i must have seen a different film!!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

My favorite movie from my childhood, made me dream about this garden mane years

Secret Garden is one of my all-time favorite films. I love everything about it. Starting with the music, this is also one of my favorite soundtracks, which I listen to regularly. It is emotional and incorporates beautiful instrumentals with strings, flutes and pianos. During the more high tense scenes the music gets louder and shrill, and the pace quickens with the flow of the characters. The pitch is low and dreary. Then when it's calm and slow the music smooths and becomes a relaxing melody, sometimes accompanied with quiet singing.The color scheme increases the mood by being very washed out and dark for most of the film. There are a lot of muted colors mixed with blacks and dark grays. It gets gradually more colorful as the film progresses and the garden begins to grow. The lighting gets brighter, more colors are introduced in the backgrounds and sets, and even Mary's clothes go from blacks to yellows and whites. The changes along the way are subtle, but by the end of the film the contrast is polar opposite to how it started. The garden goes from dead to being full of lush foliage and flowers. The significance is mirrored in the family when they go from three lonely people with bad dispositions and blossom into a loving and happy family.The movie isn't a fantasy film, but it does evoke a feeling of magic. The children's imaginations and the wonder they feel by sharing this secret garden allows for a "what if" aspect to the story. Even when they are doing the experiment to bring Lord Craven home it doesn't feel like much of a stretch for them to believe that what they are doing is real. There are some really beautiful time lapse videos of the plant growth that add to the enchantment of the movie. With roots and leaves sprouting in an instant, transforming the landscape into something unrecognizable. The actors are all great. Of course there is the always lovely Maggie Smith, who here played a rather nasty and pretentious woman. You couldn't help but hate her a bit. The performances by Kate Maberly as Mary and Heydon Prowse as Colin were impressive, particularly when you consider they were only around ten years old when this was filmed. Their characters were full of fervor and forcefulness at first, and then softened by the end of the film into almost entirely different people.This is a wonderful coming of age film that I think is great for all ages. I would recommend the book, as well. There of course are parts from it that didn't make it to the film. It really is a lovely story and a wonderful film.

I've known about this movie version since its release. And I never read the book (probably didn't even know that it was even based on a book at the time). For years, I initially had no interest in seeing it. That is, until I first came across the animated version of this that aired as part of the ABC Weekend Specials and I was curious enough to check out (which I did on Youtube) and enjoyed it. A few months later and earlier this year, I decided to search for and watch this live action version on Putlocker and enjoyed it just as much. This is another one I've since added to the "What have I been missing?" list. I guess somehow I not only underrated this, but underestimated it as well. I consider this to be among the best or greatest family films of all time. For several years, I didn't know there were any other live action adaptations of the book and I wouldn't discover them until I came across them online. I haven't seen Hallmark's T.V. movie rendition nor the first live action one from 1949, but I'd like to see those too, though I want to see Hallmark's first, once I'm finally able to find it and stream online. From what I've read about it, this may be truer to its source and maybe even the truest out of all these film/T.V. remakes, but I'm partial to this and the ABC Weekend Special.Without much further ado, onto the points I'm making about this. It is absolutely fantastic, spectacular. Following her parents' deaths, a girl named Mary Lennox is sent away from India to England to live with her uncle and his son in a mansion. But little does Mary know after she arrives there, she's about to be in for a surprise: A different kind of garden that isn't run-of- the-mill, a garden she's never seen before, a garden that's full of magic and marvel. The titular place that is the central focus of the story, it has the special powers of healing and rejuvenation. The role it plays involves some other things, but I don't want to give away too much more. I can see why the story is among the most beloved of all time. It has some nice, tender, mostly wholesome moments, then of course, there's the enchantment of the garden. It may be one of the most creative tales ever written. To everyone who hasn't already seen this, don't sleep on it like I did. I wish I had checked it out sooner. Everything about it is well done, from the writing to the acting to the cinematography to the music. It's just great all around. To find out more about it, y'all have got to see for yourselves. One of those movies that is a must- see and a must-not-miss, I love it and I've had a newfound appreciation for it since.

I watched The Secret Garden as an 8 year old kid and then watched it in college one night. I loved it as a young kid and was surprised by how much I appreciated it ten years later. The story highlights the troubles and constraints faced by Mary Lennox, Colin Craven, and Lord Craven and how the garden helps break those constraints and fix the emotional and physical issues going on with the characters. The meaning can be interpreted in various ways but the meaning that stood out to me was that a child's undying curiosity and eagerness for adventure can have such a significant impact. It is certainly one of my favorite movies and has a great soundtrack as well. 10/10