I have to say from beginning to end, this movie was very terrible.First of all, it failed to recapture the chemistry of the first two movies by these actors in their roles for Green Gables.Second, they lost touch with the original time period and sequence for the picture. The original theme was obviously set in the 1890s and then they jump to 1915. If they wanted to include a war, it should have been the Spanish-American War.Third, why was it even called Green Gables when the entire time at Green Gables for the movie is less than 5 minutes (ok maybe less than 6 minutes)? Fourth, the actors obviously had been longer than 5 years since the last movie. Unfortunately, this is something that age and time never seem to hide.Fifth, there were many elements to the movie that left loopholes. For example, how did they find the child after the war was over? Wasn't Anne already a published writer? She would have had some clout by then. How about the real purpose of the crooked publisher/editor and his brought to justice after murdering Jack Garrison? Why would Anne have ANY feelings for Garrison after he stole her work? What about the woman editor? And WHY for heaven's sakes, was it imperative to take the child back into France instead of safely into Canada away? The writers for this screen play skipped over the major elements and details in the story that was not done in the previous movies - perhaps because they were more authentic to the books? At any rate, I found this film, after much anticipation, a drag and boring and unbelievable.

The "Anne" series has been my favorite book series since I was about 12 years old. My younger sister had the series but wasn't interested, so I stole it and read all eight books in a week. The same books, now haggard and dog-eared, sit on my bookshelf and get read at least once a year. The characters are lovable and realistic, the plot always well-defined, with bouts of humor and seriousness. The first two Kevin Sullivan "Anne" films captured the books quite well, especially the characters of Anne and Gilbert. After watching the movies, every time I read the first three books, I see Megan Follows as Anne and Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert.But "Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story" leaves a bitter taste my mouth. Basically, Kevin Sullivan abused and maimed one of the most beloved book series of all time. The movie moves the timeline of the entire series forward almost 40 years, making Avonlea and its inhabitants in the previous movies seem backwards and primitive. Which makes sense, since those movies are set in the 1870's, while this is set in in the 1910's. Green Gables is in ruins due to it being rented after Marilla's death, Anne and Gilbert are still unmarried though Gilbert is finished with medical school, Fred and Diana share a rather passionless marriage, Diana has turned into a society wife obsessed with wealth, and both Fred and Gilbert seem in a rush to escape PEI for the warfront.As any book fan can tell you, pretty much everything about this movie is wrong, right down to the characterization. Diana and Fred were in love in the books, which never comes across in the movies. Anne and Gilbert were eager to be married; the three-year engagement and separation was hard on both of them and they married almost as soon as Gil walked out of Redmond. Neither could bear moving away from PEI; Anne could barely stand to move 60 miles away from Avonlea. Though both characters mellow with age, they are as they always have been: Anne is still opinionated, dreamy, and fiery. Gilbert is stable, steady, with both a realistic and humorous outlook on life. They complement each other, which is the beauty of their relationship. By the time World War I rolled around in canon, Anne and Gilbert are proud parents of six children, ranging in age from 14 to 21. They were quite against their three sons joining the war, and are heart-broken when all of them end up joining, anyway. In the movies, both Anne and Gilbert come across as flat shadows of their former selves. Probably the most glaring error is in Gilbert: he never would have joined the war and left Anne behind. He waited 10 years for her, for crying out loud! There really was a wasted opportunity here. "Anne's House of Dreams" was a big book of character development for our favorite couple. Anne and Gilbert must cope with the gritty realism of adulthood outside their haven of Avonlea. Gilbert is a poor country doctor, he and Anne must now navigate their first five or so years of marriage, being in a completely new town and new house, how to make new friends, and establish their new lives. They experience the giddy rush of being newlyweds, the quirkiness of their new neighbors (who are "kindred spirits"), and the loss of their first child in childbirth, which sobers Anne and terrifies Gilbert, for as a doctor he was not able to save his daughter and almost lost his wife. They suffer the death of a good friend juxtaposed against the joyous birth of their second child. By the end, they move to a larger home and are much more mature than the Anne and Gilbert we knew at the beginning.That said, if it were not connected to the "Anne" series, I think it would be a fairly good movie on its own. Using different actors with different names and backstories, this could be turned into quite the romantic flick. But since it is connected to a much loved book series and completely deviated from canon in every way possible, it brings it down a lot.

I'm not going to say that this was the best movie of all time or that it went on perfectly with the story.Much like Harry Potter as some defined I don't imagine this went with the books all that well. But personally, and perhaps I'm alone in this, I found it to be a great step for the character.Anne was always a powerful capable individual and she had so much unrestrained personality that needed to be explored further. Some of the things that occurred in the third installment (the nun thing) were a bit out of whack, I'll admit. But the concept of what she was doing really defined what her character was in my opinion.She set out to find the love that she pushed aside for the great majority of both the prior movies. And she ran farther and worked harder than anything in order to get that back. It really defines how she started and where she came from and persevered through it all. And became this powerful woman and kept herself so capably.No, it may not go along with the original story. And that is always sad.But in that case define it as "Horrible in relation to the book".Calling it the worst movie ever, or the most horrible film, is both a lie and a disrespectful statement. Those who cannot make that distinction need to seriously reconsider their standing on the final installment. It's a wonderful movie. Just not in the original series of events. Minus the third one the Harry Potter series has been fantastic! Unless you were looking from the standpoint of the book.So, yes, the continuing story of Anne of Green Gables is a great film with beautiful acting and a compelling story. Megan Follows once more delivers an outstanding performance as Anne Shirley Blythe. And the whole series is in total, a classic and worth owning.

OK so it;s not a masterpiece but if you watch it on its own, you might like it. All the harsh comments on the sites are starting to annoy me. I am a fan of the books myself and I realise that this was far from the books but there is no need to be so blatantly hard on the film makers. I guess perhaps the introduction if Jack Garrison was a bit unnecessary but you know..the books are so perfect that perhaps it is better that the film was made this way. I think all the comments I have read try t force too much the faithfulness to the books. This really isn't necessary. As for changes..war changes people and people age. Jonathan Crombie was actually surprising, I kinda liked him that way as a fully grown handsome man no longer the kid he played in previous movies. I have a soft spot for Megan so I will not comment on her, except that he looked wonderful. Let me say again: it;s only natural that the characters have grown and as grownups, no longer the kids, they are just fine. But. In Road to Avonlea the TV series there is one episode in which Gul returns to Avonlea after Marilla;s death. He is already married to Anne at that point and I do not understand why the film was not faithful to that..a blunder on the part of the creators, no doubt, and a big one for anyone that followed the series. I kinda liked Jack Garrison. I mean he wasn;t necessary but as far as I remember the books Anne at the university did have other men interested in her..so in this aspect I think there was some faithfulness. As for the war, well time progressed, it was the setting that might have seemed natural for the film makers. Yes, it wan;t perfect but forget about the books when you watch the film, you might find it pleasant on its own. Its a very loose adaptation.