The Secret Garden review: Spectacular plants, but this remake has lost the plot

Spectacular is the only word to describe the plants, wallpaper and costumes in this CGI-boosted adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic .

Precocious snob Mary (Dixie Egerickx; miscast) loses her parents and so finds herself in a Yorkshire mansion with an emotionally distant uncle (Colin Firth) and casually racist housekeeper (Julie Walters). Luckily, a cute dog introduces Mary to a magical garden.

Soon friendly ghosts appear — in the form of two egalitarian sisters — who have seriously yummy-mummy tendencies and get the lives of everyone, including Mary’s crotchety cousin Colin (Edan Hayhurst) and cheery young local Dickon (Amir Wilson), back on track.

Adults familiar with the 1911 novel may worry they’re suffering from dementia, thinking: “I don’t remember a dog or the sister act.” Rest assured, screenwriter Jack Thorne has made a lot of changes.

Watch the trailer for The Secret Garden

He’s tweaked the timeline, the story now begins in 1947, and is trying to explore some interesting ideas, such as colonialism’s impact on bottom-of-the-pile Brits. But the plot is so clumsy and frantic that nothing sticks.

Meanwhile, that Firth and Walters are natural comedians draws attention to the third act’s ropey staging. By the time a certain mansion’s on fire, the mood owes less to Pan’s Labyrinth than Acorn Antiques.

In cinemas and on Sky Cinema