The Friday Review: Little Women (1994)

Starring Winona Ryder and Christian Bale

This movie is a part of my childhood. My aunt owned it, and whenever we’d go to her house, it was our most-requested movie. Thanks to the memories my aunt created, I’ll forever associate Little Women with hot mugs of apple cider jam-packed with melted mini marshmallows. (And snacks, lots of snacks!)

If you aren’t familiar with the story of Little Women, this movie is a great introduction. There’s plenty of movie adaptations and mini-series – some good, and some bad – but this one best captures the heart of the era and the spirit of the story.

The popularity of Little Women throughout generations, though, is the story of family. The girls may have their squabbles, but ultimately, they draw strength and inspiration from each other, building each other up and providing the encouragement to chase their dreams. Little Women resonates so well that you can’t help but feel that you are part of the March family, too. Who hasn’t had to scrape to get by at Christmas at least once? Who hasn’t had to referee siblings’ knock-down, drag-out fights? Everyone has felt the fear of sickness and death visiting close family. And everyone has felt the bittersweet sadness when a family member grows up and moves on. I could go on, but you get the picture: Little Women is a classic through and through.

Pros: From the first scene, you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time to the 1860s. Everything from the clothing to the scenery frames the story in rich historical detail. The characters do a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. And the music… is perfect.

Cons: Spoiler: a well-loved character dies. I don’t think anyone can emotionally recover from that scene.

For the book purists, the movie does leave a lot out. The book is long (it was written in two parts), so a less-than-two-hour movie wouldn’t be able to cram it all in. It’s interesting watching the different movie/TV versions of Little Women and seeing what they pick and choose to include.

Bottom Line: A family classic about family.

Have you seen this version of Little Women? Any other versions I should see?