Disney's Little House on the Prairie

We love Little House on the Prairie. LOVE it. We read through the series at least every other year. My boys thoroughly enjoy it just as much as my daughter and I.

If a book we are watching is made into a movie (or series) we usually watch it. We decided to watch the Disney version after this round of reading the book together. I expected many inconsistencies. After all, it is Disney. I was prepared for things like the children being materialistic/modern, and Jack not being a brindle bulldog.

However, so many things are opposite of the book.

Laura has blond hair (yet they still have the scene where Mary and Laura fight over which is prettiest?)

There is no baby Carrie.

The ice actually cracks when the Ingall's cross the Mississippi.

They came across the foolish family that wouldn't leave their wagon in the beginning of the movie instead of the end.

Mrs. Scott was rude and a nasty woman (watching her eat was so disgusting).


Ma was chummy with the girls, and the girls were disrespectful (but I expected some of this)

The mountain lion attacked Pa and the Indian saved him. (in the book the mountain lion did not attack)

Pa was afraid of the Indians and banded together with Mr. Scott and Mr. Edwards to form a stockade. Something Pa was very against doing in the book (he was adamant about not showing fear).

Most of these points were minor and didn't change the storyline. But when you add them all up you might as well change the name of the movie to Big House in the City. 

I do want to say that the movie wasn't all bad. Ma and Pa were young (and Ma was very pretty). The scenery was very pretty. The actor for Mr. Edwards was a good fit and true to the book. It did a good job of portraying the dangers and trials of frontier life. If this were just a Disney movie by any other name I would have very little complaint about the overall plot.