In the spirit of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Bridge to Terabithia, and The Golden Compass comes The Secret of Moonacre. A family-friendly film, Moonacre is filled with fun, magic, and excitement that will keep your kids watching from beginning to end.
Based on the children’s novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, Moonacre tells the tale of an orphaned girl who goes to live with her uncle at the mysterious Moonacre Manor. Upon arrival she soon discovers that there’s more to be seen than meets the eye.
I really enjoyed this movie. I really like the Narnia series and felt that Moonacre fits well into the fantasy film genre aimed at kids. It does have some dark moments, but the overall tone is pretty safe and light for most ages. It’s also a fantasy filmed that is geared slightly more toward girls, which is a rarity, since the lead character is female – Maria Merryweather (Dakota Blue Richards, The Golden Compass).
The special effects are dazzling and really well done, and the film as a whole looks beautiful. I was quite impressed by the effects since this is an independent film and those tend to have less of a budget effects. But Moonacre appears to have spent the time, effort, and energy to create a convincing cinematic world that is a sight to behold.
Directed by Terabithia’s Gabor Csupo, you can tell that his delivers a passion and excitement for the material and ensures that every moment in the film delivers. Plus, you can never go wrong when Tim Curry makes an appearance in a film as the bad guy. And you can tell he had a lot of fun.
The Blu-ray edition of Moonacre is loaded with Special Features, which include: a Making-of Featurette; Deleted Scenes; Cast Interviews; Behind-the-Scenes Footage; an the Original Trailer. While it may not look like a lot, this ends up being around 90 minutes of extras that go in-depth into the filmmaking process.
For an excellent, magical, and family-oriented film (the wrapped had a “Family Approved” sticker affixed to it), I highly recommend The Secret of Moonacre on Blu-ray.
The Secret of Moonacre is available NOW on DVD and Blu-ray!
What’s your favorite family-friendly fantasy film? Leave a comment and let us know!