Barnes & Noble

Disney gives Natalie Babbitt's cherished book the Hallmark Hall of Fame treatment. The stellar ensemble includes Academy Award winners (William Hurt, Sissy Spacek, Ben Kingsley); distinguished stage actors (Victor Garber, Amy Irving); and contemporary teen faves (Alexis Bledel of The Gilmore Girls, Jonathan Jackson, and Scott Bairstow of Party of Five). Bledel stars as Winnie, a girl in her early teens growing up in a small rural town in 1917. Stifled by her wealthy, overprotective, and convention-bound parents, she runs away into the forest. There, she meets the reclusive Tuck family, who live an unhurried, unspoiled life. But Winnie's presence threatens to disrupt the Tucks' idyllic existence by exposing their fantastic secret: They have discovered a spring whose waters have left them immortal. They will never age. They will never die. As the search party mounted by Winnie's parents draws closer, Winnie is faced with the decision whether to drink from the spring herself and spend eternity with Jesse Tuck, who looks 17 but is actually 104. While this has the makings of schoolgirl fantasy, patriarch Angus Tuck knows that eternal life is both a blessing and a curse. "Do not fear death," he tells Winnie, "but rather the unlived life." With its attractive young leads and chaste romance, this fable right out of The Twilight Zone is something of a rarity: an age-appropriate date movie for teens and preteens that will cast an everlasting spell. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

Natalie Babbitt's award winning book for children comes to the screen in a lavish adaptation from Walt Disney Pictures. Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel) is a girl in her early teens growing up in the small rural town of Winesap in 1914. Winnie's parents (Victor Garber and Amy Irving) are loving but overprotective, and Winnie longs for a life of greater freedom and adventure. One day, while exploring the nearby woods, Winnie gets lost, but she has the good fortune to happen upon the Tuck Family, who live nearby - mother Mae (Sissy Spacek), father Angus (William Hurt), and sons Jesse (Jonathan Jackson) and Miles (Scott Bairstow). The Tucks are warm and caring people, and Winnie feels right at home with them; she also finds herself developing a serious crush on Jesse, and isn't so sure she wants to return; meanwhile, her parents become increasingly distraught as they search for their missing daughter. But in time Winnie discovers there's a secret behind the seemingly idyllic lives of the Tuck Family; they have discovered a magical spring on their property, and anyone who drinks from it will never grow old and never die. While to Winnie this sounds like a wonderful prospect, the Tucks have come to understand this is as much of a curse as a blessing, especially when she realizes Jesse is considerably older than she is. The Tucks also have to contend with the presence of the sinister Man In The Yellow Suit (Ben Kingsley), who wishes to buy their property and make a fortune from their "fountain of youth." Tuck Everlasting was directed by Jay Russell, who previously directed the acclaimed family film My Dog Skip. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 786936205794
• Source: WALT DISNEY VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Español
• Time: 1:30:00
• Sales Rank: 5,972

Features:

DVD MENU