Coat of Many Colors details Dolly Parton's upbringing in 1955 as her family struggles to live in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains, putting a strain on love and faith.

Dolly (Alyvia Alyn Lind) aspires to be something greater but must cope with family troubles, including the premature birth and death of a baby brother.

Meanwhile, Dolly's father, Lee Parton (Ricky Schroder) suffers a personal crisis brought about by the baby's death combined with the depression of his wife and a drought which threatened his tobacco crop.

[7] Ken Tucker of Yahoo TV gave the film its highest praise, stating "The pastoral nostalgia that this TV-movie taps into is powerful, if maudlin, stuff.

"[8] The Guardian's Brian Moylan commented on the film's faith storyline: "For those who don’t regularly visit the house of the Lord, it will make your eyes roll like loose marbles in the back of a station wagon.

"[9] David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle was the most critical but commented: "Although it's a struggle at times, you do suspend disbelief and go with it because Lind is so adorable, and you want to accept that the saccharine story line could have played out in real life just the way it's depicted in the film.

In Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder, Gerald McRaney and Alyvia Alyn Lind reprised their roles.