The Secret Garden is a rendition of the classic Frances Hodgon Burnett novel about a young girl (Kate Maberly) who discovers an abandoned garden on her uncle’s large Victorian country estate, as well as an invalid cousin she didn’t realize she had. With the help of a local boy, the girl sets out to restore the garden and, once it is blooming again, she discovers it has magical powers.
Some “children’s films” are only for children. Some can be watched by the whole family. Others are so good they seem hardly intended for children at all, and “The Secret Garden” falls in that category. It is a work of beauty, poetry and deep mystery, and watching it is like entering for a time into a closed world where one’s destiny may be discovered. It is a beautiful, intelligent film – a fable, a lesson, and an entrancing entertainment. And Roger Deakins’ photography elevates the secret garden into a place of such harmony and beauty that we almost believe it can restore the lives of those who look on it. – Roger Ebert
Reportedly The Secret Garden is set in the [Edwardian era](http://www.willowandthatch.com/period-films-to-watch/best-period-dramas-edwardian-era/) shortly after the turn of the 20th century in India and Yorkshire, England, but no exact date is given in the book, and the story may actually be set in the late [Victorian era](http://www.willowandthatch.com/period-films-to-watch/period-dramas-victorian-era/).
Starring Kate Maberly, Maggie Smith, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Laura Crossley.
Parents need to know that this is a fine family film, with no inappropriate content. Many kids will be drawn into the mystery of the garden and the strange crying in the house, yet be aware that this is a sedate story and may bore kids used to action-packed films. – Common Sense Media