The Secret Garden (Widescreen/Full Screen)

An enjoyable adaptation, emphasis on adaptation, of the book. I found the characters very believable and especially enjoyed the characters of Mary, Dickon, Martha, Collin and Lord Craven. The movie itself is entrancing and certainly worth watching. That being said however those people who enjoy the book may find a few disappointments like I did. To put a book into a movie often requires the compression of activities. However I fail to see the reason to change the relationship between Mary's parents and her uncle, Lord Craven. In the book Mary's father and Lord Craven's late wife are brother and sister. In the movie Mary's mother and Lord Craven's wife are twin sisters. This is used to change one of the more important parts of the book where Collin has "his mother's eyes" which is a great part of the pain that Lord Craven feels when he looks at Collin. Collin is also less spoiled, or at least less demanding, in the movie. He is controlled by the housekeeper rather than being the "lord of the manor" as he is in the book. While setting up more confrontation it also detracts from his change from "spoiled brat" to a normal boy. One other point that I did not like, they leave out Dickon's mother who plays a small but pivotal role in the book.

Overall I would recommend this movie however if you have not read the book, read it for it gives great scope to ones imagination and is much more "human".

One of my favorite movies. It reminds me of the healing power and the magic of the garden. I could watch it over and over.

I thought the grandchildren would enjoy it but it couldn't hold their attention for more than 5 minutes at a time