The Secret of Moonacre (2008)

20% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
45% of users liked it
(4,119 ratings)

A 13-year-old girl (played by The Golden Compass' Dakota Blue Richards) discovers that she is the only hope for banishing an ancient curse from a magical kingdom in director Gabor Csupo's adaptation of author Elizabeth Goudge's 1946 children's book The Little White Horse. Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry,… More A 13-year-old girl (played by The Golden Compass' Dakota Blue Richards) discovers that she is the only hope for banishing an ancient curse from a magical kingdom in director Gabor Csupo's adaptation of author Elizabeth Goudge's 1946 children's book The Little White Horse. Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry, and Juliet Stevenson co-star in a film penned by screenwriting partners Graham Alborough and Lucy Shuttleworth. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Gabor Csupo
Genres: Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Romance, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Sep 6, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Sep 21, 2010
Studio: Warner Bros.

Critic Reviews

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.
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
Nicely put together, but just a little dull.
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

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Kylie B

I loved the book when I was younger, in fact I still have it secreted away somewhere where I keep all my sentimental things. This is why I made a note of renting it. However, I was a shade disappointed. The costumes and sets are lovely (although I'm not keen on Maria's pink… More
I loved the book when I was younger, in fact I still have it secreted away somewhere where I keep all my sentimental things. This is why I made a note of renting it. However, I was a shade disappointed. The costumes and sets are lovely (although I'm not keen on Maria's pink dress as from behind it looks as if she's unwittingly exposing herself), but the plot is a lot more 'dramatic' (i.e contains more conflict and peril) and twee, and less engaging than I remember. The ending is quite effective though, which did save my opinion of it somewhat.
Sarah B

Despite the magical premise, incredible cast, stunning costumes, sets and landscape, this film failed to excite any interest in me whatsoever. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but I think it was the lack of enthusiasm from the cast; if they weren't especially… More
Despite the magical premise, incredible cast, stunning costumes, sets and landscape, this film failed to excite any interest in me whatsoever. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but I think it was the lack of enthusiasm from the cast; if they weren't especially bothered, then why should we be?
Barry L

No where near as dark as some of its ilk this is a great movie for the bug 'uns and the little 'uns alike. Tim Curry's baddie is a little bit pants but its a good allround family entertainer.