'The Secret Garden' Trailer: The Classic Children's Fantasy Gets A New Adaptation

The Secret Garden is a literary classic that children have been reading for over a century. The tale follows an orphaned girl left to live with her uncle in England after the tragic death of her British parents in their home country of India. The dreary setting nearly breaks her spirit until she uncovers a magical secret garden that blooms with bright colors and gives her some semblance of hope. The classic tale is being updated in a new film adaptation from the producers of Paddington and Harry Potter, and the trailer shows how today's visual effects brings the magic to life.

Young actress Dixie Egerickx leads this new adaptation as Mary Lennox while Colin Firth plays her uncle, Archibald Craven. Meanwhile, the prickly Mrs. Medlock is played by Julie Walters, and Edan Hayhurst plays Mary's sickly cousin Colin.

There's much more reverence for The Secret Garden across the pond than there is in the United States, but the story is still a classic meant for the whole family. While it may not seem as exciting as the usual fare intended for kids, at the very least you know it won't be a boisterous bonanza of fart jokes and goofy characters.

The film is directed by Marc Munden (Utopia) and written by Jack Thorne (Wonder), who teamed on the British miniseries National Treasure for Hulu back in 2016. Here's the official synopsis for the movie based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's book:

THE SECRET GARDEN tells the story of Mary Lennox (Dixie Egerickx, Genius), a prickly and unloved 10-year-old girl, born in India to wealthy British parents. When they suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven (Colin Firth – A Single Man, The King's Speech) on his remote country estate deep in the Yorkshire moors. There, she begins to uncover many family secrets, particularly after meeting her sickly cousin Colin (Edan Hayhurst, Genius), who has been shut away in a wing of the house. Together, these two damaged, slightly misfit children heal each other through their discovery of a wondrous secret garden, lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor. A magical place of adventure that will change their lives forever.

The Secret Garden opens in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2020, but it doesn't have a US release date yet.