Original subtitles

♪ Way back when in 1863

♪ Now part of the American lore

♪ A young family must leave their home

♪ Because of the Civil War

♪ Livin' their lives in a brand new town

♪ Doin' the best they can

♪ Four little women are on their own

♪ Lookin' to make their stand

♪ Fortunes of war can change the way

♪ We imagine our lives will be

♪ The March family all on their way

♪ Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy

It's summer vacation and Meg's been away

at the Moffats' house for three weeks now.

I wish I could've gone too.

You can't play, Milky.

Why don't you leave the butterfly alone

and go find a mouse or something like that?

You're gonna hurt yourself, Milky!

I'm so glad she listens to me.

She can take care of herself just fine, Amy.

I hope you're right.

Why do you sound so sad, Amy?

I miss Meg.

I've been thinking about her all day.

Oh really?

Yes, I keep wondering what she's been doing

with her free time at the Moffats'.

I would imagine that she's having a lot of fun.

Really?

Hm.

I should've been invited to the Moffats' too.

Mm hmm.

Don't you agree?

That's right.

Hannah, how do you think Meg's spending her vacation time

at the Moffats' house?

I imagine she's havin' a real good time.

Marmee said I was too young to go with Meg.

Your Marmee's right.

One day I'll be invited to rich people's houses too.

Jo, it's Amy.

What is it, Amy?

Excuse me, Jo, I'm sorry.

Well?

Jo, what do you think Meg is doing right now?

She's probably getting ready for tomorrow's ball.

From what I hear, it's going to be very special.

I'm sure she's having a lot of fun, Amy.

Golly, how do you know what she's doing all the time?

I imagined all of it, and I imagine that I'm right.

Oh Jo, how I wish I was preparing for the ball with her.

It sounds so lovely!

I don't care for the Moffat family personally.

Now if you have nothing more important to say,

please let me work.

Mm hmm!

You make me so angry sometimes.

Oh, I'm happy to see you're having fun, Milky.

Marmee!

Marmee. - Hello, Amy dear.

Can't I go visit Meg and see how wealthy

the Moffats really are, Marmee?

Well, I don't think you're quite ready for that yet.

Maybe one day when you get older, Amy.

I can't wait.

Hi, Amy.

I think Milky was looking for you.

Come here, Milky.

Can you believe how lucky Meg is

to go to a ball tomorrow?

I didn't realize it was happening so quickly.

Yes, and then two days after that there's another one.

My goodness, the Moffat girls

certainly lead busy lives, don't they?

I just know I'm going to meet a wonderful man tonight.

I can feel it.

I wish you the best of luck, Sally dear,

but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you.

Oh, why not?

Because even though the men invited tonight are wealthy,

most of them are elderly and married.

Thursday's ball will be better.

Oh, men are men, young, old, rich, or poor.

What's the difference?

Oh, don't listen to her.

Turn around, Meg.

Let me see if I can fluff up your gown a bit.

Old men, huh?

We'll have to be on our best behavior, girls,

so as not to offend them.

That shouldn't be too difficult, now should it?

It will be practice for Thursday.

Won't it, Annie?

Well?

As for myself, I find it easy to dance

with a wealthy man of any age.

Yes?

Hello Belle. - Belle!

You look absolutely stunning.

Your dress is gorgeous, and that necklace.

What was the laughter about?

You girls'll get wrinkles if you continue

to giggle like that.

We're all dressed and ready, Belle.

Have the guests arrived yet?

Yes, there are quite a few of them downstairs.

Your gowns look very becoming too, girls.

Thank you, Belle.

Coming from you that's a true compliment.

Ooh.

Ooh ooh ooh.

My, my, what do we have here?

You are naturally beautiful, Meg,

but that gown won't do at all.

- This is all I have. - What a pity.

We're going to have to do something to fix you up.

You shouldn't have to go downstairs looking so childish.

Thank you.

Don't mention it, please.

Annie, would you be so kind as to go to your jewelry box

and get me your beautiful red diamond pendant?

I think it will provide just the touch Meg needs

to primp up her dismal outfit.

All right.

Thanks, but I don't really need it, Belle.

Don't be so shy, Meg.

