Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder

First and Formost I feel I have the right to comment on this movie as someone who once when she was 10 almost got the tour guide fired from the Farmer Boy Museum because I knew more about the house then the tour guide did.

I have to say the writers and the directors of this film did a horrible job. A lot of things in this movie really just tick me off, for starters in the beginning when they were searching for the lost children in the storm, they found one of the children with a baby whom was still alive and it made me wonder, why in the world would someone have a baby outside in a snow storm?! it just doesn't make sense to me. They also showed during the snowstorm that the teacher was Almanzo's sister Eliza Jane Wilder which also in fact is wrong because she didn't on appear until after all of the blizzards. *They had a Redheaded Mary when in fact Mary had Blonde hair *The Laura they cast did a horrible job, she's not a great actress to begin with and she also had blonde hair when laura had brown. *The hail storm wasn't even close to looking realistic *They had a brown haired Grace, when really Grace had blonde hair. *In one scene Almanzo mentioned going with his brother Royal to visit there parents in New York, however when Almanzo was 18 his family moved to Spring Valley, Minnesota. At that time Laura was only 8. *The said Laura's teaching Job was 30 miles away when in fact it was only 12

There is so much more but I don't want to run out of space, however I would like to say that truly the little things do count and had they fixed these problems along with the others this movie would have been much more enjoyable.

To say that this is the "True" story of Laura Ingalls Wilder is stretching it a bit. The story is more true to her real life (or at least her version of it) than the TV series ever was, but it doesn't quite get there.

Richard Thomas as Pa however is much better than Michael Landon and more true to the character portrayed in the books. Lindsay Crouse also does a credible job as Ma. The only thing that I would disagree with is the writer's insistance that Charles' wanderlust was a sticking point in their marriage so much so that Caroline couldn't contain her bitterness. While it was an issue in their lives, Ma has never been portrayed as being bitter and she and Pa would have never have been so out of control about it that they would air their grievances in front of the girls.

Oddly enough the girl playing Laura resembles illustrator Garth Williams' depiction of her in the book series. Meredith Monroe is charming, but some times her performance seems a little too quiet.

Unfortunately the modern world begins to intrude here and the innocence of the books seems to have been lost to make the story more interesting. Also there is a great deal that is left out for the simplification of the story. Characters that contribute to forming the Laura that eventually becomes attractive to Almanzo.

In addition, the beautifully innocent courtship that is portrayed in the books seems to be a little muddled here in the movie. While on the one hand, Almanzo has to be asked to kiss Laura after they become engaged on the other he can't wait to get her in bed once they get married.

All in all, to me, it is a more serious endeavor to portray the books. It will be interesting to see what the rumored version for the big screen to be written by Horton Foote will bring

Yes, there was quite a bit of sensational melodrama here that probably wasn't the least bit true-to-life. (I've never actually read the Little House books, though I have read several biographies of Laura, but I don't need their biggest fan to tell me Laura never described her first "experience" with Almanzo probably at all, much less like this.) Merideth Monroe was pretty good as Laura, height and hair color aside, but often shallow, flat and annoyingly modern. But there was more stuff here, and most of it was good. Very nice photography of the Dakota prarie, good performances from Richard Thomas and Lindsay Crouse as Pa and Ma, and a real sense, thanks to the script, visuals and direction, of how hard prarie life was in the 1880s. Both like and unlike the usual Sunday-night TV-movie fare, and not really that bad. But you probably should read a good biography of the real Laura and the books themselves, just in case.

The Little House on the Prairie series is much more entertaining and well-done! Merideth Monroe, who played Laura, was too modern and independent. That guyish hat she wore was annoying! The most obvious and disappointing thing, though, was that the family seemed distant to each other most of the time, more like mismatched cardboard stage props pretending to go together. The actor who played Pa did pretty well in the situation, but he still seemed too gruff, and Ma seemed way too cold! I'd rather see the Little House on the Prairie series any day!

Saying this movie is more true than the TV series is like saying a tiger is a better pet than a lion. Neither of them make good pets, regardless.

I enjoyed the fact that some of the details were not overlooked. Pa (well played by Richard Thomas) had a beard and played the violin. However, I was disappointed in the script overall.

One of my favorite parts of the Little House series is the confrontation between Laura and her future sister-in-law, Eliza Jane Wilder. I also disliked the way Laura was forced into teaching by her father. This is how Laura told the story in any of her books. Another irritating point, Almanzo Wilder had a matched pair of Morgans. Skip and Barnum came later. Laura did not nearly break her engagement because she wanted to travel.

Like many movies these days, The Powers That Be were determined to re-write history and place feminists in roles. I recall nothing in the book that has Caroline Ingalls going off on Charles about wanting to move further west. I recall nothing about Laura Ingalls wanting to consumate her marriage in an abandoned homesite out in the open. This film couldn't even keep Laura in a sun bonnet, placing her instead in a beat up man's hat that looked like something Indiana Jones threw out.

I wouldn't have this big of a problem with the movie if it did not claim to be the "true" story. I had no problem with the flights of fancy the TV show took because it only claimed to be based on the life and works of Laura Ingalls. But if you claim it is the "true" story, then make it the true story. Or don't do it.