"The Secret Garden" movie poster 1993
photo: Warner Brothers

Another movie from '90s kids' childhoods is getting re-created, and fans have some mixed feelings about it.

The Secret Garden was a movie based on a classic novel about dealing with grief, both as an adult and as a child, not to mention the magical wonder of discovering a hidden place. An updated version based on the 1993 film has been announced. The teaser trailer definitely suggests more magical interpretations of the storytelling from the original, using new technology and stunning CGI graphics. 

The announcement has made fans reminisce and feel nostalgic for the original, but they're also excited to see what the updated version has to offer. The movie is set to premiere in spring 2020. 

The new trailer clearly has more magical elements that weren't featured in the original. 

Colin Firth and Julie Walters play the uptight adults of the movie, while Dixie Egerickx, Amir Wilson, and Edan Hayhurst star as the adventurous children who explore the giant manor they call home. Mary Lennox (Egerickx) comes across a secret magical garden that becomes a hideout for her and her friends. This version of the film has a lighter tone than its predecessor. 

Fans of the original started feeling nostalgic after the trailer dropped. 

The '90s children's classic had a more moody and dark tone than the teaser trailer for the 2020 one. Mary wanders the halls of her aunt's manor, where she lives after the death of her parents. The entire movie is based on dealing with grief, and the "secret garden" becomes a place of respite, but it's not quite as magical as it appears in the upcoming reboot.

Maggie Smith plays the harsh and stern Mrs. Medlock in the original, and it will just be so hard to replace her. 

Another Harry Potter alumn, Julie Walters, who played Molly Weasley, will take over Smith's part in the re-creation. One fan of the original wrote on Twitter, "Hmm. [I'm] not yet convinced by the new 'Secret Garden'. The 1993 version is practically flawless. I'm sure Julie Walters will be a great Mrs. Medlock, but you just can't beat Maggie Smith."

Some are worried that the new one is trying too hard.

"I'll accept it if it's supposed to represent the children's imaginations of what the garden could become but I don't want the garden to be actually magic because I'm sure in the original flick and in the book it wasn't," writes one critic on Twitter. 

It's true, the garden was supposed to represent the children's imagination and not have actual supernatural abilities. But the updated visuals are probably necessary to captivate an audience these days. 

They continued, "Like the trailer almost made it look like Bridge to Terebithia and I'm like  …  yeah, no. I prefer it just being a cool secret place these kids could go hang that used to belong to a man's dead wife and he shuts it off from the rest of the world in his grief."

The reboot certainly has big shoes to fill. 

One person is excited to see what the new version brings to the table. They tweeted, "I still watch the 1993 version and read the book periodically. Still love it until today, excited to see the latest version of the movie." A beloved classic getting an updated re-creation is a trend that doesn't seem to be dying out anytime soon. Hopefully this one does justice to the original.