The original post: /r/movies by /u/IceColdReading on 2024-05-05 12:00:19.

Francés Hudgson Burnett’s childrens classic has been retold numerous times through books and movies. As someone who grew up with the 1993 version starring Kate Maberly as Mary Lennox, that version is near and dear to me, but after listening to the audiobook (read by Karen Savage) I decided to go back and watch every single version of the story I could find.

The 1975 BBC version starring Sarah Hollis Andrews is by far my favorite (second after the 93 one), as it sticks closer to the book and has a great cast. I was initially not a fan of it, as the repeated lines from the book made it feel like they were just soullessly reading from the script, but upon rewatches (it was initially made as a 7 episodes series and then cut down to a 1½ hour movie), it slowly grew on me, like the garden its story centers on. This is the third series BBC produced though, as there is also one from 1952 allegedly missing all 8 episodes, and a 1960 version missing 3 out of 8.

Then there is the 1987 version starring Gennie James which would be my least favorite because of its more cynical depiction of Mary, were it not for the 1949 version which changes several things and tells other things completely out of order, though it does introduce some interesting new story elements. There is also the 1994 animated version, which makes house mistress Mrs Medlock a straight up villain who seeks to poison Colin so she can inherit the mansion.

There is the very creatively different steampunk version from 2017, seeing Glennellen Anderson in the role of a slightly older Mary Lennox, that has a lot of cool ideas and love put into it, but in my opinion unfortunately moves too fast and falls flat on some aspects. Then there is the most recent remake from 2020 with Dixie Egerrickx as Mary which I found interesting because it had one of the Harry Potter directors behind its production which of course meant a heap of special effects. Unfortunately, again, I was not a fan of several aspects of this interpretation, mainly how some things feel out of order. Like how Mary doesn’t even need the key to get inside the garden but instead just scales the wall, and then later uses the key which is then played up as a “big moment” long after the magic has vanished.

Strangely, I enjoy the older versions more for their lack of computer effects, as I feel they tell a more genuine story and sell mother nature as an element of beauty that don’t need no fancy graphics.

Lastly, the only version I couldn’t get my hands on, aside from the missing episodes of the previously mentioned BBC shows, was the very first movie from 1919 which was a b/w silent film as it is allegedly classified as lost media.

Yes, the rabbithole of interpretations of this book runs rather deep, but considering it is over 100 years old now that is hardly a surprise, and I love digging into the sometimes convoluted history of something and catalogue how many different versions there are. I even managed to get ahold of Sarah herself some 50 years later (Mary from the 75 version) and have her send me an autograph, as well as get my hands on a super rare Danish translation of the book from 1985 published by Danish “Gyldendal”.

All this, because it is a magical tale that touched and resonated with me as a kid, and one I feel every kid should watch or read at least once. I was always a very patient kid, so it didn’t bother me that the 93 movie had very slow scenes. Kids of today may find it boring because of that, but then maybe the 2020 version, despite my own gripes with it, is more up their alley.

It’s strange, because I myself didn’t grow up to be a nature lover in any way. I’m a gamer, otaku, and couch potato who only goes outside on errands… yet the story itself is one of my favorites because of its serenity and themes of friendship.

…sorry, I know I wrote a paragraph but as a novelist keeping it short just ain’t my style.