The Secret of Moonacre
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| The Secret of Moonacre | |
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| Directed by | Gabor Csupo |
| Produced by | David Brown Michael Cowan Brian Donovan Meredith Garlick Monica Penders Jason Piette |
| Screenplay by | Graham Alborough Lucy Shuttleworth |
| Based on | The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge |
| Starring | Dakota Blue Richards Tim Curry Ioan Gruffudd Natascha McElhone Augustus Prew |
| Music by | Christian Henson |
| Cinematography | David Eggby |
| Editing by | Julian Rodd |
| Studio | Forgan-Smith Entertainment Spice Factory Grand Allure Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. International |
| Release date(s) | September 6, 2008 (TIFF) February 6, 2009 (UK) May 13, 2009 (France) November 19, 2009 (Hungary) |
| Country | United Kingdom Hungary France |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $7,070,330[1] |
The Secret of Moonacre is a film adaptation of the novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. The film, which started filming on 1 October 2007, was released in the UK February 2009 by Warner Bros. The film will be distributed to select theatres in the United States on August 12, 2010 through a Screenvision one-night-only limited theatrical release event.[2] The World Premiere was held at Toronto International Film Festival in 2008.
It stars Dakota Blue Richards in the lead role as Maria. She said her character is very much a lady, which she felt was very different from her debut role in The Golden Compass.
The movie is directed by Gabor Csupo, who also directed the praised Bridge to Terabithia.
Tagline: A Magical Journey Begins.
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[edit] Filming locations
The movie was mainly filmed in Hungary, but a few scenes were filmed in London, England.
[edit] Plot
Maria Merryweather's father is killed and his debts have caused the loss of all he owns- he leaves her nothing but an old book, "The Ancient Chronicles of Moonacre Valley." The book details the life of the Moon Princess, a woman so beautiful and pure the moon itself blessed her with power, a set of magical pearls. On her wedding day, she receives a unicorn from her husband-to-be, and her father gives him a rare black lion, after which, she reveals the pearls to her family (The De Noirs) and her bridegrooms family (The Merryweathers), who have lived together for years.
At the funeral Maria spots a young boy her age, wearing an odd hat, watching her from a distance but when she looks back he has disappeared. It is revealed that Maria's mother died when she was young, and she and her governess, Miss Heliotrope, are sent to live with her uncle, her father's older brother, Sir Benjamin Merryweather who lives at Moonacre Manor. On the journey, they are attacked by bandits, and soon after meet Sir Benjamin, a seemingly bad tempered, irritable man, who tells her almost all of the house is off limits to her and warns her never to go into the woods. He also takes the book from her. As time passes, she begins to notice that her new residence is home to many strange, fantastical events. Food and clothing are left in her room seemingly by magic, a piano plays itself, and even though there is no kitchen, there is always food on the dining room table. Each night a star falls from the sky and a mysterious picture appears outside her room. Each day, her uncle has the picture removed.
One day, Maria's uncle takes her horse riding. She spots a rabbit in distress and follows it into the woods in an effort to help it. Bandits find Maria while she is in the forest and pursue her. Maria recognizes them as members of the De Noir family and the same bandits who attacked her on a previous journey. She learns that the leader of the small teenage group is called Robin. She also recalls her uncle's warning concerning the De Noirs. She is saved from the bandits by her uncle's dog, Wrolf, a demonic seeming creature. Robin is revealed to be the son of Coeur De Noir who is the leader of the De Noirs clan. It is also learned that his father is very hard on him, calling him prized dolt for a son after he fails in capturing Maria. After their escape, Maria asks her uncle about the numerous strange events but he shocks her by telling her angrily to stop asking questions. Despite his efforts to hide his tears, Maria notices her uncle crying as he rebukes her.
Her uncle tries to leave Maria behind, but Maria chases after her uncle's dog. She stumbles upon the kitchen and finds in it the seemingly magical chef who has been leaving the food in her room and who calls her "Little Princess". He tells her of a book that contains all the secret passages at Moonacre, but it is hidden in the library, a place she is forbidden to go. Finding the book again, she discovers that both the Moon Princess' father and her bridegroom were corrupted by the power of the pearls, and betrayed, she cursed them all, proclaiming that one day a "Pure heart" would return, and if she is not "Heard" by the 5000th moon, the Valley would be plunged into darkness. The moon pearls vanished that day, and Maria realises that the story is true. She asks the chef, who tells her that both families are blinded by pride, and only a true moon princess can break the curse, by returning the pearls to the sea and reuniting the families. He also tells her about a little white horse, invisible to all but a true princess, who would protect her, but she doesn't believe him. She works out she has till the next moon to set things right.
