The Secret of Moonacre (www.the-usher.com)

After the death of her father, thirteen year-old Maria Merryweather has to leave her home in the city and live with her reclusive uncle, Sir Benjamin (Gruffudd). He lives in the middle of Moonacre Valley in a stately manor that is slowly falling apart with his faithful butler Digweed (Webber), cook and hound Wrolf and is surrounded by a forest which is the home of his archenemy Coeur De Noir (Curry). The pair has been looking for a set of magical pearls hidden by the last Moon Princess but it is Maria who holds the key and the power to save the Valley.

Since a certain boy wizard and a hairy-footed hobbit travelled to the big screen, the fantasy movie has become viable again at the box office but can 'The Secret of Moonacre' follow that success?

The fantasy adventure had all but disappeared from cinemas until two franchises took the box office by storm, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. With both been juggernauts, taking billions, film studios were quick to try and cash in on the success but the results have been very mixed. While our trips to Hogwarts and Middle Earth were guaranteed box office gold, film like 'Eragon', 'The Golden Compass', 'Inkheart' and even 'The Chronicles of Narnia' didn't come anywhere near to recreating the success of the big two. This didn't stop studios trying however and 'The Secret of Moonacre' is the next to attempt to do so.

Based on the novel 'The Little White Horse' by Elizabeth Goudge and directed by 'Bridge to Terabithia' helmer and 'Rugrats' and 'The Wild Thornberrys' creator Gabor Csupo, the movie has everything going for it but unfortunately it doesn't deliver. While the film is clearly aimed at family audiences, especially those with slightly younger children but unfortunately they have forgotten to work on the story.

The basic elements are there. We have a magical valley that has been in decay for hundreds of years since Nature itself put a terrible curse on it. If the magical moon pearls are not returned to nature after five thousand moon rises then the valley will be destroyed but generations of the Merryweather and De Noir have been too busy fighting to save themselves. It wasn't until young Maria Merryweather comes to the valley that Moonacre has a chance of been saved. This might sound all well and good but it is the execution that is disappointing as we are greeted with a complete mess with the actors trying their best to make sense of things.

Director Gabor Csupo has gathered together a fine cast however to try and make the most of things. Juliet Stevenson has fun as the wind filled nanny Miss Heliotrope, Natascha McElhone is beautiful as Loveday, Ioan Gruffudd is reclusive enough as Sir Benjamin and Dakota Blue Richards returns to fantasy as Maria. Tim Curry is seriously underused as Coeur De Noir, as the character has no substance at all.

'The Secret of Moonacre' is a huge disappointment. With all the elements for a great fantasy available, director Gabor Csupo has failed to deliver anything that could be expressed as great. With script of the beloved novel never quite capturing the magic of the original material, this is a fantasy movie that tries but never quite has magic to succeed.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

None

OVERALL

It is a very rare thing but 'The Secret of Moonacre' has no bonus features at all. This will come as huge disappointment to fans and is not the way DVD should be released.

DVD

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2009