The Secret Garden

Child characters: "Mary Lennox," spoiled, lonley, sad child. Taken from her home to live with a guardian in England after her parents death. "Dickon", Mesterious boy who communes with nature. "Colin," son of Mary's guardian, is hidden from society.

In the movie Mray sets out to find and unlock the secrets to the mesterious garden, making friends along the way.

The scenery in this movie is breath taking at times. One of Hallmarks best! A must have for any Hallmark Hall of Fame fan. Good to have in any movie collection!


Good story and filming, not good acting   June 5, 1999
17 out of 21 found this review helpful

I have always loved the story of The Secret Garden. I have seen the 1949 Margaret O'Brien movie, the 1993 movie with Kate Maberly, and a version done for the BBC in the 70's or 80's. All were very good. This one, however, is not so good. It is the most faithful to Frances Hodgson Burnett's story, but it doesn't give you the uplifting feeling that the book and other movies do. Gennie James is downright annoying as Mary, and I hated that the writer and director portrayed Dickon as a mystic who knows the future. THe location filming is very well-done, the story is great, but most of the actors didn't do a good job. Not a version of this great story to be remembered.


Two thumbs down, WAY down   March 10, 2001
Gwyn Gwyrdd (USA)
14 out of 23 found this review helpful

This film did nothing but annoy me. It only moved me in the sense that it made me mad. This book was read to me at the age of 7 and was the book that made me fall in love with literature. I own several copies, anniversary editions, blah blah blah. I'm telling you that this film is not true to the intent of the book. What is up with the weird Dickon in this film? I really didn't appreciate this version killing him off in the war and I don't care if I passed on a surprising tidbit because this is NOT in the book. Dickon is magical enough without adding the weird stuff this film does. The Kate Maberly version captures the essence of the book best. The film moves from dark images void of life and spirit to colorful imagery of spring, new life, and newfound joy. Your emotions move with the film and the images follow the transformation of the central characters as they find hope and love. This version lacks the artistry and emotion of the book. Stick with Kate Maberly. The only changes made are at the beginning to save time.


Excellent, but not for everyone   December 10, 2004
Brandon Witt--redbirdboy (Denver, Co United States)
14 out of 20 found this review helpful

I loved the book The Secret Garden as a kid, and I watched this movie countless times. I still enjoy it. While the filming is not as good as some of the other versions (it was made for TV), it is my favorite. There are some changes to the movie that differ from the book, but I thought the changes were innovative and drew more upon the actual story than do other versions I have seen. The movie has a very magical, Victorian romantic feel to it. It has an artistic beauty to it that endures more than some of the flashier, brighter big screen versions. That being said, it does move slowly, and probably takes itself too seriously, which adds to it for me, but will be a turn off for others. If you enjoyed the Anne of Green Gables movies, you will find the beauty in this film as well.


Disappointing Turn/Otherwise Good Production   June 13, 2004
KittyKins
13 out of 17 found this review helpful

Although Hallmark makes outstanding movies, and I know this movie won an award, I cannot embrace this version because of the liberties the producers took with the storyline. One of the most integral parts of the story, the fact that Colin & Mary are cousins, was changed so that they could have Colin propose to Mary at the end of the movie. I also didn't like what they did with the Dickon character in this "future" scene. I think most of us always imagined that Dickon & Mary would get together eventually based on the words that Burnett wrote. Dickon & Mary were kindred spirits, but Colin & Mary were like siblings in the real story. I gave this movie away at a yard sale because I was so unhappy with the way the story was handled.

The Secret Garden has always been one of my favourite stories and I have an extensive collection of movie presentations. My two favourite ones are the classic MGM version with Margaret O'Brien & Dean Stockwell, and the 1984 BBC production (the most true to the novel) with Sarah Hollis Andrews & David Patterson. The 1993 Warner Brothers production also takes liberties, but is preferable to this Hallmark version in my opinion. It's too bad the producers did decide to change this detail in the Hallmark version, making the purists like myself unhappy, because otherwise they did a good job of it.