The Secret Garden

I have read and re-read the book over many years and I have seen many adaptations of it. This was by far the worst I have ever seen. The whole essence of the book was completely ignored/lost. It started off not too badly, although it was set in 1947 when the original was published in 1911 - but thereafter it deteriorated both quickly and badly Odd scenes from the book were depicted - but mostly completely out of context so the viewer did not get a proper feel for what the writer of the book intended. There was no Ben Weatherstaff, Archibald Craven (Colin Firth) was at the manor all the time instead of being absent for most of it and it turned into a weird psychological Disney type movie with an ending that had (almost) nothing that was recognisable from the original story

Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel is charming. This movie is a bloated melodrama. 1. Just because you can use CGI doesn't mean you have to. 2. Who needs all the ancillary backstory(ies) that aren't in the novel, and serve no useful narrative purpose. 3. In this film, the secret garden - which is, in the novel, a secret garden - is about the size of the county of Cornwall in England, and full of all sorts of exotic plants that are not in the garden in the novel. In the novel, the children gain agency in their lives by learning to take care of the secret garden, and bring order into a place that has been abandoned and left to go wild (as, in some respects, two of the children have been left uncared-for) - this is sort of the whole point of the story. It would take an army of professional gardeners months if not years to maintain the garden in this film. Read the book, watch the earlier movie. Miss this one.

A young girl in the 1940's has to go and live with a distant uncle she doesn't know and she finds a secret garden and some friends. This starts of very bleak. The only comparison I can think of for this level of isolation, loneliness and alienation is "28 Days Later." The film carries on like this for a while and we get to know the unhappy lead character rather well. As little girls in the 1940's, stuck in dusty manors in the middle of the moors don't really get up to much the film feels very, very slow and voyeuristic at times. You get shots of fingers brushing leaves, shoes stamping in puddles, misty moorland, overcast skies, etc. Then the movie has to put its foot down to get the actual story underway. All that time defining this disturbed, distant little girl is erased in an instant when she suddenly realises that her mum did love her and she transforms into Pollyanna overnight. She then runs around the estate marking off her check list of people to fix. After an hour and a quarter of gloom and depression the last fifteen minutes are just too cloying. It is like being punched in the throat by a fist made of sweetener. The young actors are very good. Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Isis Davis are only there for set dressing. The garden is vibrant and bright but not really a garden and no distinction is made between fantasy and reality so you never really get a handle on what it is. This is a short film that feels long and leaves you struggling to remember what you just watched.

This film is truly a work of art. I don't remember ever having seen an almost flawless blending of CGI magic with real world cinematography. The integration of computer animation is significantly above average; it's extraordinary. The people who worked on the post production truly showed the love for their craft. I think this film just set a new benchmark. I wished the characters were a bit warmer and lovable. I just didn't dig the aristocratic stiff coldness in the children. If I could give the production quality a separate score, it would be a perfect 10. But if the kids were more lovable than bratty, I would have given the film a perfect 10/10. Nevertheless, I liked the film.

If you have read the book, then prepare to be disappointed This doesn't do the book justice at all. The deviation from the original story lost everything that was special about the book. If you haven't read the book then it's possible you may like this film, but if you are a fan of the book then avoid this film at all costs.

When Mary loses her parents suddenly she is sent to live with her uncle, who at first does not care much for her but grows warmly to her. The story itself is happy but with the backdrop of. Sadness. I have not seen the original and so this review is based on what I saw in this movie, it defiantly deserves higher than a five. It was a solid story maybe a little sloppy in places but a good cast as well. Plus cute doggy is a bonus.