I decided to take a little trip down memory lane and rewatch every American Girl movie's trailer! Here's every one of them, as well as my thoughts from rewatching them now:
Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004) was the first American Girl movie. This commercial was for its premiere airing on the now defunct network The WB.
My Thoughts: This is FOREVER iconic, but this trailer (and all the other trailers) could've done without that annoying announcer.
Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005) also has a similar WB promo video. This was the last AG movie to premiere on the network, as it shuttered nearly eight months after the movie premiered.
My Thoughts: This trailer gave away ALL of book 1. Are the trailer editors kidding me? Also, it was ironic how they kept on saying "the tradition lives on" when the WB didn't even survive another year ;)
I couldn't find a traditional trailer for Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front (2006), but I found a short clip that YouTube used as a 'trailer'. It was premiered on Disney Channel.
My Thoughts: I really like this clip, since it shows how much America changed once they entered World War II without being in-your-face about it. Molly's movie is one of my favorite AG movies!
This is the trailer for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008), which was the first theatrical AG movie- and right now, the only one, but another one's coming in the near future!
My Thoughts: This was pretty high-quality since it was a theatrical movie, but I forgot how different this movie was from the books! To be honest, it would've been better if it was closer to it- I feel like they tried too hard to have a spectacle for the big-screen.
This is the trailer for Chrissa Stands Strong (2009), the first Girl of the Year movie. The movie premiered on HBO exactly five years before I started my YouTube channel!
My Thoughts: Another fail in the trailer editing department. The music choice wasn't the best, and the scenes they picked didn't flow together. At least the actual movie's good.
After a three-year hiatus, American Girl started making movies again with McKenna Shoots For The Stars (2012), which premiered on DVD before airing on NBC.
My Thoughts: I forgot how much of a brat Movie!McKenna was. Not only that, they spoiled the ending. Even if it's the most predictable movie ever, people shouldn't spoil the ending in trailers.
American Girl did the same 'DVD-first-than-NBC' approach with Saige Paints The Sky (2013), which was also the last time they did that. It seems like AG has a theme of sticking to a routine and then swapping it after 2 years!
My Thoughts: The entire movie in 2 minutes. But I'd rather spend 2 minutes watching this than an hour and 30 watching the real thing, because it's totally not like the books. This might be a side effect from writing too much Rebelle, but it seemed less like they were going to save an art program and more like they were overthrowing the government.
American Girl's next movie was Isabelle Dances Into The Spotlight (2014), which premiered on DVD and aired on Disney Channel. It also was the only AG movie to have a McDonald's promotion.
My Thoughts: No wonder it premiered on Disney Channel.
American Girl ditched the TV premiere strategy with Grace Stirs Up Success (2015), which was shown on Disney Channel over a year after it premiered.
My Thoughts: Forever the best Girl of the Year movie. Grace is a legend.
American Girl's most recent full-length movie was Lea To The Rescue (2016), which premiered on DVD and aired on Disney Channel after an airing of Grace's movie (I remember that iconic movie marathon like it was yesterday!)
My Thoughts: I feel like they tried too hard to make the trailer (and the movie) like an action movie, when in reality they could've just stuck with the books and it would've been fine.
Throughout the 2016-17 school year, American Girl made 4 45-50 minute specials with Amazon. The first of these were Melody 1963: Love Has To Win (2016).
My Thoughts: This was a cute trailer (and movie), but I feel like they tried too hard to be inspiring instead of, again, FOLLOWING HER REAL STORY. Where's her interest in singing or her family? But, then again, I forgive them- after all, we all needed some fluff during election season. (I need to rewatch this to hide from all the political ads I've been getting.)
The second Amazon special was Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas (2016), which is notable for having an ACTUAL 9 YEAR OLD playing Maryellen. What a miracle!
My Thoughts: Now THIS is how you stray from the books. You keep the spirit of the character and bring it into a new light. But, that doesn't make the fact that they spoiled the ending in the trailer better.
The next special, Ivy and Julie 1976: A Happy Balance, was notable for being the first and so far only movie to focus on a Best Friends doll- not to mention a doll that was retired when the movie released!
My Thoughts: Pretty awesome, but my only complaint is that they tried too hard to shoehorn Julie's story into the trailer when it's not really a big part of the movie.
The most recent AG movie, Summer Camp: Friends For Life, focused on Z- and a bunch of irrelevant random people.
My Thoughts: This is the OPPOSITE of how you stray from the books- you don't put your character in a not-character like situation with a bunch of irrelevant people. I think they tried too hard to do a movie promoting STEAM when they could've just waited a year and did a Luciana movie! The trailer production was pretty good, but they weren't handed the best material.
And that's it! It was pretty fun to go back and watch all the AG movie trailers again. I think I'm going to watch all the movies again once it's winter break and I can watch a movie a day!
What's your favorite AG movie?