2nd Mandie Movie

So yesterday I watched that 2nd Mandie movie. Something about the Cherokee Treasure I think. It was awful just awful. The first movie was alright, really, but the 2nd one had nothing to do with the book! It was silly, it was over the top, and it was just bad. While I might have recommended a Mandie fan watch the 1st movie I don't recommend anyone watch the 2nd.
Spoilers ahead.

Ok, so the BOOK is about Mandie going to the Indian village where she meets an Indian girl she gets friendly with and hot!indian boy. There's a bit of angst about Joe being jealous about hot!indian boy getting all Mandie's attention (apparently in the movies Joe's more for Polly which is bizarre since, at the end of the first book Joe asks Mandie to marry him when they grow up). Anyway, she hears about a cave with gold in it that's got a curse on it and she and Joe and hot!indian boy and Indian girl go looking for it and find it and go through it and find the gold and come out on the other side of the mountain and people say the gold should belong to Mandie but she wants to give it to the Indians (later on in like book 4 or 5 or something there's a vote in the main hall or whatever for whether the gold should be used to build like a school or a hospital or something). End.

The MOVIE is about John putting off Ned's important news for a while, which turns out to be that the mine entrance has been discovered. Which makes no sense because apparently John's been in the mine before so clearly he would know where the entrance is already? Well suddenly he's in a hellfire to get in the mine to find some box that I've never heard of, and we find out some backstory on Mrs. Taft that I've never heard of, which includes a lame "oh we're descended from royalty" line that I don't believe was ever actually said. As if family heirlooms can't exist anywhere but inside royal families or something. Whichever. So John sets off alone with Ned and Mandie and co. sneak along. Their sneaking was overdone and I don't think it's something Elizabeth would have done. Then Mandie detaches the baggage car from the rest of the train, which I don't think she would have done, even with the things she does in the books it is a little over the top for her. Especially since she does it to... STEAL an air scrubber from this guy so they can breath in the mine. It also brings back the Snows, which were a bit overdone in the 1st movie but in this one they were sooo horrible. Thing is in the book we never see them again but for some reason the movie people thought it would be a good idea to bring them back. Comedic relief? Also apparently the former Mrs. Shaw and her new man have become thieves (??!!??)  and work with the Snows (!!!???) to get this gold from the mine (!??!?!). Also there's apparently noxious fumes in this mine, which I don't think I ever remember. And some weird riddles they have to solve to get through the mine. So Mandie and Joe get through the mine, find the box, get out. The next scene shows a very dirty and unchanged trio of John, Elizabeth, and Mandie going to Mrs. Taft and offering some lame excuse about not having time to change. (yeah right!) Mrs. Taft also looks younger than her daughter. Not a wrinkle or line on her. She looks like a 20-something who dyed their hair white, whereas Elizabeth looks like she's gotta be between 30 and 35. Then comes a whole new twist. Mrs. Taft starts claiming Elizabeth never loved Jim and only threw herself at him cause John was away on vacation so often. Bzuh? Yes, I mean, Elizabeth does wind up marrying John in the books (they even have a preemie later on but it dies, I presume it was born so early (7 months I think?) due to Elizabeth's age and it died due to the lack of medical knowledge back then). But I don't think it says anywhere that Elizabeth always preferred John. Anyway, the box belongs to Mrs. Taft (but since it's an heirloom that gets passed down shouldn't it technically belong to Elizabeth until Mandie's old enough?) so they give it to her and suddenly she's all fine and dandy with Indians. Yes, later on she DOES accept Mandie into her family and Mandie even lives with her while she goes to school and Mrs. Taft takes her to England or something once, but it has nothing to do with some stupid box. I think it more had to do with Elizabeth marrying John and Mrs. Taft feeling very old and alone and sighing and going "alright sure fine whatever just don't let anyone know that John's half Indian and Mandie's 1/4 Indian". It's just standard prejudices. It's like the movie didn't want anyone to know that HEY, yes prejudices DID run high back then especially in the south.They didn't need to throw in a sob story to cover for just plain ol' standard rich people turning up their noses at what they would consider to be a scandalous affair with, not only a lesser status man, but one who's "half savage". I'm not offended. No one should be. That's just how it went back then.

Now I could be mistaken on any of this since it's been just so long since I read the books. This is all just from what I remember.

And Weiss, so sorry your first experience was that movie! Don't take it to mean that's what the books are like cause it's not. And you're right, the acting was horrible! Whoever played Joe sounded like he was reading his lines for the first time that day and someone was off-camera holding up the poster board with the lines on it. And the Snows were just so over the top, omg. Yes, in the first book (the ONLY book they appeared in) they were a tad silly and boisterous but they were nothing like this. The couple at the end, the woman who disguised herself as a man and the other guy, were overdone too. The woman was Mandie's step-mother and I believe in the books she more or less disappears after the first one.