Winnie Foster (Bledel) longs for life beyond her garden gate. The year is 1914, and the teenager wants to escape the clutches of her protective parents, who are pressuring her to grow up and behave like a mature young woman. Lost in the forest (isn’t that the way in most children’s tales?) Winnie meets a kind young boy (Jackson) who takes her home to his family in the woods. The Tucks (headed by Hurt and Spacek) are a unique clan, and although they give Winnie shelter, it’s a while before they divulge their secret to her. Their secret causes them to be on the run from the Man in the Yellow Suit (Kingsley, who adds yet another notch to recent belt of oddball characterizations). Based on a beloved children’s book by Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting is a nicely rendered kids movie. Many members of its target audience will come to the theatres already steeped in knowledge of the 1975 novel. It’s rare to have such a stellar cast inhabiting a kiddie movie, but the combined talent helps raise Tuck Everlasting to the realm of quality children’s entertainment. Adults may squirm a bit in reaction to the film’s whole-hearted embrace of its themes of love everlasting and life eternal, but the content seems just right for their less-disillusioned youngsters. Director Russell managed a hit last time out with My Dog Skip, so maybe he really does have a feel for this sort of sentimental kid schtick. Tuck Everlasting depends on the magical for the inner workings of its story, and that might not suit viewers desirous of more concrete explanations. But, again, the movie seems just right for the viewers it aims to please.
This article appears in October 11 • 2002.
