What A LITTLE WOMEN’S CHRISTMAS’ Faith Values Mean for Entertainment Industry

Published: November 25, 2024 Photo from Great American Family's Instagram What A LITTLE WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS' Faith Values Mean for Entertainment Industry

By Movieguide® Contributor

Great American Family's new Christmas flick, A LITTLE WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS, retells a heartwarming story based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868 book, "Little Women," and while the network took some creative liberties, the heart of the story stays the same.

The movie follows "the lives and loves of the March sisters in a small Tennessee town at Christmas. Jo March is played by Jillian Murray, Trevor Donovan is Friedrich 'Fritz' Baehr, Meg March is played by Jen Lilley, Laura Osnes plays Beth March, Julia Reilly is Amy March, and John is played by Jesse Hutch. The one-and-only Gladys Knight performs 'Joy.'"

Osnes, Reilly and Hutch joined Annie F. Downs' podcast to share a little more about the film.

"I think there's some creative license obviously that's taken," Onses said when asked about the character of Beth (in the book, Beth dies part way through). "I think the entity is so beloved and well-known that they wanted to be able to embrace the four sisters, the family and faith values of this family."

"I guess Dion, our script writer…I think because it's a Christmas movie, they were like, 'Well she's just around again even though it's a contemporary retelling of the beloved [story].' Essentially in my mind, it kind of takes place like five to 10 years after where the book leaves us, so we just pretend that Beth never died because it's Christmas and we love this family," she said.

Hutch explained how audiences crave wholesome movies filled with hope, and A LITTLE WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS does just that.

"Movies that have faith in them are starting to do very well, and…I think that people ultimately want hope. I think in this genre and space too, I think everybody wants hope, everybody wants to find a way through whatever they're living whatever they're dealing with," he said.

Hutch isn't wrong.

Movieguide®'s 2023 Report to the Entertainment Industry found that, of the Top 25 movies at the domestic box office, those with very strong Christian, redemptive worldviews averaged $178,156,715, 100% better than those with very strong Romantic, occult, pagan, humanist or false religious worldviews

READ MORE: HOW BIBLICAL, MORALLY UPLIFTING CONTENT SUCCEEDS IN HOLLYWOOD

"It's got to start somewhere, but when someone starts writing, they'll put it in, and then all of a sudden you get a director that cares about faith," Hutch continued. "…Actors [then] come to the table that have faith. They start putting something in. So eventually, we're all kind of moving down this river that turns out a lot of us really appreciate faith and God, and we love trying to bring hope to the table."

Movieguide® called A LITTLE WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS "joy for fans of the classic novel."

It's faithful to the characters, their passions and personalities, while updating the story. It also sprinkles allusions to Alcott's work are also sprinkled throughout the story, rewarding fans who keep their eyes peeled. The movie also remains faithful to the book's Christian content. It also teaches strong messages about the importance of family and contains strong biblical allusions. One character spins a web of lies, but A LITTLE WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS is otherwise free of questionable content.

READ MORE: A LITTLE WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS REVIEW

The movie premiered on Nov. 23.