Annie won't be wearing it anyway.

I'm afraid your hair looks rather plain as well, Meg.

We won't be able to do anything about it tonight,

but by the next ball, I'll make sure it's done up properly.

Mm hmm.

There we are, Meg.

Oh that goes perfectly with your dress, Meg.

It's lovely.

Mm, absolutely perfect.

You're going to outshine all of us.

It's stunning.

Woah!

Slow it down there.

Woah.

You girls must see the gown

I bought for Thursday night.

I bought two of them and don't know which to wear.

Life is so difficult, girls.

Oh, I wonder who that is.

Yes?

Oh look girls, if I don't miss my guess,

those are flowers.

Open it quickly, Annie.

Oh!

Ooh.

Oh my.

No doubt this is Belle's present from her fiancee.

He always sends her the most wonderful flowers,

although this bouquet is particularly ravishing, Belle.

- Mm hmm. - He sent a card.

Open it!

You can give it to me now, Portence.

I'm afraid it's not for you.

What, it's for Meg?

Are you positive, Portence?

- Yes ma'am. - My word.

I'm sure.

The messenger said it's for Margaret March.

Well I never.

It's from our friend, Laurie.

Laurie?

Is that Laurie Lawrence?

Yes it is.

My dear Meg, we didn't know you had a boyfriend.

Well I don't.

Come now, Meg, we want to hear all about him.

But I, uh, he's just the grandson of Mr. Lawrence

who lives next door to us.

Is that James Lawrence?

The president and chairman of the illustrious

Newcourt Company?

- Yes. - Oh, you lucky dear!

Why couldn't I meet such a man?

Who is that lovely girl dancing with the General, Sue?

Why, that's Margaret March.

She's Colonel Frederick March's girl.

Yes, I know of him.

I thought it would be nice to invite her here.

She happens to know the Lawrence family.

Oh, that's very nice.

I had no idea.

Margaret's family has very little money.

Really?

It's not like you to let your girls befriend lesser folk.

This is an exception.

I want my girls to meet Laurie Lawrence.

Oh, it all makes perfect sense to me now.

Mm hmm, of course.

We mothers must always be concerned

about the wellbeing of our daughters, you know.

Come on now, hold still and let me brush you.

How this dog's hair gets all tangled in knots,

I'll never know.

He misses Meg's special touch.

Well even though she's probably having a wonderful time,

I miss her as well.

Hey, you're not finished yet!

Be gentle with him, he's not strong.

The Moffats are very different from us,

aren't they, Auntie?

I caution you to speak for yourself, Josephine.

Oh Auntie, that's not what I meant by my remark.

Their family is able to enjoy the finer things

life has to offer, while we have to work to survive.

Ooh.

Meg would be touched if she realized

how much this animal missed her.

Your mother seems to have raised you girls

to think like paupers.

How could that possibly be, Auntie?

Surely you don't mean it.

Why not?

You girls should be as socially adjusted as the Moffats.

I still think I'd rather be rich.

Well dear, most children do.

Unfortunately for them, they have to grow up.

Soon they're forced to realize how hard life can be

at times.

If the Moffat girls are ever faced with hardship,

it will be a disaster.

They're completely unprepared.

I never thought of it quite like that, Auntie.

Now I think we don't have it so bad after all,

but the idea of fancy dress balls every night

is still appealing.

I hope the rich surroundings of these dances

won't overwhelm your sister Meg.

I'm afraid that it's very easy for girls of lesser means

to get caught up in all that foolishness.

Before you know it, they start feeling sorry for themselves

and think the world is passing them by.

Yes, I'm afraid your mother made a mistake.

She should have investigated the Moffats further

before letting Meg go away for the weekend.

Well Auntie, they better not upset Meg.

Her feelings are easily hurt.

Sit down, you beast.

Will you stop moving?

I'm only doing this because it makes you look nice,

now calm down.

Coming!

- Good evening, Jo. - Laurie!

I received something for your family, Jo.

May I come in?

Why certainly.

Are you saying you didn't come over just to see me, Laurie?

Well of course I did, Jo,

but I also brought something, a letter from Meg.

Oh!

Meg finally took the time to write?

Laurie, what a pleasant surprise.

