Seriously she looks nothing like Anne of the book. Anne is described as painfully thin and I felt so sorry for her in a way I never felt for Megan's performance. I just can't see her as Anne..
shareThere's one problem I'm having with this complaint. Yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. There's a difference between having a problem with an actor's looks for a part and having a problem with their ability to act the part. I can understand thinking that an actress doesn't look quite like the character's description in the book, and having a problem with that. Vivien Leigh from "Gone with the Wind" looks nothing like Scarlett O'Hara. But I don't think that affected her ability to play the part, nor do I think Megan Follows' differences from the book Anne Shirley affected her ability to act the part. Both of these women were perfect for their parts, not because of their exact resemblence to their characters, but more because they got the heart and soul of the characters they played.
Looks aside, can't you hear Megan Follows' voice in the book whenever Anne speaks?
I read "Anne of Green Gables" long before I ever saw the movie. I never had a problem with Megan's portrayal of Anne, looks included.
"When you lie down with dogs, you come up with fleas."
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I think Vivien Leigh looked like Scarlett O'Hara okay. Black hair, green eyes, magnolia-white skin, "arresting" features... where's the problem? Okay, so Scarlett O'Hara isn't supposed to be beautiful and Vivien Leigh was stunningly beautiful, but I still thought she looked the part very well.
As for Megan Follows, yeah, she could've been a little thinner, and I think her features weren't quite delicate enough, but I still thought she looked the part just fine, and she did an excellent job acting-wise.
Still, I wouldn't say that I can't see anyone else as Anne. I liked Megan's portrayal, but I think if they picked someone who was also good I'd be fine.
Another Gilbert, on the other hand, I just can't see. Jonathan Crombie IS Gilbert Blythe. They'd have to find someone really incredible for me to change my mind.
I saw the old black and white Anne of Green Gables & the BBC Anne of Avonlea before I saw Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows & I thought Megan was wonderful as Anne.
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I agree, Indiansummernights. I think some posters are being too harsh to the OP. While I adore Megan Follows and feel that she is the perfect Anne, I know that not everyone is going to agree with me. I think Megan gives viewers a sense of familiarity. She is the Anne that most people know about, and she's the Anne that many picture in their heads as they read the books. I actually saw the Dawn O'Day version first, but the Sullivan Entertainment version had a more lasting effect on me. But I know of several people who thought that Anne of Green Gables never should have been remade. Each fan has his/her own perspective, and none is better or worst than the last.
shareI read all of the books before seeing the movies so I see all the differences between how the actors look and how the characters are supposed to look.
I love Megan Follows and think she did a fabulous job. I can't imagine anyone else doing as well, BUT she doesn't look completely like the Anne I see in my head when I read the books. Anne is supposed to be taller and willowy. But I do think that Megan Follows is as close as I can imagine anyone, and she acted it beautifully.
Marilla is also supposed to be thin and angular but Colleen Dewhurst is so perfect I don't mind.
Schuyler Grant on the other hand - what were they thinking? That's the one I can't get past. There are just too many differences. Diana is supposed to be shorter than Anne, plump and dimpled. Why couldn't they have found someone who looked a little more similar?
I don't think Megan Follows was a good Anne either. It's unpopular to say it but I thought she was miscast. She's a tiny little thing (I have stood right beside her in person) and she has brown/hazel eyes. Anne was tall and slim (as you say, skinny at first, but not after she had been at Green Gables for a while) and had gray-green eyes. Megan was too modern and earthy-Anne was much sweeter. She wasn't mouthy or rude, she was passionate and got carried away. They have not captured her on film yet.
shareI have to say, I thought Megan was a perfect Anne---loved her in the first two Anne films. But it's true enough that she doesn't particularly look like the Anne of the books.
In fact, Montgomery, when writing the first book, had the American model Evelyn Nesbit in mind---that is how she pictured Anne's appearance. A quick internet search will bring up hundreds of photos of Nesbit---you can see she looks nothing like Megan Follows!
It's not really her looks they haven't captured. It's her personality. I spent my whole childhood and much of my adulthood with the books. The movies are really disappointing to me.
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Really? I don't think Follows and Nesbit look AT ALL alike, myself!
I first heard of the Evelyn Nesbit/Anne Shirley connection a good many years ago---perhaps in some bio of LMM, or maybe in "The Annotated Anne of Green Gables." But it's been widely reported; see here for instance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Shirley
(For the record, "The Annotated Anne" is an EXCELLENT resource for those who wish to explore the book in much greater depth. Used copies are currently selling on Amazon for about $20, and if you're a fan of the series it's money very well spent.)
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I don't know if anyone would have done a better job, but let me tell you that I'm very pleased with the casting. Megan Follows was a perfect Anne Shirley to me. She stole my heart during the first second, and she'll always be Anne to me. No matter who would take on this role in the future.
http://www.youtube.com/ChristinaRicciLover
I don't like her Anne either. As far as I can see, she has no such beautiful nose that makes Anne proud of in the book.
shareI'm a fond reader of the book myself and I couldn't possibly ask for a better Anne Shirley. Of course her appearance is not every inch exactly as I imagine her to be but her hair, her eyes, the sharp chin and her innocent looking yet brilliant eyes are just perfect. And her performance is superb: the thrill of happiness, her dreamy eyes when she was deep in reverie, her sobbing in sorrow or misery; they all seem every bit as I pictured. And her solemn yet sweet and expressive voice was exactly how I always thought Ann's voice would be. After reading the book I never thought I could get an equal feeling of enchantment from a movie adaptation but I really did. And Megan did wonders.
If you can find any other movies or adaptation that depicts Anne better than this, please kindly let me know
I think Megan Follows was miscast, not just for how she looks but for her level of acting experience and how she played the role. Right from the beginning she comes across as too strong and confident and polished to be an orphan. Everything about her screams that she is a precocious child actress, not a vulnerable young girl who just wants to belong somewhere. It's not convincing at all when she begs Marilla to keep her, or struggles with the decision to apologize to Rachel or not.
I have never read the books, so I didn't have any idea in mind before I saw the series of what Anne was supposed to look like, or be like. When I first saw the series as a kid I just took for granted that she was Anne through and through. But watching it again now as an adult I feel like she is all wrong for the part.
I loved Megan Follows as Anne, but I'm sure that some other actresses could play her. I disliked the 1930s version of this story, but I like the fact that they had cast actress Anne Shirley to play character Anne Shirley in that thirties version.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen