THE SECRET GARDEN [2020 / 2021] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] Unlock Your Imagination!
‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ is a Sky original, and tells the story of Mary Lennox [Dixie Egerickx], a 10 year old girl sent to live with her uncle Lord Archibald Craven [Colin Firth], under the watchful eye of Mrs. Medlock [Julie Walters] with only the household maid, and Mary Lennox for company. The film is set in 1940’s England at Misselthwaite Manor, a remote country estate deep in the Yorkshire moors.
Mary Lennox begins to uncover many family secrets, particularly after chancing upon her cousin Colin Craven [Edan Hayhurst], who has been shut away unwell in a wing of the house. Whist exploring the grounds of the Misselthwaite Manor, Mary Lennox discovers a wondrous garden and meets a local boy Dickon [Amir Wilson], who helps her fix stray dog Hector’s injured leg using the garden’s restorative powers. The three children adventure deep into the mysteries of the garden a magical place that will change their lives forever.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nomination: 2021 British Independent Film Awards: Nominated: Michele Clapton for Best Costume Design.
FILM FACT No.2: The main front facade of the estate house was filmed at Harlaxton manor in Lincolnshire. Some of the film was filmed in Yorkshire. Filming has also taken place within Iford Manor Gardens, near Bath and the National Trust site of Bodnant Gardens, near Conwy, North Wales. Filming locations also include Woodhall Estate, Hertfordshire, Trebah Gardens, and Cornwall. Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, Dorset and Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean and Helmsley Walled Garden in North Yorkshire as well as Tilbury landing stage. This is the second time Colin Firth has acted in a film adaptation of “The Secret Garden.” The other version was released 33 years earlier, and was one of Colin Firth's earliest films.
Cast: Dixie Egerickx, Richard Hansell, David Verrey, Tommy Gene Surridge, Julie Walters, Maeve Dermody, Colin Firth, Isis Davis, Amir Wilson, Fozzie [Jemina / Hector the dog], Anne Lacey, Edan Hayhurst, Rupert Young, Jemma Powell, Sonia Goswami [Ayah Flashback], Paul Dean-Kelly (uncredited), Albert Giannitelli (uncredited), Billy Jenkins (uncredited), Abdul Hakim Joy (uncredited), Jackson Kai (uncredited) and Chloe Stannage (uncredited)
Director: Marc Munden
Producers: Adam Fogelson, Ben Irving, Dan MacRae, David Heyman, Didier Lupfer, Jane Robertson, Rob Silva, Robert Simonds, Ron Halpern and Rosie Alison
Screenplay: Jack Thorne (screenplay) and Frances Hodgson Burnett (novel)
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Costume Designer: Michele Clapton
Cinematography: Lol Crawley, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 100 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Universal Pictures / SKY Original / STUDIOCANAL / HEYDAY FILMS
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ [2020] will probably ring a bell too many, even if they are several generations apart. This 1911 novel has been adapted for the silver screen, as well as theatre, several times throughout the years and in 2020 the fifth film adaptation was. The film, starring the renowned Colin Firth, was released quite silently and we are lucky enough to take a look at the physical release by STUDIOCANAL in the comfort of our living room.
‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ is where you will learn the tragic fate of young Mary Lennox [Dixie Egerickx] and her parents, who died while stationed in India in 1947. Mary Lennox will soon find her sheltered life quite stirred up, as she is used to being served around the clock. She finds herself in the care of her uncle, Lord Archibald Craven [Colin Firth], who would rather not deal with her. As long as Mary Lennox doesn’t make too much noise and stays out of his sight, she can remain there without being sent off to a boarding school. Mary Lennox is being heavily monitored by the matron of the house, Mrs. Medlock [Julie Walters], who has it out for Mary Lennox. While Mary Lennox is told not to explore the house, to avoid certain rooms and to abide by all the rules, she uncovers a seemingly magical garden. When also meeting Lord Archibald Craven’s hidden and very ill son, Colin Craven [Edan Hayburst], Mary Lennox wants to take him there as well. This task will prove a lot more difficult than she could have hoped for.
A robin that lives on the grounds of the manor plays a key part in the storyline and needed to be crafted in CGI to achieve the performance required. Marc Munden wanted it to feel believable but also to have a character of its own. Marc Munden worked hard to keep it within the boundaries of what is believable. Small birds are notoriously difficult to sell on-screen due to their speed. Small birds move at a very fast rate, much faster than the onset cameras can move. The team had to find ways of having the Robin lingering in the shot for the purpose of storytelling and then having him fly off, adds Animation Supervisor Liam Russell. We used animation tests to try to bring a sense of cheekiness and curiosity to the Robin as well as the realism of his natural motion.
The audience may be surprised to learn that the exterior of Misselthwaite Manor is also a full-CG build. An English stately home was used as a stand-in for the shoot but needed replacing with the ideal Manor in the post production stage. Along with the grounds and manor house, the team also helped to bring to life Mumbai for the film’s opening, some tricky transitions between scenes and a stand-out wallpaper animation sequence. With such a variety of invisible VFX work needed across the show, Munden Munden and his team were heavily involved in the post stage, regularly visiting the studio to see the latest work and were very collaborative.
The pacing of the film is actually quite slow, although it doesn’t really feel as such. Throughout the entire film, it feels like there’s going to be a somewhat intense moment or a grand finale, and while there is a finale, it is somewhat lukewarm. That being said, the film’s crawling speed is not annoying or tedious, it just feels like it’s happening, it’s quite pleasant, but it misses a certain goal or purpose throughout. It’s a relaxing experience; it makes you calm down, but also wonders what more could have been done to spice things up.
Acting performances are quite formidable. While the core cast is toned down to a handful of people, they do make the movie feel alive. In the first place, there is Dixie Egerickx, who plays the young Mary Lennox, and her character shows proper growth throughout the film and may actually be the only character that has this much depth. This means that the young actress had to carry most of the film’s weight on her back, and she does so properly. Dixie Egerickx two younger co-stars, Amir Wilson and Edan Hayhurst provide the necessary backup and of course the proper input for the story. Edan Hayhurst’s career isn’t taking off at the same speed, but even so, he puts down a proper stage presence. Colin Firth takes a role more suited for the background, showing his face when the story wants him to do so. Julie Walters and Isis Davis play proper opposites when it comes to how they treat Dixie Egerickx’s character, which creates a nice contrast throughout the film.
‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ is a nice and beautiful in it's own way, and tries to tell a different story from the book, also keeping in mind that the viewers are not from 1900's but 2020. This movie's got heart. It's got a nice charm to it and the graphics are amazing. Colin Firth, Julie Walters and the other actors did a great job as well. Aurora Aksnes's song at the end credits deserves special mention. And if anyone have problems with the story part, please remember what the director said, it's just an adaptation, not “the” adaptation. The film gave me a sense of a childhood I never had. It's magical and the special effects are amazing. The only complaint I have is that it's too short for any real character development and Mary Lennox remains a spoiled brat throughout the whole film. But despite this last comment, all in all, it is a very delightful film and I enjoyed the whole experience.
This is an enjoyable film but if you are expecting a film of the book you won't get it. It begins accurately enough but segues into pure fantasy. The secret garden, which should be a walled garden of ordinary size, becomes a massive acreage. The whole point is that the garden is neglected and Mary Lennox's story is about rescuing the garden, tending it with Dickon, learning to sow and grow plants and through the garden saving Colin Craven and Mary Lennox. That was all lost here with the garden in some sort of Eden that would be most unlikely in Yorkshire and unfortunately it is slightly unrealistic, but despite this negative aspect, I still enjoyed the film very much. The only other negative aspect of the film, and that is I wish they had stuck rigidly to the same scenario outline to the famous and original marvellous 1975 BBC Television Children’s Classic adaption.
THE SECRET GARDEN MUSIC TRACK LIST
THE SECRET GARDEN (Written by Aurora Aksnes) [Performed by Aurora Aksnes]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Universal Pictures and STUDIOCANAL presents us the film ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ and does a completely outstanding 1080p image transfer that makes full uses of eye-popping colourful visual feast. Detail is exceptional, revealing subtle textures with the fabrics, peeling paint on the walls of Misselthwaite Manor, and facial features. Colours are vibrant, especially once we enter the secret garden, yet never appearing overly saturated. Contrast is also excellent, with deep blacks that show minimal crushing and shadow details. This is, of course, indicative of a new to Blu-ray film and especially one that’s not afraid to embrace the visual effects department. This is a beautiful visual treat.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Universal Pictures and STUDIOCANAL brings us the film ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ with an amazing 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience and the audio track provides excellent audio separation across the fronts with active surrounds that come very close to accomplishing the immersive feeling of the film. The majority of the film is dialogue-driven and those lovely English accents are on full display here. What else would we expect, right? There are several sequences, mostly in the “garden” scenes that really engage the surrounds and provide a sense of aural goodness that we were waiting for. It’s a nice, strong, well-balanced audio mix that’s certain to please.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Meet The Characters [2020] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:08] Learn more about the beloved characters of the film and how the actors who played them brought them to life in a new and imaginative way. We also get a look behind-the-scene of the film ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ and also a look at the main characters that were involved with the film in bring the novel “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett to life in this new adaption. We also get input from the actors of what their personality of their character and also comments from the crew on what they wanted to bring to the film. As an added bonus we get a selection of scenes from the film highlighting the characters in the film. Contributors include: Dixie Egerickx [Mary Lennox], Rosie Alison [Producer], Marc Munden [Director], David Heyman [Producer], Julie Walters [Mrs. Medlock], Colin Firth [Lord Archibald Craven], Amir Wilson [Dickon], Isis Davis [Martha], Jack Thorne [Screenwriter] and Fozzie [Jemima / Hector the dog].
