THE WILD BUNCH FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! For a Western epic that totally toys with your emotions, saddle up for the toy doll feature film Adventures Of Miss Happy, written and directed by Wendy Wolverton. Narrated by Wolverton, the story opens with Miss Happy (Aerial Segard) heading out west on a train from back east. Back there, she felt too constricted, like she just didn’t fit in. So Miss Happy headed to where all misfits go to: Ventura, California. She finds that the West isn’t all that welcoming to those who come out with nothing, getting the rundown on how dire her situation is from Marshall Parker (Ed Adams). She then has the misfortune of being robbed by the outlaw Mark Waters (Mark Brooks) and his brother (JC Coe), who take her valise and her personal letters.
A blue-eyed doll in a red dress and feathered hat poses in a frontier town in Adventures Of Miss Happy.
“Miss Happy is heading out west on a train from back east. Back there she felt too constricted, like she just didn’t fit in.”
Tired of letting the West trample her, Miss Happy decides to become an outlaw herself. She robs the gold cache from a claim, with the miner (Jim Palmer) demanding Marshall Parker hunt the culprit down. Soon she starts showing up on wanted posters, advertising the modest price on her pretty little head. Miss Happy overhears from the Waters brothers that there is a locked treasure chest in a church where an orphanage is run. Miss Happy figures out when siesta is, and storms into the church on her horse. She meets immediate resistance from Father Gregorio (William Paul Brown) and Sister Cruz (Ilca Andrade), but she drags off the chest, tied to her horse. Marshall Parker saddles up a posse to track down the new scourge of the sagebrush: Miss Happy.
As an outlaw film writer, Adventures Of Miss Happy hit me dead on in all my happy spots. I have always been in awe of the short Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story by Todd Haynes (no relation). There is something so irresistible about a movie acted out with, in that case, Barbie dolls. However, I was caught by surprise when I realized Wolverton had whipped up a two-hour feature with nothing but toy dolls. While excited, I was skeptical, as the steam could run out at any moment. I loved the style right away, but was concerned about how it would fare if used to make a typical, run-of-the-mill western. The novelty never wore off, as Adventures Of Miss Happy is not even close to being run-of-the-mill. Wolverton has a wonderful story at work here, with lots of twists along the way to keep it lively.
"…an experimental masterpiece with huge cult potential."
