Critic Reviews

• Trevor Johnston, Time Out

  Nicely put together, but just a little dull.

• Common Sense Media Editors, Common Sense Media

  Enchanting fantasy turns teen into sweet, selfless princess.

• Edward Porter, Times [UK]

  Richards starred in 2007's The Golden Compass and, compared with big-budget fantasies of that kind, this smaller effort can't help looking mimsy, despite its good intentions.

• Philip French, Observer [UK]

  A film about magic that remains obdurately unmagical.

• Anthony Quinn, Independent

  A sluggish narrative is further hampered by "comic" turns (Juliet Stevenson, as a gurning governess) and some frankly shameless knockoffs.

• Allan Hunter, Daily Express

  Routine special effects merely add to the impression that this is a second division fantasy.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  A sweet if faintly soporific fantasy adventure for family audiences.

• Simon Reynolds, Digital Spy

  This whimsical children's tale is uninspired yet doesn't drop far enough below mediocrity to justify a place in the lineup of "so-bad-they're-good" movies.

• Christopher Tookey, Daily Mail [UK]

  Fantasy doesn't come feebler than this.

• David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]

  It's a slow-moving affair with wooden acting, duff special effects and some woefully unfunny comic moments from Tim Curry as an undersized chef. All in all, the thing's severely lacking in magic.

• , Sun Online

  The Secret Of Moonacre lacks action, adventure and magic.

• Helen OHara, Empire Magazine

  Whilst missing a trick in terms of script and casting, at least they've amped up the action from the somewhat sedate book.

• Saxon Bullock, Film4

  It's not quite a disaster but this disappointing and poorly executed fantasy adventure never reaches the level of magic and enchantment it needs to succeed.

• James Christopher, Times [UK]

  Apart from some wooden over-acting, The Secret of Moonacre is a shrewd mix of live action and exotic animation by the Hungarian director Gabor Csupo.

• Elliott Noble, Sky Movies

  The cast looks vaguely uncomfortable too. Even shameless scenery-chewer Curry can't muster any enthusiasm for an over-earnest script that throws around pearls of non-wisdom like moondust.

• Tom Charity, Total Film

  The costumes are beautiful. The sets are impressive... But somehow the movie feels cheap and malnourished, as if the money ran out when they were only halfway there.

• Derek Malcolm, This is London

  The production design gives us plenty for the eye but a dull screenplay and patchy editing hardly bring the fantasy to life.

• Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

  Poorly written, badly acted and ultimately disappointing fantasy adventure that suffers from plodding direction and fails to connect on an emotional level.

• Robbie Collin, News of the World

  It's been adapted from a kids' book called The Little White Horse, and the plot's been totally mangled. But to be fair, the costumes are great.

• Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

  Without a coherent central tone, this fantasy adventure feels like it drifts all over the place

Read all 20 critic reviews