In the 1910s, a young enthusiastic girl named Pollyanna gets off the train. She has just been orphaned and is going to go live with her aunt, Polly.

She is picked up by Nancy, who works for Polly. Once at the mansion Polly lives in, Pollyanna meets her along with her other staff.

Everyone is very strict with Pollyanna, forcing a high level of etiquette from her. That even includes not quoting anything her latest father ever said.

Yet Pollyanna remains positive, polite, and cheerful. No matter the situation, she remains optimistic.

The next day, Pollyanna meets this boy, Jimmy, who is presumably a little younger than her, in a tree. She emphasizes the risks of being in a tree, such as falling down and getting hurt.

But Jimmy doesn’t care. He is also an orphan, although Pollyanna doesn’t reveal that she’s orphaned, too.

Pollyanna also meets others in the town, such as Nancy’s boyfriend, George, who seems nice. She also attends the local church with her aunt.

At some point, Polly holds a political meeting in a particular room of her home. But she does not want Pollyanna there. Still desperate to attend, though, Pollyanna hides behind some plants and watches the meeting secretly.

Another day, Pollyanna runs into Jimmy again. He leads her to the property of the unkind man, Mr. Pendergast, who hates kids.

The children sneak into his yard. Jimmy also claims that any child he catches trespassing is locked in his basement and enslaved.

Jimmy tries to climb Mr. Pendergast’s tree, but decides to help Pollyanna up first. Yet before they know it, Mr. Pendergast catches them. Pollyanna successfully runs away, but Jimmy is physically scolded.

Pollyanna comes back to save Jimmy and yells at Mr. Pendergast. Shortly after, though, she discovers that he has artifacts that can produce rainbow prisms.

Sometime later, Pollyanna discovers that there is going to be a carnival to raise money to rebuild the town’s orphanage. However, Polly is highly against it because it would be disgraceful to her deceased father. She won’t even let Pollyanna attend, even though she’s supposed to sing “America the Beautiful” there.

Yet that evening, after Polly tells Jimmy that  Pollyanna isn’t allowed to attend the carnival, Jimmy sneaks her out, anyway. He climbs up the tree that leads to her bedroom window and takes her out without her aunt knowing.

Pollyanna has a fun time. But can she return home without getting caught?

Despite the long runtime of 2 and a quarter hours, this movie generally kept me engaged throughout it. However, there were a few exceptions.

A big one was any scene with the church minister, Reverand Ford. His preaching to God became too long, boring (no offense to any Christians reading this), and even irrelevant to the story. I fast-forwarded those moments.

I did deeply admire Pollyanna’s enthusiasm and positivity, especially when her aunt and staff weren’t too kind or easy with her. I also loved her glad game, which her dad had taught her. It went this way: in rough times, you think of anything that makes you glad. And then you will move past the negative moments.

That same glad game was also used in Family Guy. The creators must have learned it from Pollyanna.

Although I loved Pollyanna’s cheerful personality, I didn’t like how her aunt and the house staff greeted and treated her right after she arrived. Pollyanna greeted her aunt with a curtsy like an elite high class stranger whom her family had never known before.

Yes, stories need conflict. And this is set in the early 1900s, when standards were much stricter compared to today. But it still displeased me.

And Pollyanna wasn’t bubbly 100 percent of the time. She did get angry or impatient at times. That makes her more credible.

Another fact that might surprise you is how even though Pollyanna is supposed to be 11, the actress who played her, Hayley Mills, was 13 when this film was shot. But I do think she looked young and short for her age – moreso with her youthful face and high voice.

And Hayley Mills is British. Even though the character Pollyanna is American, a behind-the-scenes fact for the movie is that her dad was British. But Hayley Mills did mix some American pronunciations into her accent while portraying her character.

And there were lots of twists and turns. See the film to find out what they are.

Overall, I found Pollyanna to be decent. If those moments with Reverand Ford were shorter and more relevant to the plot, then I would have enjoyed the movie more.

But I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.