The Secret of Moonacre

The Secret of Moonacre is a 2008 fantasy film based on the novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. The film was directed by Gábor Csupó and starred Dakota Blue Richards in the leading role. The film premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2009 by Warner Bros.

The Secret of Moonacre
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGábor Csupó
Produced byDavid Brown
Michael Cowan
Brian Donovan
Meredith Garlick
Monica Penders
Jason Piette
Screenplay byGraham Alborough
Lucy Shuttleworth
Based onThe Little White Horse
by Elizabeth Goudge
StarringIoan Gruffudd
Tim Curry
Natascha McElhone
Juliet Stevenson
Dakota Blue Richards
Music byChristian Henson
CinematographyDavid Eggby
Edited byJulian Rodd
Production
company
  • Velvet Octopus
  • UK Film Council
  • Forgan-Smith Entertainment
  • Spice Factory
  • LWH Films
  • Eurofilm Stúdió
  • Davis Films
  • Grand Allure Entertainment
  • Aramid Entertainment
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • 6 September 2008 (2008-09-06) (TIFF)
  • 6 February 2009 (2009-02-06) (United Kingdom)
  • 13 May 2009 (2009-05-13) (France)
  • 19 November 2009 (2009-11-19) (Hungary)
Running time
103 minutes[1]
Country
LanguageEnglish
Budget$27 million[3]
Box office$7 million[4]

Plot

Fourteen-year-old Maria Merryweather attends her father's funeral and notices a strange boy watching, but he disappears before she looks again. Maria's father has left her a book: "The Ancient Chronicles of Moonacre Valley" and she reads of the first Moon Princess receiving magical pearls from the moon. At her wedding with a Merryweather, her father, a de Noir, presented the couple with a black lion, while the groom gifted his bride a unicorn. When the princess revealed the pearls, the two families were possessed by greed. Maria stops reading.

Forced to leave her London home, Maria and her governess, Miss Heliotrope, go to stay with an uncle she has never met: Sir Benjamin Merryweather, at Moonacre Manor. When they reach the manor gate their carriage is attacked by bandits, with the strange boy among them. Maria and Miss Heliotrope fend off their assailants and are saved by the closing gate. Sir Benjamin is cruel towards them and instructs Maria to stay away from the forest and the de Noirs; the rival family. She is shown to her room and is delighted by its whimsical nature, especially the stars on the ceiling. The next morning, Sir Benjamin confiscates the book. Each night Maria sees a star shoot across the ceiling and disappear.

Sir Benjamin takes Maria out riding and on returning, she hears a distressed cry and sneaks into the forest. She finds a rabbit in a cage and is suddenly surrounded by bandits, including the boy, who's name is Robin de Noir. Before they can kidnap her, Sir Benjamin's intimidating black dog, Wrolf, frightens them away. She returns to the manor with the rabbit and names her Serena. That night she sees a unicorn outside.

The next day Maria finally finds the kitchen. The magical chef, Marmaduke, tells her where to find her book. In it, she reads that when the two families fought over the pearls, the Moon Princess cursed Moonacre Valley to be plunged into eternal darkness at the rising of the 5000th moon, unless a "pure heart" is heard. Marmaduke tells Maria she is the new Moon Princess, as she can see the unicorn, and only such a one can undo the curse. Maria figures out that the very next moon will be the 5000th. Frightened, she runs away and finds a cave where a woman named Loveday lives. Loveday reveals she herself was a Moon Princess, but failed to unite the families and break the curse. Maria realises that the de Noirs stole the chest containing the pearls and the Merryweathers took the key to it. She pulls the key from the book's bookmark. Loveday takes her to the de Noir fortress and runs away.

Maria sneaks into the fortress but is spotted by Robin's father Coeur de Noir, the leader. She gives him the key but he reveals that the chest is empty. He believes the Merryweathers stole the pearls and the curse will consume them. Maria is locked in a dungeon, but she tricks the guard and escapes. Robin and the bandits pursue her, but she escapes into the forest and Wrolf leads her back to the manor. There she is severely scolded by her uncle and sent to her room. Loveday enters through a secret door and Maria takes her to the piano room. Looking in a magic mirror, she learns that Loveday and Sir Benjamin were once engaged, until Loveday revealed she was a de Noir: Sir Benjamin, furious, broke off the engagement, and Loveday ran away. Maria then notices a painting of the first Moon Princess, which shows her the pearls are hidden inside a tree in the forest. Marmaduke tells her only Robin can help her find it. Maria sends forged letters to Sir Benjamin and Loveday, each telling the other that they want to meet. Using Serena as bait, she traps Robin and makes him promise to listen. She then frees him and persuades him to help her end the curse.

Meanwhile, Loveday and Sir Benjamin meet and discover Maria's deception. Together with Miss Heliotrope, the "halfwit" servant Digweed, and Marmaduke, they set out to search for her. Miss Heliotrope and Loveday each decide to search away from the group. Back in the forest, Robin is captured by his father's men and Wrolf falls into a trap, leaving Maria to find the tree by herself. The unicorn appears and guides her to the tree; but Coeur appears demanding she give him the pearls. Wrolf escapes and saves Robin but is shot and seemingly dies. Hearing Maria's screams, Robin finds her and forces his father to let her go. Maria and Robin find the tree and enter an opening in the roots, closely followed by Coeur's men. Maria finds the pearls and the pair exit through a secret tunnel.