The next morning, she attempts to run away, but hears a voice calling to her. Following it, she finds a mysterious woman named Loveday, living in a cave with many animals. Loveday is the person who has been leaving the dresses in her room. She reveals that if the pearls are not returned to the sea, the moons will crash into the valley, killing everyone. She and the woman discuss plans, and Maria is told angrily never to speak of her uncle Benjamin to Loveday. Maria soon realises that each family has one part of the pearls- the Merryweathers have the key and the de Noirs have the casket. Maria finds the key in the bookmark of the Chronicles, and sneaks into the de Noir fortress to retrieve the casket. However, she finds they don't have the pearls, and is imprisoned beneath the fortress. Along the way she manages to kick Robin in-between the legs when he is being rude. She escapes by using her dress as a decoy and is found by her uncle's dog in the woods. After she escaped Coeur De Noir orders her to be killed by saying "their death is our victory". His son Robin seems a little put off by this and remarks that "stupid girl should have stayed where you were". When Maria returns home her uncle is furious, and refuses to listen to her, but apologies to her later that evening.
Loveday appears in her room the next morning, giving her a dress belonging to the first moon princess. Maria persuades her to come downstairs, and the piano plays as if in recognition. Loveday begins to play, and Maria joins her, but soon notices a mirror, showing her Uncle and Loveday dancing to the same music. In the mirror, she reveals to Benjamin that she is a De Noir and Benjamin becomes enraged, believing she tricked him to look for the pearls. Back outside the mirror, Maria talks to Loveday about what she saw, and becoming angered at the pride of both her uncle and Loveday, tells her that Pride is the real curse.
Upstairs, looking at the picture, she realizes that it points the way to the pearls. The chef suggests she asks Robin, de Noir's son, and when she refuses points out that she has plenty of pride herself, causing her to think again. When leaving, she gives the servant letters addressed to Loveday and Benjamin, telling them to meet in the house.
Trapping Robin, by hanging him from his ankle she makes him promise to listen. After he does she cuts him down and convinces him to help her find the pearls, which are hidden in a tree deep within the forest. As Robin is creating a false trail, Maria notices that he is keeping her ribbon in his pocket, and there is some gentle flirting between them. Meanwhile, Bejamin and Loveday meet, quickly realize what Maria has done, and follow her with Miss Heliotrope, using Chef's superior sense of smell. On the trip, Benjamin and Loveday's relationship slowly begins to repair itself.
Robin is captured near the tree, and Wrolf is trapped in a pit. Maria runs, finding the unicorn. De Noir vows to catch her himself, calling his son and daughter (as Loveday is revealed to be) traitors. De Noir finds Maria from the tree and Robin escapes to help her, releasing her from his father, and running to the place where it all began, but Wrolf appears to be injured.
After they arrive, soon followed by her Uncle and Loveday, Maria attempts to get Benjamin and de Noir to sacrifice their pride, but neither can do it. Attempting to return the pearls to the sea and failing, she realizes she must sacrifice herself if they are to sacrifice their pride, and throws herself into the ocean. Both families are shocked at this especially Robin. He falls to his knees as he watches her plunge into the water below.
The moon accepts her offering, and Maria herself is rescued by a unicorn. Wrolf is restored to life, but as the giant black lion, restoring the magic to Moonacre. A De Noir attempts to kill Maria, but she is saved by Mrs Heliotrope. Benjamin proposes to Loveday again, and she accepts. Mrs Heliotrope is also proposed to by Digweed, Benjamin's servant, and also accepts. They all smile, and stare off into the moonlight. The story ends and the book closes.
[edit] Alternative titles
During pre-production the movie was known as The Little White Horse, the same title as the book that the film is based on; however the producers felt the need to change it.
To aid the decision in finding a new title, the producers ran an internet poll, where fans of the book could vote for their preferred title: The Moon Princess or The Secret of Moonacre. The title which proved most popular was The Secret of Moonacre, and this subsequently became the film's release title.
[edit] Notes
Deleted Scene:
Four men break into Maria's house after the funeral. They search her room, feverishly, looking for something unknown. One of the burglars checks Maria's necklace, as she sleeps. Then, it is shown that he is the boy that was watching her at the funeral.
