Richards starred in 2007’s The Golden Compass and, compared with big-budget fantasies of that kind, this smaller effort can’t help looking mimsy, despite its good intentions.
Comment
02/12/09
The Secret of Moonacre (2008)
16
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:19
Fresh:3
Rotten:16
Average Rating:3.7/10
Consensus: Despite impressive production values, this is staid, plodding and unimpressive fantasy-fare, with poor performances struggling with an underdeveloped script.
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $0
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Dakota Blue Richards, Tim Curry, Natascha McElhone
Director: Gabor Csupo
Reviews for The Secret of Moonacre
A film about magic that remains obdurately unmagical.
02/12/09
A sluggish narrative is further hampered by "comic" turns (Juliet Stevenson, as a gurning governess) and some frankly shameless knockoffs.
02/10/09
Routine special effects merely add to the impression that this is a second division fantasy.
02/10/09
A sweet if faintly soporific fantasy adventure for family audiences.
02/06/09
Top CriticThis whimsical children's tale is uninspired yet doesn't drop far enough below mediocrity to justify a place in the lineup of "so-bad-they're-good" movies.
02/06/09
Fantasy doesn't come feebler than this.
02/06/09
It’s a slow-moving affair with wooden acting, duff special effects and some woefully unfunny comic moments from Tim Curry as an undersized chef. All in all, the thing’s severely lacking in magic.
02/06/09
The Secret Of Moonacre lacks action, adventure and magic.
02/06/09
Whilst missing a trick in terms of script and casting, at least they've amped up the action from the somewhat sedate book.
02/05/09
Top CriticNicely put together, but just a little dull.
02/05/09
It's not quite a disaster but this disappointing and poorly executed fantasy adventure never reaches the level of magic and enchantment it needs to succeed.
02/05/09
Apart from some wooden over-acting, The Secret of Moonacre is a shrewd mix of live action and exotic animation by the Hungarian director Gabor Csupo.
02/05/09
Top CriticThe cast looks vaguely uncomfortable too. Even shameless scenery-chewer Curry can’t muster any enthusiasm for an over-earnest script that throws around pearls of non-wisdom like moondust.
02/05/09
The costumes are beautiful. The sets are impressive… But somehow the movie feels cheap and malnourished, as if the money ran out when they were only halfway there.
02/05/09
The production design gives us plenty for the eye but a dull screenplay and patchy editing hardly bring the fantasy to life.
02/05/09
Poorly written, badly acted and ultimately disappointing fantasy adventure that suffers from plodding direction and fails to connect on an emotional level.
02/05/09
It’s been adapted from a kids’ book called The Little White Horse, and the plot’s been totally mangled. But to be fair, the costumes are great.
02/05/09
Without a coherent central tone, this fantasy adventure feels like it drifts all over the place
02/05/09
Click to read the article
10/18/08
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi? 
The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.
New Moon Portraits
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds