The Spiderwick Chronicles

This is another of those fantasy films that serves its purpose in that it entertains, no matter what the age. It's not among the elite in its genre, but it is a story that hooks you in by the 20-minute mark and you just go along for the ride, mainly to see how things will turn out.

There is good suspense in here, enough to make adults care about what happens, not just kids. There also are some scary scenes that are probably too much for small kids, but fine for teens on up. In all, you get a good mix of horror, comedy, fantasy and drama all rolled into one odd (fantasy) story.

Child acting star Freddie Highmore, who seems to get cast in a lot of these fantasies (Charlie And The Chocolate Family," "August Rush," "Arthur And The Invisibles," and "The Golden Compass") has a dual role in here, playing brothers "Jared"and "Simon Grace." Freddie is a fine actor, so no problem in that department. I hate to hear child actors, using God's name as exclamations, though, but that's not Highmore's doing. The only other annoyance is the frequent shouting with an older sister. However, once the adventure kicks into high gear, the arguing stops as the kids try to solve their major dilemma as a unit.

Nick Nolte plays the big villain, "Mulgarath." but his role is surprisingly small. It's all those ugly, nasty little creatures who surround the house, who are the "bad guys." There are a number of somewhat scary scenes involving them, enough to entertain the post-pre-adolescent crowd.

The star of the film isn't Freddie or the actors, or the story.....it's the special-effects, which are very good and a lot of fun to watch, from little beings to monsters to fairies to whatever. I saw this on Blu-Ray and it really looks good. All of it is very colorful and entertaining to view, making this a film fun for both kids and adults.

Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

I've made up a theory: People who have read books that are turned into movies will be more harsh to judge the films unlike people who see movies without reading the book. I think this theory is right. I was disappointed by Harry Potter 5 at first, but watching it now for a year later and nearly forgetting about the book, I found it the best in the series.

The same might as well go with this film. I was disappointed. If you don't know, this film is based on 5 books. However, the movie ignores the 4th book, which is probably because of budget issues and/or limited running time. Still, I can't help but complain. There could've been more creative production designs to see, more action, and more magical creatures.

Apart from that, I felt that the film was well put together, especially the fact that they skipped a lot in the books. The special effects are very good, as well as the action scenes. I also may feel this film pushed the PG rating. It certainly is not as intense as Harry Potter 3 but there might be about 2 to 3 scenes that could make this film a PG-13 rating.

The performances here are decent, although not captivating. The film may be a bit fast paced, if you asked me. Overall, this is a decent adaption to another fantasy book. If you have read the books, you might be disappointed. If you have not, enjoy it.

Spiderwick Chronicles is a good children's film. Freddie Highmore stars in the main role (Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate factory), most of the cast is relatively unknown but that doesn't matter as the acting isn't bad.

The plot's really good, very creative. Jared finds and reads a mysterious book filled with drawings and information on these goblins and fairy type creatures. Apparently he also unwittingly releases these monsters (or makes them aware of the book or something, regardless the goblins try to hunt him down) to disastrous consequences.

Freddie Highmore skilfully plays both Jared and Simon in a dual role, which I found very clever as they're completely different people. Special effects are quite well done, maybe a bit overused but it would be difficult to have practical effects in place of goblins without costing a lot.

7/10: An enjoyable romp, it isn't a masterpiece but it has a quality story and is never really boring. Good without being excellent

Spiderwick Chronicles is a dark delight of Harry Potter-type goblins, ghouls, and griffins with violence enough to make it a howler for the nine year old but a sleepless night for the seven.

Arthur Spiderwick decades ago wrote a private field guide to faeries, a much sought after tome by gremlins who hate them.

Besides the usual CGI gymnastics is the now common dad-is-gone-by-divorce-and-mom-is–frazzled motif, along with the usual nobody-believes-me-but-I-can-see-them suspense builder. The production design of the old mansion is Psycho-worthy, and the ever serviceable James Horner provides the right chilling music.

Not to be missed, however, is the shape-shifting leader of the baddies played by Nick Nolte, whose freaked out visage eclipses the shock of his infamous California mug shot.

I truly wasn't expecting much from this movie goon in but it was the only family movie available to watch with my 5 and 3 year old. I figured that because it wasn't a cartoon I'd have to deal with squirming bottoms and talking. But to my amazement the movie was not only entertaining to both of my boys (NO SQUIRMING!!!) both my husband and I loved it. My husband wouldn't even get a refill on the popcorn----and believe me that doesn't happen often!!!! I have nothing negative to say about the film. Some might think it's a little too scarry for younger kids but neither one of mine were scarred. A couple of times I had to explain some things to my 5 year old. The head goblin is kind of scarry looking; but not too bad.