Heidi

Born in Germany, grew up in North America, lived all over Europe, and am a Swiss (Naturalized) and did not know the story of Heidi. My wife said, "don't you remember the cartoons?" Answer: NO.

It is an excellent movie and being German (born near Frankfurt) / Swiss dual citizen, I actually truly appreciated its reality and adherence to the people and the land. While others may say, "oh where is this", this movie paid attention to how people were of that time. I was surprised by that.

The story itself might not be accurate the the cartoons, but as my wife says, "you know it is a story right?" Well, and here is the thing the movie is very true to the original story, and not the cartoons.

Swiss appreciated the movie because they did not use a German dialect throughout the entire movie. They used a true Swiss dialect when appropriate.

So does the movie skip? Sure, it does, but it only has 2 hours to cover a complicated story. They decided to focus on the main parts of the original story and did a very good job.

When I rented this movie, I thought it could never be as wonderful as the 1930's version starring Shirley Temple. This was an amazing movie and pulls at your heart strings. Worth seeing for the beautiful visuals indoors and out. Heidi reminds us that the simple things in life are what make life worthwhile. Thank & Grow Rich Pam Grout

I never read the book but the movie was pretty good. I thought it was well acted, shot and directed. I thought the main actor was great in the title role. She really played up the cleverness yet innocence of a kid free to do whatever he/she wants even in the face of adversity such as being ditched in an unfamiliar place. While it's lighthearted when it gets dark it does it so well to where it's not overkill. Heidi sleepwalking due to being homesick was sad and well acted. I won't give away the ending but I will say it was very heartfelt and wraps up the film pretty well. With that being said i'd say check it out especially if you're learning german.

Such a beautiful pure love movie. When I saw Heidi's smile, it shined my heart... best movie to relax, leave all your burdens away

Yes, it does have German or English options as well as English subtitles. The best Heidi I've seen; did it cover all Heidi story aspects - probably not, but what it did cover was more than sufficient to keep the viewer engaged. Acting - superb; filming, editing - superb; authenticity and beauty of scenes - superb. Yes, it's hard to go wrong with this story and you already know how it turns out, but no matter it still felt suspenseful and warm and kindly and adventuresome.