Rating: 
Summary: wonderful and faithful adaptation of a great children's book
Review: Monterey soundworks did a wonderful job in transforming a charming story into an audio delight. The special sound effect is exceptional to say the least. The characters of Mary, Dickon and Collins all come to life in this wonderful production.
Rating: 
Summary: So-So
Review: Bad acting through and through, particularly the children. But the sets and reproductions were accurate, and the occasional scenes with Jacobi (who is excellent) give the film some worth. The poor acting and stark American accents really do detract from the film, however.
Rating:
Summary: Continuatioon of my June 16 review
Review: Somehow not all of my June 16 review got posted. Here's the rest of it:...and Colin also gets well for the first time in his life. Even though you know how hte book will turn out long before the end, it's still enjoyable to read, espicially in the parts where Dickon and his sister, a servant named Martha, speak the broad Yorkshire tongue. It also teaches a valuable lesson, which may sound corny but is still a good one: think about wonderful things instead of bad things and you'll become a much better person. A wonderful, uplifiting classic to be treasured and enjoyed many times over.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful classic
Review: I have always loved the story of The Secret Garden. I have read the book and seen most of the movie versions. The book is wonderful. It is very enjoyable and inspiring. I was pulled into the story of Mary Lennox, a spoiled, unwanted little girl, and Colin Craven, an even more spoiled, sickly, self-pitying little boy, and the hidden garden on the grounds of their mysterious English estate, which Mary discovers, brings back to life with the help of her friend Dickon, and then shows to Colin. Looking after the garden and being outside so much helps both of them to become healthier, in both the physical and emotional sense. Now, Mary cares about other things besides herself, as does Colin, and Colin also gets well for the first time in his life.
Rating:
Summary: Good story and filming, not good acting
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A True Classic
Review: Little spoiled Mary Lennox is orphaned in India and sent to live with a distant relative. Alone and scared she has to learn the English way of life. Martha her maid teaches her how to dress herself, and gives her a jump rope opening up a whole new world to Mary. The gardens of the 100 room mansion. Here she meets the head gardener and learns of the Secret Garden. Mary also finds that there are many other secrets in this house, her hunchback caretaker that seems so sad, and the crying at night. The setting of Yorkshire England and the rich cast of characters including the maid Martha, Dicken, Martha's brother, and many others make this a wonderful book for all ages. I have read the secret garden hundreds of times and each time I get something new out of the book. It's a true classic.
Rating: 
Summary: A gentle, loving adaptation.
Review: The young actors do not have British accents, but the overall production is done with a gentle hand. There is strong contrast between the caring nurse/housekeeper here and the mean and perpetually angry one of the Kate Maberly movie. There's not enough meanness and violence to get this a place on TV today, but your younger children will probably enjoy it, even the scary parts.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story, not a good video
Review: The Secret Garden is one of my favorite children's stories. This video keeps faithfully to the story, but is ruined for me by the fact that the three children (Mary, Colin, and Dicken) all have American accents and Martha has a Cockney accent. Maybe this wouldn't matter to someone who doesn't know English accents at all, but Dicken and Martha should have the same broad Yorkshire accents (they're brother and sister after all!) and Mary should have an upperclass British accent. These details are important to the story. My 6 year old found elements of the video quite scary but stayed glued to it nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Turn/Otherwise Good Production
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: I watched this movie in Religion and was dissapointed that it didn't follow the book. I read the book as a child and saw almost every version of the movie available, but now seeing this one again (I'm pretty sure I saw this before) I was annoyed at how much it changed the book. I think if your going to take a book and make it a movie you have no right to take such liberties. The way Mary discovers the garden and the key are absolutely rediculous. Also I don't like colin's strange fortune-teller like air. I had no emotional reaction to the ending where the children are all grown up because they just seemed like random actors and didn't even remotely resemble the children. Don't get this version if your a purist.
| 
