Tuck Everlasting
Disney’s 2002 adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s classic children’s novel bumps up the age of the main character, Winnie—star Alexis Bledel was peak Gilmore Girls at the time—so it can dive right into turn-of-the-century teenage romance when she meets the mysterious Jesse Tuck (Jonathan Jackson) and his family. It’s a classic boy meets girl, girl realizes the boy’s family is immortal because they’ve discovered the fountain of youth, girl must decide whether to also become immortal tale.
Tuck Everlasting is a simple story—though it does dig into some darker ideas about the considerable drawbacks of living forever, and the responsibility the Tucks feel about protecting their mythical secret—but for some reason, this version has an almost unbelievably stacked cast. Ben Kingsley plays the yellow-suited baddie, Amy Irving and Victor Garber play Winnie’s wealthy mom and dad, William Hurt and Sissy Spacek play Jesse’s sympathetic but cautious parents, and occasionally Elisabeth Shue stops by to narrate. For Valentine’s Day, though, the scenes of Jesse and Winnie falling for each other in the forest are soft-focus young love at its sweetest. (Disney +)