Good evening, Mrs. March.

What brings you here this evening?

I've come to deliver a special letter.

Who from?

Surprise!

A messenger came tonight and brought this letter

to Laurie.

It's from Meg.

Let's open it.

I got an invitation from the Moffats

and your letter was enclosed.

Mrs. Moffat has invited me to attend

a fancy dress ball they're having on Thursday night.

Oh really?

I wonder why.

Well,

I don't actually know for sure, Jo,

but I think maybe it's because I sent Meg

a bouquet of flowers the other day, before the first ball.

How come I never got a bouquet from you, Laurie?

Hm?

Oh well, I, .

That was very nice of you.

Meg really loved them.

What did Meg have to say?

What's she been doing at the Moffats' all this time?

Did she say anything about a fancy ball, Marmee?

Let's let Jo read the letter aloud to all of us,

all right? - All right.

Yes, come on Jo.

I can't wait to hear it!

Speak clearly.

Oh.

Dear Beth, Amy, Joe, and Marmee,

so far my three weeks spent at the Moffats' palatial estate

has been quite an eye-opener to say the least.

This family is certainly wealthier

than anyone I've ever met in my whole life.

Every meal is a large affair attended to

by many butlers and maids.

Believe me when I tell you that our wonderful

Christmas dinners at home pale in comparison

to these families' daily eating habits.

It's all starting to get a bit overwhelming.

My first day, we toured the countryside

in a lovely carriage.

Then, I accompanied the girls on the first

of their many shopping trips,

and today we just went to our third opera in as many days.

I know you're all probably envious of the time I'm having

and much of it has indeed been fun,

but spending days like this

has made me realize just how little we have.

I really never thought of us as being poor before this.

Hmm, strangely though I've begun to realize

just how wealthy our loving family really is

when compared with the Moffats.

I hope you'll give my thanks to Laurie

for the wonderful bouquet of flowers he sent.

They made me feel like Cinderella.

All my love always, Margaret.

Huh?

Mm, gosh, she's having a fairytale adventure!

Ooh.

I was afraid something like this might happen to Meg

if I let her go to Portsmouth.

Are you as worried about her as I am, Jo?

Come on, admit it, you are.

Thanks for bringing this.

Are you planning on going to Thursday's ball?

Oh no, I'm not going to the Moffats.

I don't like them.

But you have to go!

No I don't.

Please go, Laurie, just to make sure Meg is all right.

I'm sure he plans to attend the ball, Meg.

No he won't, Sally.

There's absolutely no way that he'll show up.

Laurie's quite shy, and he never attends parties

with large crowds of society people.

You mustn't be so pessimistic, Meg.

Maybe I am overreacting a little,

but people like Laurie and I,

we're not used to these kinds of affairs.

We prefer much simpler things.

Aw, that's silly.

He wouldn't allow that to prevent him

from seeing the girl he loves.

Oh, you don't understand, Sally.

Laurie and I are just good friends.

We're not in love.

I don't understand why everyone in your family thinks that.

He's just a friend.

Why would anyone who's just your friend

send you that beautiful bouquet of red roses, Meg?

He's a young boy and he just wanted to be nice.

You know, I bet he will show up, don't you think so?

He might at that.

Mm hmm.

Oh, there you are.

Meg, your dress is ready now.

Come, let's go into Belle's room.

She's waiting for us.

But, I'd like to wear my dress.

Meg, you must come and look inside.

Our darling Belle has put together

a simply ravishing gown for you to wear tonight.

Oh Meg, won't you please wear the gown

and let Belle do your hair for you?

It will make us very happy.

It will make you look simply gorgeous, Meg.

Mm hmm.

It certainly will.

All eyes will focus on you

when you suddenly appear on the marble stairs.

We all get great pleasure by dressing up

our less fortunate friends for these occasions.

Please, you must do it, Meg.

I simply won't take no for an answer.

Woah!

Laurie, is that you?

Oh, I'm so glad you could make it tonight, Laurie.

Thank you very much for the kind invitation, Mrs. Moffat.

There will be many future invitations.

Oh really?

My grandfather sends his best regards to you, ma'am.

You must thank him.

I'm very honored.

