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AN IRRESISTABLY SWEET TREAT FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

 ‘SAMANTHA – AN AMERICAN GIRL HOLIDAY’

STARRING ANNA SOPHIA ROBB, MIA FARROW AND JORDAN BRIDGES

A HALLMARK CHANNEL PREMIERE DEC. 2

“Samantha” Movie Inspired by Six Books About Her Adventures;

American Girl Franchise – One of the Nation’s Best Brands –

Shares Philosophy with Hallmark Channel –

“The Best Movies Begin with Great Stories”

This holiday season, Hallmark Channel presents an irresistibly sweet treat for the holidays, “Samantha – An American Girl Holiday,” starring AnnaSophia Robb, Mia Farrow and Jordan Bridges, a Hallmark Channel premiere, Saturday, December 2 (7/6 c).

In “Samantha – An American Girl Holiday,” Samantha Parkington’s turn-of-the-century life starts changing the day she meets Nellie O’Malley.  Though they come from different worlds, the two soon become the best of friends.  Through happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger, they grow close enough to be sisters. But nothing could prepare them for the life-altering surprises and life lessons that await them this special holiday season.

“Samantha – An American Girl Holiday” is inspired by the adventures of Samantha Parkington (Robb) and her beloved “Grandmary” (Farrow) from a franchise of six books which began with Meet Samantha.

Valerie Tripp is the author of three of the books in the Samantha series and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright and novelist Marsha Norman wrote the teleplay.  The movie is directed by respected Australian filmmaker Nadia Tass 

“Samantha – An American Girl Holiday” was the first foray into television movies for American Girl.  The company now has three movies for television based on the popular American Girl dolls Samantha, Felicity and Molly.

For 20 years, American Girl books and characters have inspired an entire generation of girls with timeless stories of friendship, courage, and hope, bringing history alive for children. With more than 12 million dolls and 111 million books sold, American Girl is one of the nation's most popular doll brands and top children's publishers.

At the heart of American Girl are the stories.  Whatever the time period, these memorable characters’ stories illustrate the power of determination, imagination, courage, and hope—the same spirit that inspires American girls today.  American Girl whose 20-year mission has been to celebrate girls is one of the country’s most beloved brands.  Hallmark Channel and American Girl share the same philosophy that movies begin with “great stories.”

"When Julia Roberts, Lisa Gillan, and I pursued the rights to the American Girl franchise six years ago, we knew that the American Girls characters and their compelling stories would translate beautifully to film," said Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas of Goldsmith-Thomas Productions.

The line of American Girl dolls has been a big hit at least in part because each doll comes with a number of storybooks, outlining her character and family background and set sometime in the American past.

American Girl, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT, www.mattel.com), the world's leading toy company. Since American Girl's inception in 1986, the company has devoted its entire business to celebrating the potential of girls ages three to 12. American Girl encourages girls to dream, to grow, to aspire, to create, and to imagine through a wide range of engaging and insightful books, age-appropriate and educational products, and unforgettable experiences. In meeting its mission with a vigilant eye toward quality and service, American Girl has earned the loyal following of millions of girls and the praise and trust of parents and educators.

          Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of 75 million subscribers.  The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,300 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country.  Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the top 10 ad-supported cable networks in Total Day and Prime Time household ratings and is the nation’s leading network in providing family-friendly programming.  Crown Media also operates a second 24-hour linear channel, Hallmark Movie Channel.

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