A new Anne of Green Gables movie is on the way!
Those of you who have been fearing the inevitable tense political debate with a long-lost relative that happens every Thanksgiving can rest assured: there is an alternative. PBS announced that it will premiere a new film adaptation of the childhood classic Anne of Green Gables on Thanksgiving night. The film will feature Ella Ballentine as Anne and Martin Sheen as her carefree guardian. The film will premiere at 8 p.m. EST, which should get you out of any volatile post-dinner conversations.
The movie is based on the first Anne of Green Gables book by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It tells the story of a rambunctious 11-year-old orphan, Anne Shirley. After she is accidentally sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, siblings who meant to adopt a boy to help them manage their farm, she has to navigate life in a new town with new friends and guardians.
Canada’s Global News describes the film, which was produced in part by Montgomery’s granddaughter, Kate MacDonald Butler, as distinct from previous renditions of the book, saying that it is "a more modern take on the story, with darker, edgier moments that take it out of the past and into the present."
Also on its way to pull on our heartstrings is an eight-episode adaptation of the book that will premiere on Netflix. That series won’t come out 'til 2017, though. So for the time being, the PBS special will be our primary source of childhood nostalgia.
Check out the trailer for the movie, below.