Tell him.

I'll do that, ma'am.

- Enjoy the ball, Laurie. - Thank you, ma'am

Come see how we've dressed Meg.

Really?

Belle, don't you think Laurie Lawrence

and Annie make a perfect couple?

He's Meg's date.

Back where I'm from, the catfish, they come this big.

You look dazzling, darling.

- Lovely. - Indeed.

Ooh!

Follow me, dear.

Watch your step now.

You're lovely.

Gosh, who is she?

She's a real beauty.

Oh, we must get her name.

Good evening, thank you all for coming to our dance.

I have the honor of introducing you

to one of my daughter's favorite friends,

Ms. Margaret March.

With your permission, allow me to introduce myself.

Pleasure to meet you, Ms. March.

Ms. March...

Please, I already have the first dance.

Our lovely Ms. March is a wonderful dancer,

wouldn't you agree?

Oh yes.

Laurie, I'm Sally Gardener.

Do you remember?

Oh, of course I do.

Well, isn't Meg beautiful tonight?

Huh?

I suppose you might say she is,

but she usually isn't so artificial.

Excuse me Ms. March,

may I have this next dance please?

Not right now.

Never in a million years did I expect to see you here.

I know, your family asked me to come visit you.

Everyone back home is very concerned about you, Meg.

And what are you going to tell them, Laurie?

I'll tell them that you seem to be extremely happy,

and that I barely recognized you

in that pretentious evening gown

and sophisticated hairstyle and makeup.

What's happened, Meg?

They insisted.

It's all in fun.

But I must admit, I'm having a wonderful time

being a debutante.

It's only for tonight.

Can you imagine how horrified Jo would be

if she saw me like this?

Yes, I certainly can.

Do you wanna dance?

Hm.

I'm afraid that's impossible.

What is it, Laurie?

You don't like what I'm wearing?

That's right.

I just hate it.

Don't be so unreasonable.

It's not so bad, just enjoy yourself.

I can't enjoy myself, Meg.

All the fuss and feathers of these shamelessly

wealthy people just don't impress me.

You are the most closed-minded person I have ever met.

Hm!

Would you care to dance, Miss?

Laurie, Meg actually wanted to wear her own gown

to the ball tonight.

It's all right, it doesn't really matter, Sally.

It's our fault.

We dressed her up.

We wanted her to be in fashion.

My friend, Belle, thought she would fit in better

with our guests.

But you're all trying to make her

into something she isn't, Sally.

Meg was never taken with pretentiousness

or an overall concern for wealth like your other guests are.

She's different.

That's odd.

Where did she go, Laurie?

I don't see her.

This really isn't me, is it?

Oh well.

Oh!

I've come to apologize to you for being so rude, Meg.

Can I persuade you to join me on the dance floor?

You really shouldn't force yourself

to act polite to me.

I'm not forcing myself, Meg.

The whole reason I came all this way

was so I could dance with you.

I'm still not happy with that dress,

but Meg, you will always be beautiful to me.

I mean it.

So.

Now would you care to dance?

All right, just take care that my dress

doesn't trip you up.

This dress is the plague of my life,

and I suppose you must think I'm a goose for wearing it.

Well, he is quite a bit younger than she is,

don't you think?

Yes, but James' grandson is a very handsome,

debonair young man.

Will you do me a favor?

Yes, what?

When you go back home, I would greatly appreciate it

if you wouldn't tell anyone about this silly dress

and makeup that the Moffat girls talked me into putting on.

Jo would never understand it,

and Mother will probably worry

that I've become accustomed to society life.

Yes Meg, I give you my word, I won't tell anyone.

You can count on that.

But what should I say if somebody asks me?

Just tell them that I looked beautiful, Laurie,

and I was having an absolutely wonderful time.

Meg, your being beautiful goes without any question,

and remember, we're all thinking of you.

As he promised, Laurie indeed told us

that Meg was the most gorgeous woman at the ball,

and from the look on his face, I believed him.

But what made us most happy

was when we learned that Meg had overcome

her home sickness, and was having the time of her life

at the Moffats'.

♪ Fortunes of war can change the way

♪ We imagine our lives will be

♪ The March family all on their way

♪ Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy