Overview: 'The Secret Garden,' starring Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Dixie Egerickx, is a new take on the beloved classic novel of the same name written by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Set in England during a new time period in 1947, the film follows a young orphan girl who, after being sent to live with her uncle, discovers a magical garden on the grounds of his estate.

Blu-ray Verdict: So we're all on the same page, 'The Secret Garden' is a remake of the 1993 movie of the same name. This remake is directed by Marc Munden, who is better known as the director of TV series such as National Treasure and The Crimson Petal and the White.

In the film, the parents of 10-year-old Mary Lennox (Dixie Engerickx) die. This is why she is brought to her uncle Archibald Cravan (Colin Firth).

Her uncle lives in a large country house with his sick son Colin (Edan Hayhurst). Mary is a curious girl and she decides to fully investigate her uncle's large mansion.

She finds a mysterious door that gives her access to a secret garden. In this garden Mary discovers that special things are possible here.

She tries to get her nephew to go to the garden in the hope that he can heal here. Colin is just too negative to come with her. Mary must now find a way to convince Colin of the wonders that are possible in the secret garden.

This film, like the 1993 film of the same name and many other films of the same name, is also based on the book by writer Frances Hodgson Burnett.

For example, the story of the film may seem somewhat familiar to older viewers, but this new version is so much more fun for young children of this generation.

Parents familiar with an older version of this film could watch this film with their children and then compare the two different films.

The film does have beautiful scenes that take place in the secret garden, because it is filled with beautiful images and some animals.

Older viewers can see that most of these images are filmed with CGI and in front of a green screen, but younger viewers can enjoy these beautiful images and continue to fantasize about them.

Because of the script, characters of Dixie Egerickx such as a newly turned orphan and the sick Edan Hayhurst come across as somewhat negative for much of the film.

Although both have good reason to be negative, as a viewer it is difficult to empathize with them and it is difficult to like them.

It would have been better to introduce the characters to the viewers in a more positive way, as the characters only become positive themselves when they are in the secret garden.

That all said, the film is carried by Amir Wilson who plays the helper's son in the household and "lead" actors such as Colin Firth and Julie Walters, have nothing but minor roles in the film, to be quite honest.

In conclusion and even though it may not be remembered as affectionately as its previous adaptation, I'd say that this film still has just enough in it for most audiences to enjoy.

Nevertheless, the 1993 film is still the better one and I definitely prefer it for the various reasons stated above.

Watching both of these films has actually made me interested in reading the original novel to see how it compares to all these onscreen treatments and I am certain the story is better in print form. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Extras of:

Characters
Concept to Reality
Page to Screen
Official Trailer

'The Secret Garden' [Blu-ray Combo Pack] is out October 6th, 2020 via Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Official Trailer

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