Samantha and her new family look the kids up. It turns out the orphanage is being run more like a prison and, when Samantha finds out Nellie will be sent off and her two sisters left at the orphanage, she devises a plan to break them out and hide them in her attic. They are eventually found out, but in the process the wicked director of the orphanage is found out and fired, and in the best possible of endings, Samantha's uncle and aunt decided to adopt all of them, an instant family of 6!

This is a heartwarming, make you sad, happy, angry movie. Samantha, an orphan, lives with her grandmother. Samantha is taught to be a proper Victorian era lady, but Samantha is also a 10 year old girl who loves her uncle dearly. Samantha's life goes spinning in unexpected directions when she befriends the three girls living next door. The thing is, the three girls (10, 8, and 3) are maids. It is 1904 and there is no such thing as child labor laws. Samantha takes it upon herself (at risk) to teach the oldest girl how to read. The two girls become inseparable, but then another crisis arrives. Samantha's very much beloved uncle is going to marry.Samantha is unhappy about the upcoming marriage, but eventually comes around. Then, after the uncle returns from his honeymoon, Samantha goes to live with the uncle, and her new aunt. Soon after, the father of her three friends dies and the girls are sent to an orphanage. The head of the orphanage is a corrupt spinster who operates the orphanage like a prison. Samantha rescues her three friends and hides them in her attic. The oldest girl goes to get a job, then the middle child gets deathly ill. Samantha gets an eyeful when she goes to the factory to get her friend and she sees children younger than herself maimed by machines. Samantha then causes a stir at school when she makes it her mission in life to get children out of factories and treated better in orphanages.AnnaSophia Robb is believable in her role and carries the movie well. If you have a heart, you will get a lump in your throat several times during this wonderful family movie. Hug your children, hold them tight, and love this movie.

This is the kind of movie that leaves you with a magical, wonderful, warm feeling. It was full of warmth, kindness, giving, bravery, joy,loyalty, beauty... The scenery was beautiful as well and complimented the wonderful storyline, which takes place in the early 1900s. Samantha is shipped off to New York, where she misses her home town and friends. In New York, however, she shows great strength and bravery as we are taken along her adventure. Children and adults alike can enjoy this movie, and Samantha, for the most part, is a wonderful role-model for young girls. I wish more movies were made of this high quality! This movie was an absolute delight, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.