It's difficult enough to adapt a classic, much less try to follow up one.
Anyone care to remember "Scarlett"? That misguided, let's-cash-in book and TV-movie sequel to "Gone With the Wind" didn't live up to either Margaret Mitchell's novel or the 1939 blockbuster film.
And while "Return to the Secret Garden" is at least better than "Scarlett," it still doesn't come close to Frances Burnett Hodgson's beloved novel, or even the definitive 1993 movie version of "The Secret Garden."
Still, this independently produced drama/fantasy (bankrolled by Utah's own Feature Films for Families and partially shot here as well) has a good heart and a worthwhile message about the true meaning of friendship, both of which count for a lot these days. Especially considering all the soulless pap most of Hollywood is producing.
"Return" is a direct sequel to Hodgson's book, which this time follows the adventures of Katherine Carter (Mercedes Kastner), a too-competitive American girl who's finding it hard to make friends.
In fact, her family and fellow soccer players are almost relieved when she goes to England to visit her cousin Margaret Craven (Michelle Horn). But Misselthwaite Manor is not the grand adventure Katherine imagines it to be — at least not at first.
For one thing, the sickly, asthmatic Margaret is unable to traipse around the surroundings. So the athletically inclined Katherine is bored to tears, until she and her cousin are confronted with a mystery.
The two girls find evidence that there may be a "secret garden" hidden somewhere on the estate. And together with Timothy (Josh Zuckerman), a young servant boy, they're determined to find it. But even if they do, the garden's existence is still threatened, since Margaret's grandfather (Guy Siner) is planning to sell off the estate.
For fans of the novel (and the many movie adaptations), screenwriter Steve Thompson does fill us in on what happened to the original characters. However, it's not necessarily the happiest of developments, and the new characters here aren't nearly as interesting.
To top things off, director Scott Featherstone (director of the independently produced feature "Same River Twice") concentrates almost too much on getting shots of the beautiful surroundings (actually filmed at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina), sometimes at the expense of the story.
However, it's clearly a labor of love for the cast, which tries in vain to make things better. The adult performances (Siner and Booth Colman, especially) fare the best, though some of the obviously American cast members — in particular, Horn — struggle with their affected accents.
"Return to the Secret Garden" is rated G and contains nothing offensive. Running time: 88 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com