The Secret Garden

The enchanting score and photography provides THE SECRET GARDEN with unexpected grace and beauty. The story, while simple, is the best kind for children, in that it's not simply a series of entertaining events, but addresses the nature of life and death in a frank and moving manner. Mary is initially a prickly young girl, but after exploring her new surroundings, she finds healing, companionship, and growth. What's with the lukewarm reaction, Criticker? Did you never feel alone as a child? Pfft

Pretty, but boring!

It is a perfect movie for children, warm, beautiful and wise. It is also a great movie experience for adults.

So sweet.

Exotic and timeless.

Shockingly impressive for a kids film. Great cinematography, great acting, just an all-around GREAT movie, for both kids and adults alike.

Enthralling children everywhere, this is a warm, and beautiful adaptation of the book.

I know this is wrong, but the sick kid in this always annoyed me. I associate this film with my sister as she was a fan of the book.

Ireallylikedit/hertilliketheveryendrealizeditwasntcomingtogetherformelol+it'salittleweirdthathewasjustweak+ifyoulooktherightwayyoucanseethatthewholeworldisagarden

Very atmospheric and good looking family film which doesn't underestimate its viewers and might work better for adults. The first half is more of a mystery while Mary explores the beautiful mansion and its surroundings. The plot is quite simple, but at the same time it works as a strong allegory. The child actors do a good job, as do Maggie Smith & co.

A well shot but severely underdeveloped story.

Overall ok. Maggie Smith plays a sick care taker in this one. This is as much a story of her evil as it is the children and the secret garden.

Handsomely produced adaptation has a lot of assets going for it – beautiful set and costume design, sumptuous cinematography and an array of excellent, mature performances from its young cast, with Smith appropriately forbidding in support. It's a shame that somewhere along the way the emotional connection is lost – it all seems a little too low-key and bloodless without a proper release of tension that would have made it more moving. Still a respectable enough production.

Very close to the book

There's something mystical in THE SECRET GARDEN, a ultimately charming and uplifting family tale that spends most of its time as one of the moodiest children's flicks of the 90s. The literary atmosphere--as well as the kid-centric plot--make it stand out among its contemporaries.

It's kind of a shame I missed this as a kid, as I would probably be in love with a film if I watched it. As an adult I still very much enjoyed it, but had slight problem with certain deviations they took away from the book. Despite that, the film is gorgeous, magical and the soundtrack reflects that. It's a really great film for kids as well as adults.

The leads are quite obnoxious, but in a rather sympathetic wounded animal way rather than the more usual badly acted children's roles. There's a great sense of atmosphere, and as things progress we get to see these children open up a bit and so does the world around them, taking the film both figuratively and literally from darkness to lightness. It gets a little sappy towards the end, but at least it felt was earned.It lacks complexity, but oozes humanity and that's enough to make a good movie.

Quite lovely (particularly the montages of the moors & flowers growing) and generally faithful to the book. I think Maggie Smith's character was a bit over the top in this version though.

1

There are some sympathetic quatities to this. Mostly visual.

this film made me cry for an hour when i was younger. i'd probably like it less now but WHo Cares

Not a bad little movie.

Loved it as a kiddo

First movie I saw in the theater.

Dull. The black and white version is way better

This movie was good. Maggie Smith is a very good actress and the story is a very good one, but it is not quite my style.

I watched this growing up and thought it was OK. Getting the VHS out recently, I found it is still just OK - it doesn't have anything to keep me interested. But kudos to the visual design, which should be much worse for a film of this caliber.

Not my favorite version of the movie, but delightful anyhow. My favorite version is by Hallmark and it's somewhat of an underground one, with the lead girl having dark hair. ...Anyway, The Secret Garden is a timeless classic and if you need someone's mini review to judge whether or not it'd be a good movie, you are not intelligent enough to watch movies. See it if you haven't already.

cute when I was younger. had a key to get into it right?

Almost good enough to make me admit that I almost cried at the end... Wait, you heard nothing! Move along to the next review now.