''L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables'' is a Canadian television film based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 novel of the same name. It first aired on YTV on February 15, 2016 and starred

Ella Ballentine Ella Ballentine (born July 18, 2001) is a Canadian television, film, and stage actress who began her acting career as a child actor on the Toronto stage. Ballentine's portrayal of Anne Shirley in the TV movie adaptation of the classic Canadia ...

, Martin Sheen and

Sara Botsford Sara Botsford (born August 4, 1951) is a Canadian television and film actress. She starred in the CTV drama series ''E.N.G.'' (1989-1994) for which received Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. Career Sh ...

. Montgomery's granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler, was one of the film's executive producers. The film's world premiere was held February 2, 2016 at the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

. The 90-minute film replaced the previously announced 13-part series that had been set to film in 2013. It was filmed in

Milton, Ontario Milton (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census population 110,128) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing mun ...

and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

Cast

Anne Shirley Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel '' Anne of Green Gables'' by L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic book series, which revolve around her life and family in 19th and 20th-century Prince Edw ...

* Martin Sheen as Matthew Cuthbert *

as Marilla Cuthbert *Julia Lalonde as Diana Barry *

Kate Hennig Kate Hennig is a Canadian actress and playwright, currently the associate artistic director of the Shaw Festival. Early life and education Hennig was born in Harlow, Ontario near London. Her father was a Lutheran minister. She and her family m ...

as Rachel Lynde *Stefani Kimber as Josie Pye *Drew Haytaoglu as

Gilbert Blythe Gilbert Blythe is a character in Lucy Maud Montgomery's '' Anne of Green Gables'' series of novels. Character description Gilbert is described in the books as being very handsome with brown, curly hair and hazel eyes. He is tall with a lean build ...

*Kyle Gatehouse as Mr. Phillips * Linda Kash as Mrs. Barry *Zoe Fraser as Ruby Gillis

International distribution

The film was released theatrically in Australia and New Zealand on June 9 and July 7, 2016, respectively, by

Umbrella Entertainment Umbrella Entertainment is an Australian film distribution company that began operating in 2001. It is based in Kew, Victoria. Umbrella Entertainment manages the theatrical, physical, and digital releases of Australian films, documentaries and a ...

. The company also released it on DVD on October 10, 2016. In the United Kingdom, the movie aired on

ITV3 ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel by ...

on August 28, 2016 and was later released on DVD on March 20, 2017 by Second Sight Films. US rights were acquired by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, and the film was released on DVD on November 8, with the channel broadcasting it on November 24, 2016 ( Thanksgiving Day). The network claims the television run was seen by more than 3.2 million viewers, with an additional 230,000 watching online. The film has also seen a release in Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy. In Japan, it was released theatrically on May 6, 2017 and later home video, by Happinet and Synergy Entertainment.

Sequels

On September 19, 2016, YTV's parent company,

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

announced that they had approved two sequels; ''Anne of Green Gables: The Good Stars'' for broadcast in 2017, and ''Anne of Green Gables: Fire & Dew'' in 2018. ''The Good Stars'' premiered on February 20, 2017. Bumped up from its original 2018 release window, ''Fire & Dew'' premiered on July 1, 2017. PBS has also picked up both followups.

References

External links

* {{John Kent Harrison Anne of Green Gables films English-language Canadian films 2016 television films 2016 films Canadian drama television films Films directed by John Kent Harrison 2010s Canadian films