Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front

Molly homefront — The cover of the DVD case.

Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front is an American Girl Movie based on the character Molly McIntire and her stories. This film is rated G by MPAA.

Cast[]

Maya Ritter as Molly McIntire
Molly Ringwald as Helen McIntire
David Aaron Baker as James McIntire
Andrew Chalmers as Ricky McIntire
Genevieve Farrell as Jill McIntire
Samantha Somer Wilson as Linda Rinaldi
Hannah Fleming as Susan Shapiro
Tory Green as Emily Bennett
Sarah Orenstein as Gladys Gilford
Geri Hall as Mrs. Taft
Josette Halpert as Alison Hargate
Cameron Lewis as Dwight Koloski
Sarah Manninen as Charlotte Campbell
Landon Norris as Tim Rutledge
Eliza Jane Scott as Miss LaVonda
Jason Spevack as Jimmy
Alex Steele as Jane
Amy Stewart as Eleanor Culver
Bill Timoney as Newsreel narrator (voice)

Crew[]

Plot[]

Book Plots Included in the Film[]

Molly's film blends events across her Central Series, with large parts from Changes for Molly and Molly Takes Flight, with the integration of Emily and her character development from Happy Birthday, Molly!. However, most of the book events are only lightly touched on, with more unique plots being pushed to the forefront.

Book and Movie Differences[]

The timeline of the book series is set through the year 1944; the movie is set one year earlier, in 1943.
In the books, Molly's father James has been overseas since early 1943 due to the war and is not physically seen until he returns home in Changes for Molly. In the movie, the family is together until Molly's father is drafted into service overseas and the McIntires see him off.
Emily is given a much larger role in the movie, whereas in the books she only stays with the McIntires a short while and is only a character in Happy Birthday, Molly!.
In the movie, Mrs. McIntire takes in Emily when Mrs. Shaw's son returns home due to war injuries and Emily was staying there previously; Molly gets no prior knowledge about Emily's arrival.
In the books it is only offhandedly mentioned that Miss Campbell's fiancé died in the war. In the movie, Miss Campbell gets the information conveyed to her during the spelling bee, interrupting the proceedings and leaving Emily and Molly as dual winners.
In the books, Miss LaVonda has her own dance studio that Molly and her friends take the bus to attend. In the movie, it is a class held at Molly's school. The dance classes also take up a large part of the plot.
In the books, the "Hurray for the USA!" pageant is its own show. In the movie, it becomes part of the finale act for the Christmas Extravaganza at Molly's school.
In the books, Molly falls ill on the day of the "Hurray for the USA!" performance (which is assumed to be in part due to her wet hair from trying to wear pin curls) and is unable to perform, so the role is performed by Allison. In the movie, she does not fall sick and performs as Miss Victory without any issues.
Emily has returned to stay with her Aunt Primrose by the time of the "Hurray for the USA!" performance in the books and is not included; in the movie, she is a participant in the performance.

Characterization Differences[]

Brad McIntire is not cast or mentioned; this leaves Molly as the youngest child in the family.
In the books, both of Emily's parents are alive; she misses them greatly, and she states her father is a doctor in Brave Emily. Additionally, her pet dog was killed during the bombing of London. In the movie, Emily's mother was the one killed in the bombing and her father is a bus driver.
Linda and Susan are not as prominent in the movie; more focus is given to Emily instead and they are minor characters.
Alison Hargate is portrayed with dark brown hair. She is snobbier and more antagonistic in the movie while in the books, Molly says she is a friend, even if it is clear she is not a close one and Molly is envious of her. She is also openly Molly's main competition for Miss Victory.

Errors and Inaccuracies[]

"Senator Claghorn", a show that Molly listens to on the radio, did not debut until October 1945. The movie is set in 1943.

Television and DVD Release[]

The movie premiered on November 26, 2006, on the Disney Channel. The DVD was released on November 28, 2006 by Warner Home Video and a deluxe DVD edition of the movie was released on May 2, 2011, to celebrate American Girl's 25th anniversary. Retail cost was $14.95. American Girl retired the DVD in 2019.

The original DVD edition contained the following extras:

Behind-the-Scenes Featurette: Uncle Sam Wants You...to Tap Dance
English, French, and Spanish subtitles

The deluxe DVD edition retained the behind-the-scenes featurette from the original DVD and added the following extras:

Sisters of the Skies
All About Molly, An American Girl
English subtitles

Items Associated With the Movie[]

These items and outfits are displayed in the movie; many are modified from the collections' looks or only show select components.

Books[]

Lights! Camera! Molly!

DVD Covers[]

Trivia[]

The movie was the first American Girl Movie to receive a comedy genre; however, it is not much of one and is a youth drama.
The first song Molly listens to at the "Dance for Victory Contest" is Sing Sing Sing.

Links[]

IMDb page
Official site @ AmericanGirl.com (archival); last capture via Wayback machine on of page on March 17, 2014 and accessed 9/12/2020.

References[]

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