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Articles/ Reviews

 

ABC's Sunday Night Ratings Release:  Despite airing in an earlier time
period with lower viewing levels, "Child Star:  The Shirley Temple Story"
stood as the most watched movie of the night.  The Shirley Temple movie
generated the largest audience for the Wonderful World of Disney franchise in
8 weeks.

 

The New York Times, Friday, May 11, 2001 By: Caryn James

"Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story" is a cheery Wonderful World of Disney film made for kiddie consumption. (Goes on to talk about 'Blonde", comparing Ashley to Poppy Montgomery, adult Marilyn Monroe.) ...viewers are likely to be struck by how awkwardly Ms. Montgomery recreates "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." Ashley Rose Orr, on the other hand, does a fantastic Shirley Temple impersonation in "Child Star" to be shown on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC. She sings "The Good Ship Lollipop and "Animal Crackers" and seems to channel Shirley. s pout. The film also has some explosively entertaining dance numbers in which Hinton Battle plays Bill (Bojangles) Robinson. But overall, this smooth, sugar movie is a reassuring fantasy in which fame seems a lark. What child wouldn't want Shirley. s life as depicted here: a playhouse of her own on the studio lot and a private tutor.

 

 

The Wall Street Journal, Friday, May 11, 2001  By: Barbara D. Phillips

The Wonderful World of Disney truly is this week as it offers a biopic of a Hollywood child star that. s actually suitable viewing for children. The movie, based on Shirley Temple Black. s 1988 autobiography and starring Ashley Rose Orr as young Shirley and Emily Anne Hart as Shirley' in her teens, focuses on the Hollywood star. s early years, when the dimpled, curly-topped moppet sang and danced her way into Americans. hearts. Young kids will love little Shirley. s smarts and good-natured spunk, as well as the fairytale aspects of the story, including the star. s studio bungalow, filled with this and child-size furniture, and her meeting with her heroine Amelia Earhart.....And there are enough winning re-creations of Shirley. s screen routines - including the famous staircase dance with Bill Robinson to send kids and their parents rushing post-haste to the nearest Blockbuster for full servings of the real thing.

 

 

Kansas City Star: A boring . Blonde", a lovely "Temple" 5/13/01 By: Aaron Barnhart

Ashley Rose Orr plays the 6-year-old starlet with the 56 hair curls and the unstoppable smile. Fittingly, she steals the show here... But the big surprise comes in the production numbers between Shirley and her Uncle Bill, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Whereas the Monroe musical numbers in "Blonde" is obviously lip-synced.......And if Orr is faking it as Shirley, I couldn't. t tell. This is exactly what 21st century TV should be doing-making you want to rush out and rent videos of the original stars.Australian Herald Sun, Monday, November l3, 2000. By: Bob Hart

Little Ashley Orr is probably one in a million: but she can prove that she is, at the very least, one in 10,000. Because that. s how many young Americans auditioned for the title role Ashley will play in "Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story". The key to the endeavor is little Ashley - a bubbling New Yorker, barely 10, with the world at her twinkling feet. Ashley spent much of the weekend in a Melbourne studio - delivering uncanny recreations of Shirley Temple songs for local musical wizard and film composer, Allan Zavod. "Ashley is astonishing," said Zavod, who is scoring the film. "She can be Shirley Temple. But when she sings in her own voice, it knocks your socks off." While Ashley was singing The Good Ship Lollipop for Zavod, the film. s producer, Iain Paterson, sang her praises. "We listened to a lot of little girls before we found Ashley," he said. "She. s extraordinary, and a lovely little girl. Totally unspoiled." How times change, eh?The Palm Beach Post, Cover Story: -10-year old Orr gets her dream role"

 

 