Coeur reaches the cliff where the valley was cursed and the moon is about to rise from the sea. Sir Benjamin then arrives with Digweed and Marmaduke, followed moments later by Maria and Robin with the pearls. Loveday, revealed to be Coeur's daughter, also arrives. Maria pleads to her uncle and Coeur to put aside their pride and so break the curse, but fails and realises she must do it herself. She throws the pearls toward the sea but they return and stick to her dress. Maria then jumps into the sea, sacrificing herself, and the pearls sink to the ocean floor just as the moon rises. A huge wave surges towards the cliff and Maria appears, on the back of the white unicorn. A revived Wrolf appears, having resumed his true form: the black lion. Sir Benjamin and Loveday reconcile, and Miss Heliotrope finally arrives. The Merryweathers and the de Noirs are united, the curse has been lifted and Moonacre Valley restored.

Cast

In order of appearance:

Production
Csesznek Castle – The "de Noir Fortress"
Schossberger Castle – "Moonacre Manor"

In pre-production it was decided the film needed a different title from the book. An internet poll was run, giving fans of the book a chance to vote for their preferred title: The Moon Princess or The Secret of Moonacre. The Secret of Moonacre won.[5]

Filming began in September 2007.[6] While a few scenes were filmed in London, England, most of the film was shot in Hungary.[5] Locations included Dobogókő, Alcsútdoboz, Csesznek and Budapest. The Csesznek Castle was one of main outdoor locations,[6] while the director Gábor Csupó chose Schossberger Castle to "embody" the Moonacre mansion.

Reception

The Secret of Moonacre premiered on 6 September 2008 at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival,[7] and featured at the New York International Children's Film Festival in February and March 2009.[8] The film was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2009.[1] It recouped less than its budget of $27 million,[3] grossing $1,437,637 in the United Kingdom and a worldwide total of $7,070,330.[4]

Critical response

The Secret of Moonacre has a 23% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews with an average rating of 4.13/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite impressive production values, this is staid, plodding and unimpressive fantasy-fare, with poor performances struggling with an underdeveloped script."[9]

The Secret of Moonacre was met with a mixed to negative reception from critics. Many criticized the film's script and acting.[10][11] Phillip French of The Observer called it "A film about magic that remains obdurately unmagical."[12] Rating the film one out of five stars, The Independent's Anthony Quinn wrote that it had a "sluggish narrative" and accused it of "trying to hitch a lift on the Potter gravy train."[13] Simon Reynolds of Digital Spy wrote that the film was "let down by a script with tin-eared dialogue" and "laboured direction", but found the cast's "hilarious acting misjudgements" enjoyable nonetheless.[14] Kevin Maher of The National referred to the film as "bargain-basement fantasy", complaining that its plot was too predictable.[3]

Other critics were more positive.[15] Rating the film four out of five stars, Fleur Cogle of The Timaru Herald praised The Secret of Moonacre as a "fun family movie" with "fast-paced storytelling and beautiful effects" and noted that it "has a subtle message about nature and our relationship with the natural world".[16] Helen O'hara of Empire rated the film three stars out of five, and wrote that it gave the "somewhat sedate book"'s story "a dose of action and adventure, giving it appeal for the Harry Potter generation".[17] Also giving the film three stars, Siân Scott of The Telegraph found that it had "plenty to charm".[18] Newshub's Kim Choe praised the film's "lush colours and elaborate costumes" and wrote that "the larger-than-life characters should be lovable and adventurous enough to keep a young audience entertained".[19] Francesca Rudkin of The New Zealand Herald wrote that "The story may be set in Victorian England, but its interpretation of the period is wonderfully wacky, with the sets a mix of minimalistic, medieval and dream-like. The production design is both a blessing and a curse; it does add much-needed elements of magic and whimsy to the story, it's just that no one seems quite sure how to act within this strange environment."[20]

References
  1. "The Secret of Moonacre (2008)". British Board of Film Classification. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  2. "The Secret of Moonacre (2009)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  3. Maher, Kevin (13 May 2010). "The Secret of Moonacre: Predictable". The National. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  4. "The Secret of Moonacre (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  5. "The Secret of Moonacre, Film Fantasi Interaktif" [The Secret of Moonacre, Interactive Fantasy Film]. 21 Cineplex (in Indonesian). 16 June 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  6. Varga, Róbert (13 September 2007). "Itt a Holdhercegnő" [Here's the moon princess]. veol.hu (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  7. "The Secret of Moonacre". Toronto International Film Festival 2008. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  8. Graebel, Laurel (26 February 2009). "A World Full of Movies Where Kids Call the Shots". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  9. "The Secret of Moonacre (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  10. Leydon, Joe (10 September 2008). "The Secret of Moonacre". Variety. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  11. "Bolt and The Secret of Moonacre". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  12. French, Phillip (8 February 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". The Observer. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  13. Quinn, Anthony (6 February 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre (U)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  14. Reynolds, Simon (5 February 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  15. Bradshaw, Peter (6 February 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  16. Cogle, Fleur (5 October 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  17. O'hara, Helena (29 January 2009). "The Secret Of Moonacre Review". Empire. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  18. Stott, Siân (27 July 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre, DVD review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  19. Choe, Kim (24 September 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre review". Newshub.co.nz. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  20. Rudkin, Francesca (24 September 2009). "The Secret of Moonacre". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
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