The Secret of Moonacre (2008)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Gabor Csupo

Writers:

Graham Alborough (writer)
Elizabeth Goudge (novel)

Release Date:

6 February 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

When 13 year old Maria Merryweather's father dies, leaving her orphaned and homeless, she is forced...

Plot Keywords:

Good Deed | Children | Horse | Castle | Forest

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd	...	Sir Benjamin
Dakota Blue Richards	...	Maria
Tim Curry	...	Coeur De Noir
Natascha McElhone	...	Loveday
Juliet Stevenson	...	Miss Heliotrope
Augustus Prew	...	Robin
Andy Linden	...	Marmaduke Scarlet
Michael Webber	...	Digweed
Zoltán Barabás Kis	...	Dulac
George Mendel	...	Priest

Also Known As:

Le secret de Moonacre (France)
The Little White Horse (UK) (copyright title)
The Moon Princess (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Hungary | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

UK:U | Ireland:G | South Korea:All | Netherlands:6 | Philippines:G (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Forgan-Smith Entertainment

Trivia:

Was originally slated for a 2008 release.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Moonacre" (1994)

Thoroughly enjoyable, for adults too (just about)

I have to agree with all the other reviewers here - some very good reviews except for the two who went to premier and seem to have left them starstruck (moonstruck?) and ebullient about the use!! of!! exclamation marks!!!

In some ways, like CS Lewis and JK Rowling the narrative in the book (which I only know the story from the film) does seem to have a particular patchwork quality, many elements from old fabrics sewn together. Of course this is how stories have always been written not to mention the inherent structure needed for a story to be successful, a structure that has existed since language. So some of it seemed a bit old but that's what you need to sell something to a sometimes fickle audience. It was so great looking however that it almost made up for it. The sixth star of this review is for costumes, the seventh for set pieces so it's a 5 star really. The metalwork was particularly ornate.

The performances were all pretty much architypical regarding the actors previous casting, though it was interesting seeing good old Gruffudd getting grumpy again. It's true that Curry had little screen time though he was very antagonistic - but soon calmed down at the end (it is a children's film after all). The chef and the nanny were great and I liked the young guy who played Robin.

The animals (magic ones) were present as always, the obligatory unicorn and the lion from CS Lewis - though this lion was cooler that Aslan, he was BLACK. Having never seen or thought about a black lion before, this is now my favorite animal. Apart from bunnies. And I'm sure he could have kicked Aslan's ass (I've never been keen on CS Lewis and his stories have always annoyed me since I was a child but hey, we gotta live with them cos he was Tolkein's mate and he was well connected to get his rubbish printed and because of its popularity many people think it's actually good).

Sorry, rant over.

So it you're a parent - definitely get this for your children, you'll probably be able to bare watching it over again unlike horrific Di$ney films &c. If you're and adult ans you liked Stardust and Compass, you'll probably like this too, though it's not quite as good though it's better than Terabithia, which is just a children's film really.

I'm glad the fantasy films are back, there was a real dry patch in the nineties. But the key question is - WHEN is someone going to make a proper film of The Wizard of Earthsea? (I know there is a Canadian TV movie - it's awful - and the Ghibli film 'Tales From Earthsea', but it's not a proper telling of any of the books and it's directed by Goro and not Hayao Miyazaki so it's not even that good. Ah well. Read that Wizard of Earthsea if you've not, it's pretty much the foundation for Harry Potter and maybe Pullman's books as well though I'm not sure. Wizard of Earthsea is the greatest magus-topic novel I've come across because it's authentic. The thing is the mass will always desire the crass... *sigh*