May 13, 2001 By: Kevin D. Thompson

Ashley Rose Orr is giggling. Ten-year-old girls do that a lot. But Orr is not your average 10-year-old. While most girls Orr. s age are preoccupied with riding bikes or playing with Barbie dolls, the active fourth-grader has an acting career to consider. For instance, by age 9, Orr already had spent more than three years performing on Broadway in such productions as The Sound of Music, Les Miserables and Annie Get Your Gun. But for Orr, those gigs almost pale in comparison to her lead role in "Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story". The teddy-bear-cute tyke, who grew up in Sarasota, has idolized Temple since she could walk. Quite naturally, I wondered coached by someone to tell that story in order to publicize her movie. But as I continued to listen to her, l realized she actually sounded sincere. "This is such a blessing for me," says Orr, who is wonderfully convincing as Temple and does her own singing. "I've wanted to do this my whole life. Shirley is just a great person." Child Star may not be a great movie (those looking for an E! True Hollywood Story-like film about Temple. s dark side will be disappointed), but it is a sweet one as it chronicles Temple. s Childhood career.... The movie features such classical musical numbers as The Good Ship Lollipop, Old Straw Hat and Temple. s legendary staircase dance with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, played by famed choreographer Hinton Battle. Battle, says he had a ball working with Orr. "She brought out the child in me when we got together. I became this 9 year old little boy running around the set being mischievous." Paula Hart, the film. s executive producer, says Orr beat out scores of other actresses because she was able to become the adorable Shirley Temple without being "annoying" adorable. And for those who didn't. t like "America. s Little Sweetheart," she was annoyingly adorable and precocious. Not Orr. "She had that sparkle in her eye," says Hart.TV Guide, May 12-18, By: Matt Roush

Child Star. s intent is to remind us that it was fun along the way. And there is sentimental pleasure to be had in watching Shirley (Ashley Rose Orr, 10) charm old-timers who grumble about being upstaged by a "50-year-old midget," then make movie magic with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in dance re-creations superior to those in Showtime. s recent "Bojangles" film.Close-Up - Ashley Rose Orr stars as the celebrated child star in a frothy 2001 TV biopic based o the actress. s autobiography. The film charts young Shirley. s meteoric rise to fame in 1930. s Hollywood and faithfully re-creates some of her most famous song and dance numbers (including the terrific staircase duet from "The Little Colonel," with Hinton Battle as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson).The Maui News & Kansas City Star By:  John Crook, TV data features Syndicate

ABC. s Shirley Temple Story Pleasant Fare Aimed at Fans Let's face it, there are two kinds of people in this world. The first group adores Shirley Temple and will drop everything to watch The Little Colonel for the 98th time. Then there are the rest of us who would rather suck grout. It. s a pleasure, and no little surprise, to report that Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story will go down pleasantly enough for either group. The ABC movie, Which premieres Sunday, May 13, Chronicles the childhood career of Temple (Ashley Rose Orr of Broadway. s "Annie Get Your Gun) ending just as the young actress begins her second career as a teen......Credit much of the movie. s painlessness to 10-year-old Orr, who somehow manages to capture Temple. s voice (she does her own singing) and mannerisms while minimizing the cloying aspect that turns off non-Shirley fans. "Ashley was just amazing and I think she humanizes the character," says Connie Britton, "Ashley is so grounded that she was able to handle the singing and dancing demands brilliantly, but she also shows us, the little girl behind it all. She was just a joy to work with"...... Shirley Temple fans - and they are legion- will jump at the chance to spend two hours when nothing bad happens to anyone and the world seems to run by a simpler set of rules. And thanks to Orr and Britton, the rest of us don. t suffer much, either.The Times Union, The Hearst Corporation, May 7, 2001, By: Mark McGuire

Like Montgomery (from "Blonde") 10-year-old Ashley Rose Orr does a very capable job of playing one of the most recognizable actors ever, especially in handling recreations of Temple. s famous dance scenes with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.The Washington Post May 13, 2001, By: Tom Shales

Orr has mastered several of Temple. s mannerisms, including the adorable wrinkled-nose smile, and she has a twinkle in her eye that can definitely hold a candle to the original Temple twinkle, a picker-upper that helped a great generation go through the Great Depression.The Columbus Dispatch May 13, 2001 By: Tim Feran Grade: B+

Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story is perfect for Mother. s Day . sweet, eager to please and cute, like the child actress, Ashley Rose Orr, who plays the title character....Amid a gaily sung rendition of On the good Ship Lollipop....All the while, the young Shirley and later, the teen-age Shirley, exhibit a cheerful and well balanced attitude.Houston Chronicle May 2001, By: Ann Hodges

The hardest job in this movie is playing little Shirley. She. s played by l0-year-old, Ashley Rose Orr, whose Broadway resume runs from Baby June in" Gypsy" (should have said, "The Sound of Music") to the latest "Annie Get Your Gun. This is her first TV role, and let. s get it over with: She's no Shirley Temple, but she. s about as close as could be expected. She does her "Oh, my goodness!" in top-grade Shirley-speak. She does all the dancing and the singing-even "The Good Ship Lollipop". And she really shines in the famous staircase dance with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.San Antonio Express - News April 30, 2001 By: Jeanne Jakle

