tom_c_newman Sydney Fullmer plays the title role in this enchanting movie about dealing with problems in elementary school. In a time when plots in movies are either lame or non-existent, this movie is a breath of fresh air. I'm not sure a review can be written about THIS movie without SOME spoilers, but I will keep them to an absolute minimum. As with all American Girl movies, the focus is on the problems of 9 or 10 year old young girls. Again, as in all American Girl movies, the answer always involves believing in yourself and facing your fears. While this is simplistic in its solutions to difficult problems, the movie is off the charts in entertainment value. There is a lot of music and color to this movie. Since it centers around art, it captures the essence of artistic expression in a bold way in a number of areas.While I think a child could enjoy this movie alone, it is a magnificent teaching tool. A parent can easily use this movie as a springboard to teach young girls (or boys, although not the target audience) many things about morality, family and friendship. I highly encourage watching it with your child.I enjoyed the movie and the acting was superb. We will see if Sydney makes the jump from juvenile actress to Hollywood starlet. My guess is that she will. The script is well written and the lines don't have the read-from-teleprompter quality that you sometimes get from juvenile acting.I've seen Oscars go to actresses for lesser performances and I've seen movies win Oscars that were positively duds. This is an Oscar worthy movie with Oscar worthy acting. It is literally a film for the whole family.

movie-viking I watched "Saige Paints the Sky" with my 14 year old son. (My little girl is 22...alas, so no young girl perspective!)WE enjoyed the movie (and it is quite suitable for any child to see) but...we also had fun marveling at the little girl geniuses who indeed "painted the sky" enough to raise...$5000 (in one stunning musical show) to SAVE Saige's school's visual arts program!My "theory" is that in the 1940s, Saige's GREAT grandma was one of the OVERachieving TEENS who sang and danced behind MGM superteen stars Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney. Somehow she transmitted SuperGenes to her great GrandDaughter Saige! Garland/Rooney starred in a series of early 1940s "Backyard Musicals". Super talented teens raised money to help someone...by QUICKLY throwing together a Broadway quality singing/dancing program--on a stage in someone's back yard. And surely 10 year old "Super" Saige (who paints horses at an adult skill level...who is able to quickly learn special horseriding techniques in order to lead the festival parade, Saige...who can give a quality press conference AND who can make a successful fundraising speech) is a marvel. Saige's school must be the unofficial FAME style magnet school for the Southwest! One of her 10 year old friends writes the songs for a Musical these 10 year old girls will quickly throw together. A couple other friends can sing great American Idol quality harmony...and only await the call to go on StarSearch. These game 10 year olds will dance great dances in the great musical scene number--with fabulously lit artsy sets worthy of any Broadway show. Unseen elementary school 10 year old geniuses include...the kids who were able to move and arrange about 15' high painted art panels onto the school state, and the other people (again 10 year olds???) who did the marvelous backlighting. Yes, the movie and its precocious kids are too much for some of us (Particularly my 14 year old son who made snide comments throughout the movie). But the movie, tho unbelievable, is quite enjoyable! And it's nice to see stylishly (tho modestly) dressed girls...OVERachieve...

cwg2005a I have never seen an "American Girl" film, and in fact have been quite cynical of the obvious marketing goals. Well, this film belies my prior views, as it is worth every second of watching. The writing is for young girls, of course, but I am an adult male who likes "Batman" films, and the writing, quickly-paced direction, and acting (what an extraordinary bunch of little girl actresses!) all combined to bring tears to all our eyes.I don't give it a "10" for one reason: I dislike the constant warm back- lighting; it is reminiscent of those cheesy "wholesome breakfast" ads where people eat surrounded by wheat fields early in the morning. If you get a chance to see this re-run, please do yourself a favor and don't miss it!

kittygirl6 I have always enjoyed the American Girl movies and the values they teach, but this one has been by far the one I have enjoyed the most. It has an easy to follow plot for children and scenes that will keep them interested in the movie while showing them skills they will need to cope with life's issues. One thing that caught my attention was that Saige's grandmother's home there was a fireplace with a fire, but the movie takes place in a warm climate, so I found it a little strange that a fireplace was lit. Jane Seymour's acting was excellent, as always and she really gave the character a warmth that was vital to touching scenes like when she meets Saige at the Fiesta.All in all, I simply loved this movie and I have to say that this is one of my favorite American Girl movies.