The Secret Garden

This project is an alternate title sequence for The Secret Garden (1993). Each choice in the film came down to what benefited the tone of the movie best. The book was published in 1911, and the film is set around 1900, so I looked to Late Victorian and Early Edwardian aesthetics for inspiration. I was inspired by the illustration style of that era, not the formal paintings, but the images seen in print media like books, newspapers, and fashion plates. I wanted the title sequence to look like one big book or newspaper brought to life and color, so I relied on moving still images in a linear 2D fashion. 

The sequence uses botanical and animal illustrations, along with keys and locks to represent the locked-off nature of the garden. Each actor’s title card was inspired by something associated with their character. For example, Kate Maberly’s is a ship because Mary Lennox begins her journey on a ship to Yorkshire, Heydon Prowse’s is “behind” a window because Colin Craven is confined indoors.