Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

crash21 This is one of the few stories that you can have someone give you, and be both entertained and even have feelings for the characters. For instance, Mary lives in a rich family, yet she almost would like her way out of of it. A lot of this is what gives her the feelings for the outside life and the garden when she finds it, along with her making friends with people like Martha and her brother Dickon, along with her spoiled and supposed sick cousin Colin.I love the ending to this story when Mary's uncle finds the kids (specifically his son) playing in the garden, and the orphan cousin Mary runs off crying that no one wants her. It's a feeling everyone feels at some time in their life. Then her uncle says that she had brought the family back to life, and tells her that the garden is hers. The moment will bring tears to your eyes. After this, where she says "if you look closely, you will realize the whole world is a garden" which is very true, even when you include what we have done to hurt the world. The closing scene in the movie where they show the shadow effects over the grass hills makes me think of what you can truly see in simply an open field, or even trees with an open sky and clouds passing overhead. The whole movie is touching and beautiful.The only thing I didn't like about the movie was that there were a couple moments you can tell weren't what the story to the original book had told, other than that, "The Secret Garden", both the book and the movie are touching entertainment for the whole family.

Leofwine_draca I recently read THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett and it was pretty obvious that the material doesn't lend itself to film very well. It's a slim novel almost entirely lacking in incident and action; rather, it's a mood piece, designed to bring to life a magical place and the characters who inhabit it. This 1993 adaptation tries hard to do justice to the book, but the results are mixed.I was pleased to see that although this was an American-made film, the entire cast are British. However, the actors are a mixed bag, and for a lot of the time they struggle with a sub-par script that makes the kids annoying. Yes, Mary was bratty in the book, but she never felt irritating like she does here. I didn't much care for Maggie Smith's poor Yorkshire accent either, although Walter Sparrow (ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES) is excellent as the gardener.Some parts of THE SECRET GARDEN are very good, like everything featuring the robin (I have the horrible suspicion that a modern version would simply CGI the bird) and the scenes that actually stick close to the book (and have the same dialogue in some cases). But in the effort to make the subject matter more cinematic, everything has to be bigger and grander, with random stone ruins within the garden. It was much smaller scale in the book, and some of the magic is lost. Also, they add in extraneous stuff like the stupid magic ritual, and Colin's father is NOTHING like he was in the book.

gavin6942 After losing her self-indulging parents in an earthquake, a bitter young girl named Mary Lennox is sent to live in England with her reclusive uncle.Some have said his film seems like a precursor or inspiration for Harry Potter. Along with "Troll", I can definitely see it. Of course, the two are wildly different, but there are some aspects of it being (British) children in a mystical environment. One cannot help but notice the appearance of Maggie Smith.While I was not as crazy about this movie as some people are, it definitely has charm and I can see it being really fun for kids.

Wuchak To be honest, I remember seeing previews of this movie way back when it came out (in 1993) and thinking to myself, "WHY would anyone want to see such a film and why would anyone make it?" Well, about five years later it appeared on TV one night and I started watching, fully expecting to turn it off within 20 minutes or so. WOW -- was I ever wrong! What I saw was beautiful and captivating, artistic and entrancing -- filmmaking of the highest order. "The Secret Garden" is a movie of such artistic quality that it ranks up there with the hallowed original "Apocalypse Now" (although they're totally different genres). It's no surprise that Francis Ford Coppola had his hand in both pics -- he was, of course, the director of "Apocalypse Now" and he's the executive producer of "The Secret Garden." In any event, the cinematography is breathtaking and the score is awe-inspiring, ranking with the best in cinematic history.***PLOT SPOILER*** The story's about a spoiled 10-year old English girl, orphaned in India, who comes home to live on her uncle's vast estate in the early 1900s. The girl, Mary, finds herself trapped in a mysterious, colossal manor -- almost a castle -- tyrannically managed by a life-stifling witch, Mrs. Medlock, in the frequent absence of her uncle, Lord Cravin. Because Mary is intelligent, independent and sly she is able to reconnoiter the manor and learn its forbidding secrets. The biggest secret is that her aunt died ten years earlier and her son, Colin, still lives there, albeit confined to a bed, sickly and unable to walk. Her uncle never healed from this heartbreak.Mary discovers another secret in her explorations, a hidden garden, closed off and neglected since her aunt's death. After meeting the sickly and sad Colin, Mary inevitably finds a way to sneak him into the garden along with her pal Dickon. She senses that Colin isn't as sick as everyone is convinced; she knows the best thing would be to get him out of the dreary castle and the oppressive clutches of Mrs. Medlock. Mary and her secret garden are the keys to restoring health, life and freedom to Colin, Lord Cravin and the gloomy manor.***END SPOILER*** "The Secret Garden" is sort of a 1990's version of the outstanding "Pollyanna" with Hayley Mills (1960). Both pics involve a young girl restoring a spirit of joy and liberty to a lifeless community. The difference is that Mary is not even remotely the "glad girl" Pollyanna. In fact, look for the hilarious line from the old gardener who responds to Mary's puzzlement concerning her lack of friends."The Secret Garden" is no doubt labeled a "children's film," which is a shame because it transcends such a limiting category. The ending's too quaint for my tastes but, nevertheless, this is a beautiful work of wonder and deep mystery, which can be enjoyed by people of all ages -- children and adults.The film was shot in England and runs 101 minutes.GRADE: A