The Secret Of Moonacre is a fantasy film based on the the 1946 British children's book The Little White Pony. It tells the story of Moonacre Valley, the home to two families that have been feuding for over 400 years. The feud was brought about on the wedding day of the moon princess. She put a curse on the valley because of the greed and pride of her husband and father. On the rise of five thousandth full moon the valley will be destroyed unless a string of magic pearls can be found and the curse lifted.
The curse can only be lifted by a new moon princess who is pure of heart. On the rise of the 4,998th full moon young Maria Merryweather comes to the valley to live with her uncle. Her mother died years ago and her father passed away recently. He died penniless and in debt and Maria is forced to go live with her uncle Sir Benjamin Merryweather, who presides over Moonacre Manor a crumbling mansion and estate. The only inheritance she received from her father was a book called the Ancient Chronicles Of Moonacre Valley. It is a fairytale about the wedding of the moon princess.
Maria soon learns the fairytale is true and there are many magical things afoot. And if Moonacre Valley is to be saved she must find unlock the secret of the long lost pearls.
The movie features a unicorn, a black lion, a fearless dog, a magic chef, a blood feud, magic pearls, a forest filled with bandits and a bit of Romeo and Juliet, without the bleak ending. It has strong visuals and great costumes, but fairly uneven storytelling and plods along much too long. The movie is over wrought and does not engage the viewer. The stars Tim Curry, Ioan Gruffudd and Dakota Blue Richards do their best with the material, but the films faults lie in the hands of director Gabor Csupo.
The film is very reminiscent of The Chronicle of Narnia movies without the magic . Hollywood started the new century with blockbuster films such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and they have been looking to capture the charm and box office dollars with countless knock-offs, ever since.
The film was filmed in 2007, mostly in Hungary and released first shown at the Toronto Film Festival. it showed overseas, but was not able to find a U.S. distributor. It went straight to DVD on September 21.
At The Movie House rating ** stars (add a star if you are a little girl between the ages of 7 and 12)
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