The Secret of Moonacre

In the wake of the Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings franchises, fantasy cinema is big business. As a result, movie producers in search of the next money-spinning adaptation are casting their nets in surprising and unusual directions, including this cinematic outing for the relatively little-known children's novel 'The Little White Horse' by author Elizabeth Goudge.

Retitled The Secret Of Moonacre and beefed up with added action and evocative CGI effects, this tale of prophecies and magic is certainly packed with all the traditional children's fantasy ingredients. Unfortunately, it also proves that Bridge To Terabithia director Gabor Csupo is only as good as his material and that family adventure films aren't as easy as they look.

The story begins with recently orphaned child Maria Merryweather (Dakota Blue Richards) being forced to move to Moonacre Manor, where she finds herself living with previously unknown relative Sir Benjamin (Ioan Gruffudd), her grumpy and reclusive uncle. Feeling less than welcome, Maria is unhappy with her lot, but as she explores the house and the surrounding valley, she unearths a tale of magic dating back generations, when a Moon Princess supposedly placed a curse on the valley and all who live in it.

Since then, her family has been locked in a feud with the sinister De Noir clan over the location of the fabled pearls of the Moon Princess, and Maria eventually determines that she has to track down the pearls and bring the two families together. However, with neither of the families willing to let go of their pride, it's not going to be an easy task, and if she doesn't succeed before the five thousandth moon rises, the Moon Princess' curse will be fulfilled and the entire valley will be destroyed...

The Secret Of Moonacre is a very old-fashioned fantasy film, with a story of discovery and gentle adventure that heavily resembles classic children's literature like 'The Secret Garden'. With its emphasis on friendship and family and a relative lack of actual threat or danger, it's the kind of good-natured and wholesome tale that needs very careful handling if it isn't going to come across as monstrously twee.

Unfortunately, this is exactly where director Gabor Csupo slips up. As an ex-animator, he still has an eye for a striking image - particularly in the brief fantasy sequences explaining the Moon Princess myth, and the reveal of a shaggy black dog's secret powers - but the weaker moments of Bridge To Terabithia are magnified here, and what should have been delicate and charming instead comes across as crass and annoying.

Leaping from its vague, meandering plotline into sudden chase sequences without warning, there's no chance for the film to build up any sense of enchantment or magic. Instead, it settles for clumsy romance, dreadful slapstick and a selection of fart and belch gags aimed purely at the under-tens. This all gets very wearing, and even the editing is abrupt and inconsistently paced, cranking out scenes at such a bizarre rate that it's difficult to get a sense of where we are in the story.

It's also clear that Csupo isn't the best director of actors, with Golden Compass star Dakota Blue Richards once again showing that despite being very photogenic, she's actually a rather flat and unengaging performer. Combined with lacklustre work from Natascha McElhone, Tim Curry and especially Ioan Gruffudd, all we're really left with are the visuals, including the impressive production design and some eye-catching costumes. Even here, however, there are bizarre choices, particularly with the decision to dress the De Noir family as a cross between the Uruk-Hai from the Lord Of The Rings and the Droog gang members from A Clockwork Orange (complete with emo-style eye make-up).

The film's biggest problem, however, lies with the clumsy and haphazard screenplay, where tin-eared dialogue is in abundance, and a mystical 'countdown to destruction' plot device is welded onto the narrative without ever actually making sense. Goudge's original story was obviously only ever meant to work as a quiet and gentle tale, and by trying to up the action and jeopardy to make it more cinematic, they've thrown out most of what made it charming in the first place. The end result mistakes slapstick and chases for genuine magic, and while it might entertain undemanding children, The Secret Of Moonacre remains firmly trapped in the shadow of bigger and better fantasy films.