Fair for Its Day: Jean Webster was an early-20th century feminist, and it shows, particularly when Judy and Sallie talk about voting — which women could not do at the time that the two books were published.
When Sallie and Julia talk about their grandmothers, Judy wants to pretend Daddy is her grandmother and imagines she's sending a lace doily for him with her letter.
Judy and the Semples' discussion about God. For the sanity of both parties, they decide not to bring him up again.
Judy saying Julia's family evolved from the most intelligent monkeys with "fine, silky coats."
Judy wondering if you would either float or sink if a pool was full of gelatin
From the musical, Jervis saying his low expectations of his family come from Julia of all people.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The novel is popular in Japan enough to spawn an two anime versions, as well as one of Japan's longest charities, The Foundation for Orphans from Automobile Accidents, is also nicknamed the "Daddy-Long-Legs Fund".
Harsher in Hindsight: At one point, Judy mentions that she will be able to know if a war breaks between the United States and Japan. It does.
Improved Second Attempt: Since the musical adaptation reveals the truth about Jervis sponsoring Judy right away, this allows for his side of the story to be seen; the show very wisely has him acknowledge how awkward his arrangement with Judy has become and the guilt he feels — "Am I just fostering her education/Or reading someone else's mail?" — and, after his disastrous attempt to get her to go along with his wishes on how she spends her summer vacation, he fully understands that he needs to back right off and let her make her own way in life. He's also far more shy and retiring than in the book, thus explaining why he never managed to reveal the truth to Judy.
A given considering the age of the novel - however, it is particularly noticeable at one point in the sequel when Sallie uses a pancake turner to beat the hell out of a boy. Made worse by the fact that more people were concerned about Sallie's nerves than the boy's limp. To be fair, the boy had been torturing a mouse and the already very stressed Sallie simply splintered when she found out.
The parts where she describes deaf, epileptic, and intellectually challenged children as 'defective' and needing to be shut up in institutions so they don't pollute society also make the modern reader wince.
Allegra's potential adoptive father seems to treat her like a sort of "pet" to give as a gift to his ill wife, rather than an actual child with her own thoughts. It shows a lot when Sallie refuses to give Allegra away (because the girl has two older brothers and he doesn't want to adopt them), then the gentleman throws what can be easily seen as an Upper-Class Twit tantrum and blames Sallie for it. Thankfully, he re-thinks his attitude some time later and takes all three children home with him.
An odd example in the original novel; Judy mentions that, after spending her first summer at Lock Willow Farm, she gained almost ten pounds and recommends it to Daddy as a health resort. In her case, however, it could be an illustration of having been incredibly underfed at the orphanage.
The final scene of the 1919 Daddy-Long-Legs adaptation. When Judy learns Jervis is Daddy-Long-Legs, she is furious, shouts "You brute – never speak to me again!" and starts to walk away. How does Jervis react? By grabbing her, while she is clearly struggling against him, and giving her a long Forceful Kiss. The end. It was probably intended to be a lighthearted Belligerent Sexual Tension moment, but nowadays one wishes Judy's consent on the matter could be shown a bit more explicitly.
Scapegrace breathes this, from his slurring speech, to his random appearances, to his notably creepier design than everyone else, to the fact that he knows what Harvestman's blood tastes like...
Ugly Cute: Harvestman is a giant fat arachnid with very little hair who is also utterly adorable.
The Woobie: Scapegrace has shades of this at times, with his extremely sad and depressing dreams, which indicate his childhood was not exactly nice and his family was dysfunctional and screwed up. Oh and he's probably having the same sickness his dad had, showing the same symptoms, so there's the possibility that his days are numbered. And really, Harvestman and Crane are pretty much his only friends, and even Crane thinks him to suspicious and creepy, such as the scene where he immediately thought Scapegrace to be the cause of his missing son. It's hard not to feel sorry for him.
could qualify.
