Harriet the Spy

Director: Bronwen Hughes Bronwen Hughes

Overview

Young Harriet dreams of being a writer. When her nanny suggests she start a diary to train her writing skills, Harriet begins recording her observations with a critical eye. Unfortunately, when her diary falls into the hands of Harriet's classmates, her two best friends are stung by her commentary.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/10/2017
UPC:	0032429285164
Original Release:	1996
Rating:	PG
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	22,376

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Michelle Trachtenberg	Harriet M. Welsch
Gregory Smith	Sport
Vanessa Lee Chester	Janie Gibbs(as Vanessa Lee Chester)
Rosie O'Donnell	Ole Golly
J. Smith-Cameron	Mrs. Welsch
Robert Joy	Ben Welsch
Eartha Kitt	Agatha K. Plummer
Charlotte Sullivan	Marion Hawthorne
Teisha Kim	Rachel Hennessy
Cecilley Carroll	Beth Ellen Hansen
Dov Tiefenbach	Boy with Purple Socks
Nina Shock	Carrie Andrews
Conor Devitt	Pinky Whitehead
Alisha Morrison	Laura Peters
Nancy Beatty	Miss Elson
Don Francks	Harrison Withers
Eugene Lipinski	George Waldenstein
Jackie Richardson	Janie's Mother
Gerry Quigley	Sport's Dad
Mercedes Enriquez	Windchime Lady
Mung-Ling Tsui	Mrs. Hong Fat
Connor Devitt	Pinky Whitehead
Paul Lee	Bruno Hong Fat
Tsui Mung-Ling	Mrs, Hong Fat
Jamshied Sharifi	Composer

Technical Credits

Greg Taylor

Julie Talen

Theresa Rebeck

Bronwen Hughes	Director
Debby Beece	Executive Producer
Marykay Powell	Producer
Bob Hall	Special Effects
Greg Taylor	Screenwriter
Julie Talen	Screenwriter
Douglas Bell	Special Effects
Cameron Frankley	Sound/Sound Designer
David Van Slyke	Sound/Sound Designer
Henri Lopez	Sound Mixer
Glen Gauthier	Sound Mixer
Theresa Rebeck	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Updating the '60s children's novel for a '90s Nickelodeon audience, Harriet the Spy retells the classic story with all the wild design and green slime that kids have come to expect from the cable network. As Harriet M. Welsch, ten-year-old Michelle Trachtenberg (from the underrated Adventures of Pete & Pete TV series) creates a realistic ego-driven creative force, a bona fide heroine who suffers for her art. Stylistically, the world in which Harriet resides is full of bright colors and wacky patterns, with everything having an oversized cartoon sense to it. She and her friends even hang out in a magical play garden full of hands-on junkyard art and trees bearing bottles of soda pop. Yet, the fun is interrupted as the group of wealthy and privileged classmates begin to display a real mean-spiritedness in their ridicule of Harriet, and she too is cruel in her revenge. Though sometimes heading in the direction of sentiment in the scenes with Golly (Rosie O'Donnell), the story mostly remains full of sharp humor and inventive dialogue. While it sometimes seems like an extra-long Nickelodeon TV show, Harriet the Spy nevertheless is a smart kid's movie, celebrating youthful exuberance and managing to address some brutal life lessons.