2020 has seen a new version of the classic The Secret Garden, and with a reboot, it's always a great time to go back and have a look at the original! Inspired by the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel of the same name, the original 1993 version of The Secret Garden is widely considered a staple in classic, feel-good films.
One of the best ways to honor a classic--particularly one based on a piece of beloved literature--is to look back on some of the best quotes from the film; and The Secret Garden certainly has some beautiful, memorable lines with revisiting.
My Mother Didn't Have The Time
Mary regularly takes the chance to assert the fact that her mother never had time for her.
She never openly, blatantly bad-mouths her parents to other people--except when narrating the movie to the audience, when she does curtly complain about her parents--but rather opts to make clear through suggestion that she was an emotionally neglected child.
I've Never Had Any Friends./That, I Believe
Mary casually remarks to the groundskeeper that she's never had any friends before.
He curtly replies that he is not at all surprised by this--something that might seem cruel to say to a little girl, but when considering the rude way in which Mary first treated the man, it isn't so alarming that he should respond this way.
What About The Spores!
One of the many things Mrs. Medlock used to keep Colin afraid of going out of doors was the prospect of breathing in massive "spores" that float through air outside and would lead to his death.
Mary insists that Colin open the windows in his room for the first time in his life, and he has a fit in fear of the spores--which, he eventually realizes, are nowhere to be seen.
When You Looked Down His Throat You Could See The Universe
Mary tells Colin a story about a man who held the universe in his body. Colin doesn't understand the symbolism behind the story, or the idea that not everything is literal, seeing as he has been shut inside and isolated for so long.
The quote comes to represent the power Colin ultimately finds in himself, realizing that he does indeed carry the universe inside him.
Are You Making This Magic?/No, You Are
Colin shakily stands on his own two legs for the first time in his life.
He looks to Mary, assuming that she must have something to do with his newfound ability--but she assures him that if anybody has created magic at the moment, it comes from himself.
Everybody Thinks I'll Die!/If Everybody Thought That About Me I Wouldn't Do It
In a dark, yet hilarious, moment, Mary shares with Colin that if everybody expected her to die at a young age, as they do with him, she would refuse to do it just to spite them.
Mary's strong-headedness shows through at this moment, creating a humorous moment that illustrates the early stages of Mary's stubbornness and using them to emphasize the real fact that maybe people shouldn't be telling Colin his destiny.
You Brought Us Back To Life, Mary
Mary's uncle returns to find that his son is capable and happy, rather than wilting away in a dark room in the house. He also finds that Mary has completely rejuvenated the garden he had ordered be shut away.
She is terrified that he will be furious with all the changes she has caused, but instead, his response reveals how Mary has become an agent for positive change in the household, and how they had been living much more dead than alive.
My Uncle Learned To Laugh, And I Learned To Cry
The evolutions the characters go through in the film echo that of the garden.
All throughout the film, Mary works away at transforming the garden into a new version of itself, and meanwhile she herself is also going through changes for the better, getting more in touch with her emotions and learning to lower her walls--an example that, in turn, has an effect on the other members of the household.
May I Have A Bit Of Earth?
Mary asks one simple question of her uncle, and it is to have just a small amount of earth that she may use to plant things and "make things grow."
Her request marks the point of her character becoming more hopeful and lively, literally planting seeds to grow new life but also investing in a new life for herself.
If You Look The Right Way, You Can See That The Whole World Is A Garden
This quote takes the concept of the secret garden that Mary has worked on all throughout the film and challenges the viewer to expand the concept to the rest of the world; causing viewers to consider what might be possible if one were to take as much care and give as much attention to something as Mary her secret garden.