It felt like a less developed Sara Crewe (from A Little Princess) was dropped into The Secret Garden. All of the characters that shape Mary in the book to be a better, kinder person seem harsher and blander, while the more selfish characters are all made softer. Meanwhile, Mary is not near as selfish or as spoiled and is far more imaginative than she was even in the end of the novel. And it seems to show a completely different childhood than in the books with flashbacks of her father playing with her. And while we see her mother avoiding her, it suggests that her mother did use to let Mary share her stories with her and was involved with her and letters that indicated that she did love Mary.
Martha in the book was a cheerful and kind young woman who introduces Mary to what it is to actually be cared about not just cared for. She even gives her a gift, despite having little herself. While also helping her form relationships with some of the other characters (like her mother and Dickon). In the movie, she is short-tempered with Mary and often dismissive (bordering on mean). She doesn't teach Mary anything. Mary already knows how to care for herself, dress herself, and even has the jump rope already. And instead of encouraging her to meet and befriend Dickon, she tells Mary that Dickon "already has enough problems without you to bother him". Dickon is not near as cheerful or kind either. And Collin doesn't want to go out into the garden., they basically kidnap him and force him to go out.
In the book, it is a big deal to Mary to befriend the bird who is selective in its relationships, never having had a friend or knowing how to be one herself. In the movie she befriends a dog with food basically on day 2. And there is more time spent on her playing with the dog than her actually developing as a character. While the robin basically just flies into some shots but plays no real role.
The fire really adds nothing. And none of the relationships feel fully developed.
Overall, it felt like an incredibly hollow version of the original with only a small fraction of its growth or depth. And the main character had the least amount of character development.
All that said, some of the visual effects were beautiful and it did look very pretty. It just didn't feel substantive.
Martha in the book was a cheerful and kind young woman who introduces Mary to what it is to actually be cared about not just cared for. She even gives her a gift, despite having little herself. While also helping her form relationships with some of the other characters (like her mother and Dickon). In the movie, she is short-tempered with Mary and often dismissive (bordering on mean). She doesn't teach Mary anything. Mary already knows how to care for herself, dress herself, and even has the jump rope already. And instead of encouraging her to meet and befriend Dickon, she tells Mary that Dickon "already has enough problems without you to bother him". Dickon is not near as cheerful or kind either. And Collin doesn't want to go out into the garden., they basically kidnap him and force him to go out.
In the book, it is a big deal to Mary to befriend the bird who is selective in its relationships, never having had a friend or knowing how to be one herself. In the movie she befriends a dog with food basically on day 2. And there is more time spent on her playing with the dog than her actually developing as a character. While the robin basically just flies into some shots but plays no real role.
The fire really adds nothing. And none of the relationships feel fully developed.
Overall, it felt like an incredibly hollow version of the original with only a small fraction of its growth or depth. And the main character had the least amount of character development.
All that said, some of the visual effects were beautiful and it did look very pretty. It just didn't feel substantive.