I worked early today, at 9AM again. We were actually steady for most of the afternoon, busier than the last few days, but not too bad except during rush hours. The day flew by quickly. My relief was on time, and I was in and out. Mother Nature helped, too. It was cloudy and windy when I rode in this morning. By 4PM, the clouds were gone, but the wind remained. It was probably in the upper 50s, a little cool for April but not too bad.
When I got home, I went right in the bath. I really, really needed that. I think I pulled a muscle on my right side. It's been really sore since the weekend. I've been putting a heating pad and Icy Hot on it and have taken aspirin before work. The bath felt very nice. I listened to the 1991 musical version of The Secret Garden as I relaxed. It's really more of an opera, with a heavier emphasis on Archibald Craven (Mandy Patikin) and his relationship with his dead wife, than on the kids.
I had begun the 1993 Secret Garden before I went to work; I finished it after my bath, as I made a spinach and mushroom omelet for dinner. Thankfully, the focus in the movie returns to the kids and their garden. Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is a spoiled little girl who is forced to live with a hunchbacked uncle (John Lynch) in Northern England when her neglectful parents die in an earthquake. Mary's a bratty and contrary creature, but she's also curious and strong-willed...and it's her curiosity that leads her to the walls of a forbidden garden. The overgrown enclosure once belonged to her uncle's wife. When she died in the garden, he locked the door forever. Mary and her new friend Dickon work on bringing the once-dead garden back to life. Mary also meets Colin, her frail cousin. He thinks he's crippled, but he's really just fretful and neglected...rather like Mary herself. When the garden bursts into bloom, the children do, too...but how will the adults around them react to the changes in their once-gloomy charges?
Just as lovely as the later version of A Little Princess, and somewhat more faithful to the original book. (Although for some reason, Mary's parents die in an earthquake rather than a cholera epidemic.) The cinematography, particularly later when the garden comes to life, is exquisite. A must-see if you're a fan of the book, children's movies, or just beautifully-made films.
As I made Carrot-Chocolate Chip Muffins, I switched to The Secret Of Nimh, another semi-fantasy set during the spring. This time, we're in animation, as mouse Mrs. Brisby must deal with her son Timothy's pneumonia and the death of her husband Johnathan. Turns out Johnathan was no ordinary rodent. He had friends in very odd places, namely, a group of highly intelligent former lab rats who live in a rose bush on the same farm as Mrs. Brisby. Mrs. Brisby now must convince the rats to help move her house, with a little help from a magical amulet one gives her...and her own surprising courage.
This has long been one of my favorite animated films, and possibly the most beautiful animated movie of the 80s. The haunting score by Jerry Goldsmith (and the theme song "Flying Dreams") are especially lovely. Despite the G rating and talking animals, there's quite a bit of violence and adult subject matter, including a duel towards the end that concludes with a gristly death and fairly frank discussions of animal testing. For older kids and adults, this is possibly Don Bluth's best movie and is highly recommended.
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