I've watched Annabelle's Wish on VHS a few times when I was little, and I enjoyed it and still enjoy it to this day! Last year, I watched the same videotape for the first time in many years, and I watched it again a couple days ago. I don't hear a lot of people talk about it, and I'll bet it hasn't been on TV in a long time. What a shame that it doesn't get much recognition! This is one of many Christmas movies that gives me a warm, cozy, and touching feeling! It really touches the heart, body, and soul with stunning visuals, a great musical score, and wonderful art and voice acting!
In this movie, Santa Claus doesn't only give presents to people. He also gives one very special present to animals every year: the power to talk, but they can talk only on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. That's a great gift, but it leads to a plot hole: the animals are not allowed to talk to people other than Santa, only each other. If they can't talk to humans, then what's the point of them talking? I'm sure they can still understand each other just fine through their normal animal sounds. That's why I give this a 9/10. To be fair, Annabelle tells Billy "Bless you" after he sneezes, with the former not knowing the rule, but all the farm animals talk when he's around and not anyone else; after all there's no way to magically erase Billy's memory, or is there?
In a flashback, it is shown that a few years before, Billy's parents got killed when his grandpa Charlie's barn caught on fire, which caused Billy to get his vocal cords destroyed and lose his ability to speak, and the doctor who treated Billy said that he might never talk again. I must say that this is indeed a heartbreaking story! Grandpa Charlie has a music box that belonged to his daughter/Billy's mother, and it reminds him of her and brings back sad memories for him. Later in the film, the sheriff tells Billy and Grandpa's mean neighbor, Gus Holder, that the latter's former Christmas spirit is likely still deep down inside him and everyone knows (or should know) what it's like to lose a loved one. Judging by that bit of dialogue, I'm guessing that Gus's wife died, which led to his turn to evil, hatred of Christmas, and a hardship of being a single father to his sons Bucky and Buster. I actually feel sorry for him. It seems like he has a lot of issues with raising 2 boys on his own, but the problem is that the aforementioned scene is rushed and doesn't give the audience time to feel for Gus and understand his struggles, but at least they tried, and he is voiced by the late Jim Varney, who also voiced Slinky Dog in the first 2 Toy Story movies.
This really is a tale of friendship and unselfishness, as mentioned on the back cover of the videotape. Billy receives Annabelle as a Christmas gift from Santa, and the two of them bond and become good friends throughout the movie. The former gets bullied by the other kids at first, mostly for being nonverbal, but it changes when he meets Annabelle, and the two of them strengthen their bond with each other and their friend Emily. What a gift we have in pets, and anyone else we love! The idea of a disabled kid who is bullied by most kids, makes one friend who accepts him for who he is, and receiving a new pet to comfort him is heartwarming, with me being disabled myself (I have autism, for those of you who don't know, though I can actually talk. I'm aware that some people on the spectrum can't talk.)! I got to admit that Annabelle looks cute with the reindeer antlers Billy made, but she's cute without them too. The scene where she pulls Billy and Emily on the sled is fun to watch. The three of them accidentally destroy Gus's fence, but Grandpa has to sell his daughter's music box to make money to pay for the damage. At first, Annabelle wants to fly and pull Santa's sleigh, but she gives up that wish and wishes for Billy to talk again instead. In order to make her wish come true, she has to give up her own voice, and she does. That is an unselfish thing to do. When Billy talks for the first time in years, his grandpa is touched, and so am I! To put more bread on the table, the Holders redeem themselves towards the end and give Grandpa the music box back, and when the main characters are all grown up, Annabelle finally gets to pull Santa's sleigh, physically turn into a reindeer, and talk again!
I highly recommend Annabelle's Wish.
In this movie, Santa Claus doesn't only give presents to people. He also gives one very special present to animals every year: the power to talk, but they can talk only on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. That's a great gift, but it leads to a plot hole: the animals are not allowed to talk to people other than Santa, only each other. If they can't talk to humans, then what's the point of them talking? I'm sure they can still understand each other just fine through their normal animal sounds. That's why I give this a 9/10. To be fair, Annabelle tells Billy "Bless you" after he sneezes, with the former not knowing the rule, but all the farm animals talk when he's around and not anyone else; after all there's no way to magically erase Billy's memory, or is there?
In a flashback, it is shown that a few years before, Billy's parents got killed when his grandpa Charlie's barn caught on fire, which caused Billy to get his vocal cords destroyed and lose his ability to speak, and the doctor who treated Billy said that he might never talk again. I must say that this is indeed a heartbreaking story! Grandpa Charlie has a music box that belonged to his daughter/Billy's mother, and it reminds him of her and brings back sad memories for him. Later in the film, the sheriff tells Billy and Grandpa's mean neighbor, Gus Holder, that the latter's former Christmas spirit is likely still deep down inside him and everyone knows (or should know) what it's like to lose a loved one. Judging by that bit of dialogue, I'm guessing that Gus's wife died, which led to his turn to evil, hatred of Christmas, and a hardship of being a single father to his sons Bucky and Buster. I actually feel sorry for him. It seems like he has a lot of issues with raising 2 boys on his own, but the problem is that the aforementioned scene is rushed and doesn't give the audience time to feel for Gus and understand his struggles, but at least they tried, and he is voiced by the late Jim Varney, who also voiced Slinky Dog in the first 2 Toy Story movies.
This really is a tale of friendship and unselfishness, as mentioned on the back cover of the videotape. Billy receives Annabelle as a Christmas gift from Santa, and the two of them bond and become good friends throughout the movie. The former gets bullied by the other kids at first, mostly for being nonverbal, but it changes when he meets Annabelle, and the two of them strengthen their bond with each other and their friend Emily. What a gift we have in pets, and anyone else we love! The idea of a disabled kid who is bullied by most kids, makes one friend who accepts him for who he is, and receiving a new pet to comfort him is heartwarming, with me being disabled myself (I have autism, for those of you who don't know, though I can actually talk. I'm aware that some people on the spectrum can't talk.)! I got to admit that Annabelle looks cute with the reindeer antlers Billy made, but she's cute without them too. The scene where she pulls Billy and Emily on the sled is fun to watch. The three of them accidentally destroy Gus's fence, but Grandpa has to sell his daughter's music box to make money to pay for the damage. At first, Annabelle wants to fly and pull Santa's sleigh, but she gives up that wish and wishes for Billy to talk again instead. In order to make her wish come true, she has to give up her own voice, and she does. That is an unselfish thing to do. When Billy talks for the first time in years, his grandpa is touched, and so am I! To put more bread on the table, the Holders redeem themselves towards the end and give Grandpa the music box back, and when the main characters are all grown up, Annabelle finally gets to pull Santa's sleigh, physically turn into a reindeer, and talk again!
I highly recommend Annabelle's Wish.