Little House on the Prairie (2005)

American pioneers were a strong-willed people ruled by wanderlust, optimism, and an intense drive to persevere and succeed in the face of incredible odds and grave danger. Based on the autobiographical novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder, this 255-minute 2004 Disney television miniseries (not the Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert series from the 1970's) tells Laura's story of her family's dangerous and exhausting journey by covered wagon from an economically depressed Wisconsin to the promising land of Kansas. While the land proves plentiful in Kansas, the hardships of setting up a homestead and co-existing with the Indians are intense. Through their struggles, the Ingalls family comes to appreciate the true value of the help and companionship of their fellow man and realizes the relative insignificance of their many outward differences. While their neighbor Mrs. Scott and most of the rest of their American contemporaries readily stereotype the Indians as an evil race devoid of redeeming qualities, the Ingalls are more compassionate, presuming the Indian population to be comprised of both good and bad people. The Ingalls family's tolerance for the Indians allows them to peacefully co-exist on the prairie for a time and engenders a tenuous sense of respect with one influential tribe member which serves the family well. Little House on the Prairie brings the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and the westward expansion of the American pioneers to life and is recommended viewing for ages 6 and older. --Tami Horiuchi Amazon.com

follows the book series

I grew up watching this series on TV, I had also read the books. I was always a little disappointed that the shows were not like the books. My daughter has read the books over the past year and had just finished her social studies project on Laura Ingalls Wilder when we found the Disney version in the video store. We rented it and watched it and we were both amazed. The story goes along with the books from the end of "Little House in the Big Woods" through "Little House on the Prairie". We were delighted to see the books come to life! My daughter wants to know when the next Disney version is coming out! September 24, 2008

Little House On The Prairie is my favorite

I think they did really well with this new version of the classic story of Little House On The Prairie based off of the third book in the Little House series of books Little House On The Prairie. Little House has been my favorite book series,and tv series for ever since i was a kid,amd it still is. Little House captures all of the emotions,feelings,and way to treat your fellow man. I enjoy the tv series of Little House On The Prairie alot,and when i saw that they were coming out with a new version of Little House On The Prairie i didn't know if it would be as good as the tv series. I bought this watched it,and i loved it right away. It did capture the feeling of the pioneer life,the lands looked really good as prairie land,the indians were amazing,and looked like i was watching real indians. I think it really kept faithful to the feeling of the book,and the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder,and the feeling of how her life was.I also like the Pilot of the NBC Little House,which is based off the Little House On The Prairie book,but in this version they added more,and had more of the characters from the book. It was well shot,and it got the feeling on video of the prairie. I really think Kyla Chavarria was perfect as Laura and Laura to a t,and Danielle Chuchran was Mary to a T,and she looked like how i pictured Mary in my head when i read the books. I don't think the actors/actresses who played Pa,Ma,and Mr. Edwards were that good as them. I think Michael Landon,Karen Grassle,and Victor French were better. But i do think that Kyle and Melissa Gilbert are the same as Half-Pint they did really good jobs playing her,and were really believeable as Laura. I also think that Danielle and Melissa Sue Anderson were both perfect as Mary,and both did wonderful jobs playing her. I give it five stars for capturing the pioneer time period on the prairie that Laura lived through,and that the actresses who played Laura and Mary were spot on perfect,and cute as them. So take it as one Little House fan to another,that this is worth seeing for all of us Little House and Laura Ingalls Wilder fans. April 16, 2008

Why do they do this???

My son and I have been reading the Little House books together and when I found that Disney made a Little House movie I decided to buy it. The music didn't fit at all and the books, themselves are full enough of thrilling stories to fill a movie. Nothing needs to be added, but of course they always do. They portrayed Laura in too much a "Girl Power" way instead of the sweet and determined girl that she was. Danielle Chuchran (Mary Ingalls and a former neighbor of mine) was not the right choice for her role either. Just read the books. March 19, 2008

Beautiful Cinematography/ NOT True to the Books

This DVD does have beautiful cinematography, just as some other reviews have said. The outdoor scenes are very realistic in portraying what the rugged woodlands and prairies of the late 1800's were probably like. However, many reviews have claimed that this miniseries was closer to following the events in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book series than any other television series or movie has ever been, and after watching it we were very disappointed that it does not follow the books more closely at all. If anything there are even more differences than those described in Laura's books. I would not recommend buying this if you are looking for a closer portrayal of the events in the Little House book series. If you enjoy a different presentation for a good family movie, and enjoy the beautiful and realistic scenery, it might be a good choice. March 3, 2008

Different Style Disney's Little House on the Prairie

I gave this a 5. I am a Little House Geek and have especially followed the Micheal Landon, NBC version of Little House shows. I can never get enough so I did watch this on tv when it aired a few years ago. I decided to purchase it with some Christmas money. I thought that this movie was much more thorough on the Ingall's trip out west. I found it to have a different style then Micheal Landon's version but it was still very good. The actors/actresses did an excellent job. Even my 8 year old son enjoyed this. It is very long so you probably will want to watch in two sittings or will need to set aside a lot of time to watch it in it's entirety. February 10, 2008

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