In 1914, brothers Jesse Tuck (Jonathan Jackson) and Miles Tuck (Scott Bairstow) return to Treegap and their parents Angus (William Hurt) and Mae Tuck (Sissy Spacek) followed by a mysterious man (Ben Kingsley) in yellow. Winifred Foster (Alexis Bledel) is eager to live without the control of her parents (Amy Irving, Victor Garber). They own much of the forest. Winnie encounters Jesse in the woods drinking from a special spring. Miles kidnaps her back to the Tuck homestead.It's a fine coming-of-age romance. It's very PG. It doesn't have great tension or more importantly, magic. This needs a sprinkle of that Disney magic. The young couple's romance is not that compelling and they are limited in the amount of heat. Their chemistry is strictly overwrought puppy love. There is a chance for a compelling ending reveal but the big reveal in the movie is not that compelling. It tries a little poetry and leaves it less than satisfying.

As I right this review, the Broadway musical of this classic children's novel from the 1970s opened on Broadway to excellent reviews from the New York Times. Having just seen that a few weeks ago, I Revisited the movie and slowly remember what has Enchanted me when I seen this years ago. Jonathan Jackson, the handsome and innocent-looking Lucky Spencer from "General Hospital", is the innocent young boy who is older than he seems. In the opening scene, he drives up to an old southern mansion on a motorcycle, and the film flashes back many years to when he had first met the heroine (Alexis Biedel) whom he fell in love with."Do not fear death, but only the unloved life." that is the theme for the book, two movies and the new Broadway musical. It occurs in the woods in the back of the Foster mansion in the self, where Jackson's father William Hurt and mother Sissy Spacek make their home, hiding out because they are destined to live forever. Jackson falls in love with Biedel whom his older brother is forced to kidnap when she discovers the secret, and the presence of a mysterious Man in the Yellow Suit Ben Kingsley threatens to destroy their hiding place and reveal the secret, giving the potential of making them into freaks. Moving performances by the entire cast (which includes Amy Irving as the heroine's mother and Victor Garber as her father) make this truly worth watching, as does the very direct way that the screenplay presents the story.I've always been a Sissy Spacek fan, and she is totally lovely as the kindly mother who takes Biedel under her wing as if she were her own daughter. William Hurt, who has played his share of villains and heroes, is wise and humble as Jackson's father who provides the film's moral. Along with Dianne Wiest and Alan Arkin in "Edward Ecissorhands", these two rank as the best surrogate parents in film history. Kingsley makes a great villain, his character amply described in the musical as an "evil banana". While this lacks certain elements from the novel and the musical, it moves briskly and makes its point which I have greatly accepted: a life well lived needs an ending, and hopefully, you go out with applause and thumbs up for a job well done.

'Tuck Everlasting' does have a Disney fairy-tale feel but there's more to it. The film does raise some issues regarding how people are treated with injustice only because they are different. In this case, we see how the Tucks have been chased as witches because of their immortality. I would have liked to see director Russell put more focus on the struggle of the Tuck family and the development of the love story between Jesse and Winnie. I liked how the ending was written. It didn't end with a fairy tale cliché but rather indicated how valuable life is because of its limit.Even though the editing appears patchy, the music and camera-work is good. There's a certain calmness in the pace as the director invites the viewer to explore the forest along with Winnie. I liked the natural forest setting.The acting is great. Ben Kingsley, Amy Irving, William Hurt and Sissy Spacek are superb. Jonathan Jackson is competent but it is Alexis Bledel who steals the show. She exudes the innocence, adventurousness and charm that's required to play Winnie, a role that fits her like a well-fitting glove.'Tuck Everlasting' is a decent and pleasant watch. It might not be everybody's cup of coffee but those looking for light Disney-like (and unDisney-like in some ways) entertainment may find something in this.

One of the big questions that always comes up when a book is made into a movie is whether the movie is true to the book. There are, basically, two approaches - one is that the movie must be true to its source and the second is that the book is only an inspiration for the movie. In "Tuck Everlasting" we can see both approaches. The 1981 movie is the book - almost word for word. That might have worked well if the movie had been a bit better done - it suffers from low budget and unknown actors. The 2002 Disney version, however, is merely "based on the book". Does it work? The answer is an unqualified yes. When Disney pulls all the stops, they can do wonderful work and that's what they did here. The casting isn't what we'd expect from reading the book - Angus and Mae Tuck are much leaner and Winnie is a bit older. If you look beyond the book, William Hurt and Sissy Spacek are just right for their roles. And making Winnie a bit older allows a smoldering chemistry between she and Jesse that isn't there in the book. And the music is simply magical.Sadly, the 1981 version only came out on VHS and is long since out of print. If you can find one it's worth a look but I would find the Disney "adaption" wonderful with or without the book. I've given it a 10 but I'd give it more if I could - it's that good.Watch it with an open mind and an open heart and you'll see what I mean.