Overview
A young girl's discovery of a hidden garden leads to transformative friendships and healing.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- mysterious
- lyrical
- family movie night
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics broadly praised this beautifully filmed, well-acted adaptation for honoring the novel’s darker themes while creating an atmospheric and emotionally resonant children’s fantasy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mary is sent to Lord Craven’s remote Yorkshire estate, where the mansion’s locked rooms, servants, and neglected grounds shape the story’s atmosphere.
Mary’s discovery and cultivation of the hidden garden directly connect nature with renewed relationships and recovery.
Mary, Colin, and Dickon form a bond that counters orphanhood, illness, isolation, and the Craven family’s unresolved sorrow.
The old mansion, locked spaces, overgrown garden, and richly filmed landscape create a darkly beautiful fantasy atmosphere.
Films like The Secret Garden, and why
A Little Princess
shared children’s fantasy, isolated estate setting, gentle wonder, and themes of friendship and emotional healing
The Railway Children
shared classic children’s literature adaptation, orphaned protagonist, English period setting, and uplifting atmosphere
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
shared family fantasy, hidden magical spaces, child protagonists, and themes of grief and renewal
The Spiderwick Chronicles
shared coming-of-age fantasy, eccentric adults, secret spaces, and emotionally restorative family themes
Movie Details
- Director
- Agnieszka Holland
- Release Date
- 1993-08-13
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (1014)
Cast
- Kate Maberly
- Heydon Prowse
- Andrew Knott
- Maggie Smith
- Irène Jacob
- Laura Crossley
- John Lynch
- Walter Sparrow
- Valerie Hill
- Andrea Pickering
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Secret Garden about?
- An orphaned girl unlocks a neglected Yorkshire garden and, with two lonely children, awakens a wounded household to wonder and renewal.
- What is The Secret Garden like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Secret Garden as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Secret Garden violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Secret Garden as mild.
- What did critics think of The Secret Garden?
- Critics broadly praised this beautifully filmed, well-acted adaptation for honoring the novel’s darker themes while creating an atmospheric and emotionally resonant children’s fantasy.
- Which films are like The Secret Garden?
- Films with a similar feel include A Little Princess, The Railway Children, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Spiderwick Chronicles.
- How long is The Secret Garden?
- The Secret Garden runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Secret Garden?
- In United States, The Secret Garden streams on Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel.
