Yesterday, I watched the 2008 movie The Secrets of Moonacre for the first time. My parents were really excited for me to see it, since they know how much I love fantasy. It’s based on the book The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. I’ve never read The Little White Horse, but I understand it’s a good book. The movie is supposed to be a loose adaption of the book. I liked it.
The movie starts with the main character, Maria Merryweather, becoming an orphan when her father dies. He leaves her a book about Moonacre. Soon after, Maria and her governess, Miss Heliotrope, leave London and head to the countryside to live with Maria’s uncle Benjamin.
Maria and Miss Heliotrope are attacked by bandits as the enter Moonacre Valley, but Benjamin brushes it off and tells them not to go into the nearby forest. Maria does and learns that Moonacre Valley has been cursed, thanks to the Merryweathers and their neighbors, the De Noirs. The only way to save Moonacre is to find a magical pearl necklace and throw it into the ocean. Maria suspects that the pearls are either in Merryweather Manor or De Noir Castle.
I liked how the story never lost my attention. It introduced us to quite a few characters, but I was easily able to tell them apart. I especially liked Loveday De Noir. She was one of the first to help Maria on her journey and taught her how to be a true heroine.