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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Hbo Home Video
Salesrank: 1147
Released: January 6, 2009 |
| Our Price: $6.21 |
| Used Price: $1.95 |
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MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Meet Chrissa Maxwell. She and her family have just moved, and she has to start at a new school mid-year. Will she fit in? Can she find new friends? On her very first day, Chrissa is seated with three girls who greet her with teasing and tricks. The Mean Bees really know how to stingthey bully her in class, on the bus, online, and even at swim club. Chrissa cant seem to make any new friends; not even with the girl who seems to need a friend the most. When the biggest bully becomes Chrissa's swimming rival, the taunting finally goes too far. Now its up to Chrissa. Will she find a way to stand strong and stop the bullying?
Description of An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong:
Even in the best of circumstances, being the new kid in school isn't easy--and it's doubly hard when you're the victim of bullying. When Chrissa (Sammi Hanratty) and her family move in with her recently widowed grandmother (Michael Learned), Chrissa is forced to leave her old school (and best friend) and start at a new school in the middle of the school year. An established clique of three girls, dubbed the Mean Bees, welcomes Chrissa by putting her down on her very first day, and their bullying only increases as the days progress. Chrissa suffers in silence as the girls steal her permission slip for swimming club, spread rumors about her having an infectious skin disease, and post inflammatory pictures that dub her the "loser llama girl." Though Chrissa tries hard to make new friends, her efforts are rebuffed even by fellow student Gwen (Kaitlyn Dever), who really seems like she could use a good friend. What Chrissa learns from her experience is that by speaking up, she can protect herself and make a huge difference at her school. Best of all, Chrissa finds some true friends in the process. An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong is a quality film about a timely subject that will entertain as well as edify young girls ages 6 and older. --Tami Horiuchi
An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong Reviews:
Mean Girls for 4th Graders 
2009-11-21 - In the hands of the wrong 4th grader, this film is the ultimate `for dummies' guidebook to power and popularity though bullying, manipulation, cruelty, fear, humiliation, and snobbery without empathy, regret, regard for others, or concern for consequences. If your daughter is a Queen Bee, a Sidekick, a Banker, or a Pleaser/Wannabee/Messaenger, be advised- this film could give them the tools to perfect the sophistication of their power strategy (Read Rosalind Wiseman's Queen Bees and Wannabees to find out more).
The most powerful, gut wrenching, impressionable moments of this film all revolve around the cruelty of the bullying and the success of the bully and her posse. In her book Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood, child psychology expert Susan Linn touches on the dangers of presenting material for children in which the destructive elements are more powerful than the positive elements. The most powerful messages that children take away from this movie concentrate on the immensity of a bully's power to control, manipulate, and hurt those who get in her way. Even though the point of the movie is to discourage kids from giving in to bullying- the negative power emphasis means that this film may convey the message that going along with bullies is better than fighting against them and that being a bully is the best way to achieve popularity.
While this film does portray a disturbingly honest look at the power of school bullies, the conflict resolution at the end is dangerously unrealistic. When Tara finally confides in parents and teachers about the bullying she is experiencing, the bully automatically looses her power over the entire school and Tara and the bully become friends. Bullies don't just abdicate their thrones because someone tattled. This film reinforced all of the reasons why girls shouldn't talk to their parents about bullying.
Mary Jayne Zemer
Director of Serious Play for Serious Girls
[...]
Realistic movie about bullying 
2009-11-07 - This is a great movie for kids. Viewers are able to see bullying, what it is and the effects. It opens a dialogue about what kids can do about bullying. This is an excellent movie!
Chrissa Stands Stron
2009-11-07 - This was an excellent movie - with a great lesson for bullies and those being bullied!!
Perfect DVD for little girl!
2009-10-20 - When my grandson was recently diagnosed with H1N1, I knew not only him, but his sister would be spending quite a bit of time inside. My granddaughter had just gone to Chicago to the American Girl store and stayed at a hotel that offered the "American Girl Experience". Needless to say - she loves American Girl. I talked to her Mom the day she received this movie and she said the movie was playing right then. A week later she was still playing the movie and loved it. I was also told there was a great story line about how some kids can bully and how you should react and always remember how you would want to be treated. Perfect time for a conversation about that topic since my granddaughter was just entering kindergarten.
Would highly recommend this movie for those looking for a great American Girl movie, as well as a story with a moral included.
Not my favorite. 
2009-09-19 - My family likes the other American Girl movies, but this one just didn't cut it. Sorry I bought it.