Special Feature: Meet Mary [2020] [1080p] [1.78:1] [0:59] Here we get an in-depth close-up of the child actress Dixie Egerickx who plays Mary Lennox and talks about what her character is portrayed in the film and what she wanted to bring to the film. The cast and crew talk about the young actress Dixie Egerickx and how wonderful she acted her part and Dixie Egerickx and says she feel very lucky to be in the film. Once again we get to view quite a few selections of scenes from the film. Contributors include: Rosie Alison [Producer], Jack Thorne [Screenwriter], Julie Walters [Mrs. Medlock] and Marc Munden [Director].
Special Feature: Meet Fozzie [2020] [1080p] [1.78:1] [0:30] Here get to view a nice insight into the loveable Fozzie who plays the character Jemima / Hector the dog who is an 8 year old Collier Cross Poodle and use to spend a lot of time in make-up to produce the effect of his coat and he really loved the children and they think Fozzie is a legend, as well as a very good trained dog, as well as a very professional one and we get to see lots of behind-the-scene filming with Fozzie and the children, as well as scenes with Fozzie and the children in the film. Contributors include: Cindy Sharville [Animals Galore Agency], Dixie Egerickx [Mary Lennox] and Edan Hayhurst [Colin Craven].
Special Feature: Bringing ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ to life [2020] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:40] From the majestic design of Misselthwaite Manor, to the creation of the enchanting garden, see how the filmmakers created the most immersive telling of ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ yet, full of vivid and magical realism. We also get an in-depth look behind-the-scene filming of ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ and how they brought the novel “The Secret Garden” to life. We see a glimpse of the costume department working on the costumes that the actors wore that were made to look like the period of the 1940’s. They talk about the main character in the film, which was of course Misselthwaite Manor and we see some wonderful illustrations on what they wanted the Manor to look for the period and we get to see some behind-the-scene filming inside the Manor. Dixie Egerickx the gardens were amazing and also so very beautiful, we also find out that the garden was filmed in different locations, so they could create one magical garden. Contributors include: David Heyman [Producer], Rosie Alison [Producer], Colin Firth [Lord Archibald Craven], Jack Thorne [Screenwriter], Grant Montgomery [Production Designer], Marc Munden [Director], Julie Walters [Mrs. Medlock], Nigel Albermaniche [Production Sound Mixer], Edan Hayhurst [Colin Craven] and Isis Davis [Martha].
Special Feature: From Page To Screen: Adapting the book into a film [2020] [1080] [1.78:1] [2:38] Here we get am in-depth look behind-the-scenes filming of ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ and how the timeless, best-selling novel was brought to life in a modern, vivid, and a magical way. The cast and crew talks about how they loved the novel “The Secret Garden” and how they wanted to portray the wonderful written words of the novel to the screen to honour the author Frances Hodgson Burnett, because again they all loved the book and has been read around the world, and of course the story if told from the Mary Lennox point of view and of course gradually opens p and her heart, and gradually blooms into a young lady and how she reacys to other people, especially the reaction for the other children and of course the wonderful Fozzie the dog who she befriends, as also Colin Craven. Once again we get lots of behind-the-scene filming in the different garden locations. Contributors include: David Heyman [Producer], Colin Firth [Lord Archibald Craven], Rosie Alison [Producer], Michele Clapton [Costume Designer], Julie Walters [Mrs. Medlock], Isis Davis [Martha] and Grant Montgomery [Production Designer].
Finally, the 2020 rendition of ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ is a tough one to properly judge. The enchanting film itself is quite appealing, the acting is formidable and that magical atmosphere is present, it just barely scratches the surface of what it could have been. It feels like if certain scenes could have been shortened and if the writers could have gone a bit deeper into the underlying story, this film would have been wonderful. As it stands now, the film is nice, but the physical edition of the film brings nothing extra to the table in terms of content, but definitely a delightful fun film for your collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
