Heidi as a book was a childhood favourite and still is a timeless classic. This version with Shirley Temple was also a favourite as a child and is still a delight, whether you've read the book or not. It is true that it is not the truest to the book, with some darker elements that didn't feel shoe-horned and far from traumatising, but that really doesn't matter, you can still love the book and also love the film. There could have been more of the relationship between Heidi and her grandfather(but it is still really touching) and the musical number In Our Little Wooden Shoes while catchy, well-staged and cute didn't add a whole lot to the story, in fact really it was irrelevant. Everything else is fine, and I found it superior to the 1993 Noley Thornton version(which was still good), it doesn't feel over-dramatic even with the added darker parts, the characters are far more truthfully and sympathetically written with much more of a character journey with the grandfather and there's more heart. Heidi is a lovely film to look at, being crisply and lovingly filmed, scenery that makes you wish you were right there and the costumes give a genuine sense of time and place(they look good too, yes even Heidi's poor clothes). The music is whimsical and sparkling, the dialogue has a very good balance of funny and meaningful and the story essentially has every bit the charm, heart-warming sentiment and emotion that the book has, the ending is well and truly sweet and not tacky. The sled chase, any scene with Fraulein Rottenmeier and the monkey are standout scenes. Heidi is briskly directed with enough time for the story to resonate and for the actors to really go for it. Jean Hersholt plays grumpy and heartfelt beautifully, while reclusive there is a real sense that he cares for Heidi and she for him. Mary Nash is the very meaning of beastly- living aptly up to her character's name- and absolutely relishes it, while Arthur Treacher is hilarious as the butler Andrews and Marcia Mae Jones is an affecting Klara. But it's Shirley Temple's film, she's adorable and while she manages to be charming and have wonderful comic timing she is equally good at displaying an emotional side, her acting in the scene in the police station(another memorable scene) is just heart-breaking. While she is the main attraction of the film, the other characters and actors are just as believable to not make Heidi too much of a Shirley Temple show. All in all, delightful and a Shirley Temple classic, one of her best possibly. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Heidi