Women of all ages, sizes and situations will dominate the television spotlight in the coming month.....Cute-as-a-button actress Ashley Rose Orr re-creates the Hollywood darling who inspired everything from blond ringlets to tap dances to a cherry-tingled drink in this two-hour Wonderful World of Disney movie.Us Weekly Issue 325/326 May 7-14, 2001 By: Tom Conroy

Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story. Dance partners Orr and Battle conquer Hollywood one step at a time...And Orr can tap, sing and even imitate Temple. s pouty delivery.The Boston Globe Cover Story: Baby Take a Bow, May 13, 2001 By: Bruce McCable

Ashley Rose Orr appears in her first starring role as the number one movie star at the depths of the Depression, a girl with ringlet curls and dimples who tap-danced, sang, and captivated the nation......One of the most diverting aspects to the movie is 10-year-old Orr. s performance as Shirley as she was from ages 5 to 10.Orlando Sentinel May 2001, By: Hal Boedeker

Little Shirley wins again: Moppet soars, bombshell bores....Young children will enjoy this movie, but older viewers will appreciate it more. If Ashley Rose Orr, 10, can. t fully capture Temple. s charm . who could? . she works hard and has appeal of her own. And she performs electric dances with Hinton Battle.

Charlton News May 12, 2001, By:  Mindy Spar

Ashley Rose Orr portrays Temple with uncanny accuracy. Her voice and movements perfectly recall the little girl with 56 pincurls, a bright smile and pouty little voice. Orr's renditions of "The Good Ship Lollipop" and "Animal Crackers in My Soup" prove her voice teacher accurate when she proclaimed Orr had perfect pitch. What makes "Child Star" enjoyable, beside the obvious charm of Orr, is the emphasis on the love and support Temple received from her family.South Coast Today  Massachusetts, May 12, 2001
"Child Star"

Ten-year-old Ashley Rose Orr makes her TV debut In "Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story" on The Wonderful World of Disney" (7 p.m. Sunday, ABC, (TV-G). A veteran of the Broadway musical "Annie Get Your Gun," Orr captures much of the spunk and sparkle That made the pint-sized Temple the darling of Depression-era movie audiences The film recreates some of Temple. s most famous Song-and-dance numbers, including her groundbreaking tap collaboration with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (Hinton Battle). This marked the first time a black man and a white woman (even a 5-year-old white woman) ever performed on screen together. Much of "Child Star" involves the efforts of her parents to keep their daughter from being exploited by Hollywood moguls. The movie is based on Temple's memoirs.Contra Costa Times Bay Area Entertainment, May 14, 2001,  By:  Chuck Barney

AMERICA'S SWEETHEART: ABC's "Wonderful World of Disney" presents, a very different kind of show-biz biopic on Sunday with "Child Star," a film that focuses on the meteoric 1930s movie career of Shirley Temple.The film' s saving grace is the charming Orr, who seems to be having a time hamming it up and imitating Temple's pouty delivery. Also worthwhile the meticulous re-creations of some of Temple' s most famous song-and dance numbers, including the delightful staircase duet from "The Little Colonel" with Hinton Battle playing Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. The film was produced by former child star Melissa Joan Hart and her mother Paula. Melissa's sister, Emily, plays the teen-age Temple in a few brief scenes toward the end of the movie.Santa Rosa Press - Democrat NY Times,  May 13, 2001,  By:  Bill Mann

Tonight's entertaining, lavishly produced movie shows how Temple, played energetically by preternaturally cute 10-year-old actress/Broadway vet, Ashley Rose Orr, became a ray of sun during the Depression.  Orr has uncannily captured Temple's charm (the curls, the nose-crinkling, etc., etc.)

Gist TV Movies Feature Story    May 2001    By:  Art Smith

Orr does an excellent job of believably stepping into Temple's famous tap
shoes to play the child actress.  Sporting Temple's signature 56 pin curls,
she re-enacts such musical numbers as "The Good Ship Lollipop," "Old Straw
Hat" and her famous "Staircase Dance" duet with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
(Hinton Battle) from the film, The Little Colonel.  Temple fans will love
Orr's flawless portrayal of the legendary star, and the updated, repackaged
musical numbers will surely appeal to kids who may not have had any interest
in seeing Temple's original black-and-white films.