The DVD double-disk edition of this movie is a perfect example of just how GREAT DVDs can be! Ostensibly a "big-kids' movie," "Pollyanna" is good enough to appeal to adults as well. I saw it when I was 10 years old, and fell in love with it then. I also had a crush on Haley Mills, as did most of the other boys I knew. Coming back now and finding the movie on DVD to be a treasure for myself--- nostalgia, childhood revisited, etc.--- came as no surprise. However, finding the high quality of bonus materials and extras on the two disks was amazing. Good for Disney Studios... Very well done!

Contrast "Pollyanna" DVD extras with those found on the new "Harry Potter" DVD. "Harry," an excellent movie, nonetheless has DVD extras that are mostly geared towards children. "Harry's" entire second DVD disk, the bonus disk, has high production values (that is, it was obviously expensive to produce), but most of it is so simplistic and slow that one can only imagine it was designed for the 8- to 12-year old crowd. Which is fine (note, however, that the "Interviews" selection on that disk is excellent and informative for adults, too).

"Pollyanna," however, gives us half a dozen bonus disk features that are ALL aimed at adults (yet might also be appealing to older, brighter, more inquisitive children). For example, Disney's film restorer guy gives a behind the scenes explanation and multiple demonstrations of how and why color film degrades, and how it can be brought back to life. "Where are they now?" type things give us modern day glimpses of the surviving stars of the movie. We get to hear them relate their experiences on the set, and experiences vis-a-vis the movie since that time. We see archival TV footage of Walt Disney commenting on the movie, what Haley Mills thought at the time, what she went through, what her dad (famed actor Sir John Mills) said, and what she thinks NOW, etc. The film's writer and director also makes in-depth appearances in various features on the bonus disk, AND, he and Haley Mills provide an interesting audio commentary as the feature itself is viewed (I read that the director, whose name I cannot recall this instant, died at the age of 80 or 81, just a few months ago. His death came just after the DVD bonus materials were prepared). The whole thing was as meaty and appropriate and entertaining as anything I've ever seen on The History Channel, or A&E or Bravo channels.

Finally, the movie itself has been restored and lovingly presented (again, optional director and star commentary is available). It is still a good and solid entertainment! I gave this DVD edition of "Pollyanna" 10 out of 10. Seriously, I hope the other studios and DVD makers will study this disk religiously, and learn how it's done! I'd love to see ALL my DVDs prepared with this degree of detail, care, and mastery.

Considering that Pollyanna was his debut, writer and director David Swift does a very good job here. Pollyanna does have its faults, but it is a solid adaptation of a charming book.

Where Pollyanna isn't so strong is in the length and the pacing. At over 2 hours, the film is a little too long, while the film does move fairly slowly. My final flaw is that twenty minutes or so before the end, the tone changes and this change was somewhat jarring.

Nonetheless, Pollyanna is exquisitely filmed with stunning cinematography, costumes and scenery, and the music is lovely. The script is well written and the story still has its charm. The direction is as solid as the film itself, while the acting is very good. Hayley Mills gives a spirited performance in the title role, while Agnes Moorehead comes very close to stealing the film. Karl Malden, Jane Wyman and Adolphe Menjou also do great turns as the cheerless citizens whose lives are transformed by Pollyanna.

Overall, has its faults but it is a solid and charming film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Despite a curious penchant for licking her lips, young Hayley Mills (in only her second film) is a pleasant and lovely presence on the screen. Playing an optimistic orphan who comes to stay with her rigid aunt, Mills really is Pollyanna--a cheerful sprite not above getting into some mild mischief. She matches wits wonderfully with curmudgeons like Agnes Moorehead (in a sparkling performance) and Jane Wyman (who takes a little too long to come around, but when she does--opening up the front doors of her home--it's very rewarding). I tired soon of Karl Malden's early blustering as the town preacher, but the rest of the supporting players are engaging and colorful. Too bad the ending doesn't tell us if Pollyanna is going to be all right. Granted, it's already a lengthy movie, but I would've liked to have seen her on crutches or something. As for Hayley Mills, she works her big blue eyes and cherubic face to good advantage. The Disney magic is firmly in place, yet with the wrong actress in the leading role, the film might never have been this moving. *** from ****