Pilots these days are usually things that would never be seen and while that is also the case for pilots in general nine times out of ten if a TV network wanted to see if something would be a hit then they would release the pilot as a made for TV movie. This is how we got shows like The Waltons and even Starsky & Hutch and it's also how we got what many consider to be one of the greatest drama in modern American history with it being that very TV movie that i'm going to be talking to you all about today and so then join me as I review the film that sees a family like there home in the big woods with the film in question being called simply just "Little House On The Prairie" enjoy.
The plot of this film is when there not enough food left in there old home the Ingalls family are forced to pack up and move home and find somewhere else to live where they have to cross dangerous rivers just to try and find a place to call home. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I im all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. To be frank this films plot is alot more better then what it really had any right to be as by all rights the plot to this film should have been really bad and fille to the brim with obvious setup for the show. Yet there is none of that in this film with the film being more focused on telling a good and tight tory then it is in setting up things for the show with the films plot being at times heartwarming and at times devastating as we get to see these characters struggle to find a place to call home and while it would have been alot more better if the film did have more of a tighter plot and not just have what feels like a bunch of scenes that are loosely connected in it that would go against the film as a whole as the film is told from the point of view of a kid essentially writing down what's happened in a dairy and therefor of course things in the plot aren't going to be as good as they would have been otherwise and yet even so you can tell that there is alot of thought and effort put into this films plot with all of that love paying off as we do end up with a loving plot because of it with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this film is Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls and this films producer and director Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls. Also starring in this film is Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls , Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls , Lindsay Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls , Sidney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls , Victor French as Isaiah Edwards , Victor Mohica as Soldat Du Chêne , Cal Bellini as Brave , Sam Vlahos as 1st Indian , Richard Alarian as 2nd Indian , Marian Beeler as Charlotte Holbrook , John Steadman as Frederick Holbrook and Ruth Foster as Aunt Ruby.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I im all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. This was something that was quite shocking as you don't usually expect to see good acting in a made for TV movie rather you just expect there to be OK acting and that's it yet here it almost feels like the makers of this film went out of there way to give us some really good acting as all of the actors that are in this film are just so good an whilst yes granted this films acting isn't movie quality good it's also alot more better then alot of the acting in other made for TV movies. With the best actor in this film quite easily being Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls as he does get alot more of the more dramatic scenes in the film and whilst the rest of the films actors do get some dramatic scenes as well he does pull them of which such ease with this being something that does make alot of sense as he did star in alot of drama films and TV shows therefor he would know how best to perform in a drama heavy scene and yet he doesn't shy away from bringing hope with him performing this character with a huge twinkle in his eye as you can really tell that he had a blast in playing this character with that being something that really does shine through in this film. With the acting that's in this film really being helped buy the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
One of the many things that this film does really well is it's characters as the film does give us some really good main characters. The films characters are so well written with them all being very distinct and well thought out characters like for example Charles is very much the type who will put his own family above his own needs as we we do get to see him do things that would kill him but he does them because of the fact that he love his family where as with Caroline she is someone who where's her heart on her sleeve and yet when push does come to shove she is always there to protect her daughters and speaking of the daughters all of them do feel very much like real people and while yes this is because of the fact that the books that this film and show are based off are based on a real person the fact that that does translate into there characters on the screen does go along way into telling you just how well written each of the characters are. With the makers of this film even going the extra mile by having us not only like these characters but also fall in love with them so much so that we want to see them succeed and find a home of there own with this being something that does make the quieter moments between them all the more heartwarming as we do get to see just how strong of a bond that they share as a family which is really sweet to see with that bond showing us just how these characters are as people as we get to see just how far alot of them are willing to go to make the others happy with that being something that alot of people today especially need to see as alot of them are far to quickly to push there own flesh and blood under the bus, yet if they just took the time to talk to there family then they would end up with a more stronger family bond which is something that we get to see in this film as it is clear as day that all of these characters really do love each other and that is something that is clear as day all the way throughout this film.
The heart of this film is all about chasing the American Dream and the hardships that doing something like that does entail. As while the main bulk of the film is spent with the family just trying to find there new home when they do find it in Kansas and decide to become farmers they still meet struggles be it from the weather or from other people and seeing them overcome that just because of the fact that they want to follow the American Dream and just live to see another day is something that does make these characters to be awe-inspiring as we do get to see them put in the work to make there new dream of being famers work and while not everything does go there way the things that do taste all the more sweeter because of the hard work that they put into making it work in the first place. This again is something that people today need to learn as they expect success to come after just making a few videos on either TikTok or Youtube and aren't willing to spend the time needed to put in the work and to put in the effort to reach there dreams in the first place and therefore when they do fail to reach there goals they don't blame themselves for not putting in the work they'll blame everyone around them and yet films like this one do show us that if you do put in the work then success will come granted it might not come ass quickly as you want to and it might not last long but it will be worth it when it gets there and while it cold well be argued that the family don't reach there goals at the end of this film as it's not until the TV series that they reach there final new home they still did put in the time and the effort to make a real go and being farmers in the first place and while fair enough it didn't work out for them this time around who to say that the next time they try it they won't take what they learnt from this time and apply it to this new attempt.
As was just mentioned this film is based on the book of the same name by author Laura Ingalls Wilder with the books being very loosely based on her childhood. Just based off of a very quick reading on the books Wikipedia page it does seem like that this film is a mostly accurate adaptation of the book with there only being a very very minor differences between the book and the film like for example in the book the family all get malaria which is something that never happens in the film and while there scenes with two Indians in the film there's nothing about them meeting at the nearby river bottoms and unnerving some of the settlers with there war cries altho it is hinted that it was one of the Indians that set the family's home and barn on fire towards the end of the film. To be fair given how auto biographical that the books are in this series it might be very hard for the makers of this film to have done an adaptation that is pretty much just the book but on screen and yet they did do there best as it does feel like it is just a more shorter version of the book and while the books are made for little children this film instead feels like it was made more for a family audience with it feeling like the makers of this film where chasing the same family audience that checked in to watch The Waltons as both shows did try to attract more of a family audience with the inly major difference being that this film was technically based on a true story, while the book doesn't seem like it was afraid to put the family in danger as the Wikipedia does explain as such here really the only character that does get put in any real danger is Jack the dog with the family themselves not really facing any danger until near the end of the film when there house and barn is set on fire.
While it would have been super easy for the makers of this film to have the film be littered with things that wouldn't get payed off until the TV series started airing. Here in this film really the only real tease of the show comes right at the end of the film where the family are forced to vacate there new home when some soldiers tell them that they have to and even then it's debatable on if that is a tease for the show as the show wasn't even being planned at the time that this film came out and the book does have a very similar ending to it but given the fact that the first shot of the show is the family airing in what would become the series main setting it is a safe bet to say that the ending of this film could serve as a tease for the show. Heck even it's ending doesn't give the characters the happy ending that they really did deserve as they still do loose there new home and are again forced to move on all for something that they had no control over with this being something that we do see anger Charles and yet he has to go along with it and while it would have been very easy for the makers of this film to give the characters there happy ending that not only wouldn't be true to the books and it would go against the films message of just because you work hard for something doesn't always mean that you'll get it as while the family do spend about a year in this new house trying to build a sustainable life for themselves they are still at the whim and mercy of a government that doesn't really care all that much about them and therefor they have to give up on this house that they all spent time in helping build just because of the fact that a new line was drawn and there house wasn't on the right side of it. This is something that was a smart thing for the makers of this film to include as it does allow for the makers of this film to be true to the books and it does allow them to be truthful in there messaging and seeing how the family does cope with essentially being evicted from there home which is something that they wouldn't be able to do if they went the more fairy tale way and gave the family the happy ending that yes was deserves but it would have gone against the original books in the process.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and thirty six minuets and fifty nine seconds. Which for a made for TV movie is pretty much the bogstandard running time and while this film does take a huge while to really get going when the film does get going it doesn't let up and even with the film having this amount of running time it does at times oddly feel both the right and wrong running time for the film to have as at times the film does feel like a bunch of scenes that are very loosely connected together and yet at the same time it's with the film being this long that both the characters and plot have alot of time to breathe with the film having more then enough there interms of plot to really cover that amount on running time in the first place. The film does even use its running time very wisely with the makers of this film really taking the time to fully develop its plot as while at times it doesn't seem like there is a plot forming the film does take the time to sprinkle in things early on the film that do end up becoming major plot points in the film like for example the film shows us the journey that the family have to go on just to get there new home which might not seem like much but then during a harsh winter we see one of there friends decide to take that same journey just to see them again with it being that person that does end up saving Christmas for them which granted doesn't seem like much but it is something that does show us the audience that the makers of this film did put alot of thought and effort into making this films plot feel as well developed at it is. The same thing is also true for the films character development as while it could be argued that all of the films main characters don't really need character development in this film as they would of course get it in the show the makers of the film do still take the time to show us moments with each of the family members where they do grow as people like for example we do see that Laura doesn't agree with her father alot of the time and yet during one of there minor arguments she does get to see the kind of choices that he has to make on a daily basis which does cause her to almost see him in a new light and while it is clear that the makers of this film did put more thought and effort into having the main theme of the film play over alot of scenes then they did the films character development but I really will admit that the film did have some really bad pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a drama film tat really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty. One could make the argument for the films drama being the best part of the film as it is just so well done be it from a writing , directing or acting standpoint with it feeling like that the makers of this film really knew not to drop the ball when it comes to this films drama as instead of dropping it they straight up picked the ball up and ran with it as there are alot of scenes in this film that have alot of rally good drama in it with it all feeling earned. With the best piece of drama in the whole film oddly enough not being the scene where the family have to rush to stop there house and barn from burning to the ground rather it's the more simpler scene of the family , there dog Jack and there horses crossing the river as while the family do indeed struggle to get across the river so much so that Charles has to get out of carriage and lead the horses himself Jack isn't so luck as while he does try to swim across to the other side he gets swept away in the current with the family believing him dead as Charles himself goes and walks downstream for miles and can't find him with Laura herself taking it the hardest as to her Jack was more then just a dog he was her best friend this does make the reveal of him being alive and well all the more heartwarming as there is real joy and real happiness in the eyes of the makers of this film during that scene with the rest of the films drama being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall the new Netflix Little House On The Prairie TV series does have a lot to live up to as this one film gave us really likable characters that we want to see more off which is something that the new Netflix version will have to do if it really wants to succeed and be as good as not only the original show was but also what this film as well as this film is just that good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.
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