Heidi, the dispossessed orphan who wants only to love and be loved, ends up charming her embittered grandfather and falling in love with the beautiful mountain he calls home. Heidi is soon uprooted and sent to Frankfurt where she befriends a young girl confined to a wheelchair. But the big city drains Heidi's spirit, and she must struggle with her memory of life in the Alps. In time, she follows her heart and finds a miracle. Starring Jason Robards and Jane Seymour, HEIDI is a triumph of love, friendship, and forgiveness that will capture everyone's heart.
Originally made as a two-part TV miniseries, this umpteenth adaptation of Johann Spyri's novel is exceptionally easy on the eyes. Jason Robards plays the grumpy grandfather who tends for the orphaned Swiss girl. Jane Seymour chews up the scenery as the governess to a spoiled, rich city girl whom Heidi is forced to visit. The adults think the invalid Klara (Lexi Randall) needs companionship, but wise old grandpa knows she needs good mountain air and independence. Noley Thornton is sweet enough in the title role and Robards's performance provides depth. This Disney production brings little to the story, but is worth watching for its stunning Alpine vistas. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Rating:
Summary: All time classic
Comment: This is an all time classic. I cry every time when I watch this movie. I bought the VHS back then. Now that the DVD is available, I must own it. When it is available on Blue-Ray, I will buy it too....

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A classic!
Comment: This has always been one of my sister's favorite movies. Her old VHS version finally wore out, so I ordered the DVD version for her. Same great movie, good especially for children and families with young children.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Heidi with Jason Robards
Comment: This is the most wonderful version of Heidi. I ordered it as a gift for a child.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A sad adaptation
Comment: If you know and love the original story (and I mean the unabridged book version) you will probably not like this adaptation. Heidi is one of our favorite family read-alouds--in fact, we read it for the third time last summer while living temporarily in the Swiss alps. This movie is radically different in spirit from the book, which is really a redemption story. In this version, the grandfather is cruel and cold and you really don't see him change too much, except for the obligatory "hug Heidi" scene at the end. Klara is a selfish, manipulative girl who winds up shouting at Heidi, calling her a liar, and telling her she hates her and never wants to see her again. (My children all agreed that they wished Peter had sent the wheelchair down to its doom with Klara sitting in it.) The grandmother dies. There is a quasi-happy ending, but let's just say that it doesn't leave you with a lump in your throat or tears in your eyes. The scenery is gorgeous (although entirely shot in Austria rather than Switzerland) and the beauty of it made watching the movie endurable for me, but I'm very glad I tried it out at Blockbuster first since it's definitely not one I care to own.

Once again I'm left scratching my head as to why the writer and producer thought they could improve on an already near-perfect story.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Heidi
Comment: We have read the book to our children, and have all listened to it on audio cassette, and love the original story. We also understand that stories have to be changed somewhat to fit time formats, etc. However, the extent to which this movie has been adapted is beyond reason. The somewhat horrifying first scene is a complete Hollywood fabrication, which does nothing but detract from the overall story. Heidi's Grandfather is no longer the grumpy-on-the-outside, but loving-on-the-inside man of the book. Here he is just a mean old man, with no redeeming qualities at all. Heidi's initial life on the mountains, and her subsequent removal to the city are fairly close to the original story - again, except where the Grandfather is involved. However things really start to fall apart about half way through the second act. Pretty much all of the heart-warming third act of the book, where Heidi returns to the mountains she loves, has been lost to idiotic plot twists and ridiculous melodrama. Time after time, as this movie played, we looked at each other in astonishment, wondering what had happened to the story we know and love.

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