Spiderwick - Le cronache

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.

Although The Spiderwick Chronicles did fall short in comparison to other films in the same genre, it did offer some fun entertainment for the entire family.

Being a fan of most fantasy novels and films, I had the wonderful opportunity to read through the entire series last year and was actually looking forward to its adaptation on the big screen.

What surprised me the most was actually the length of the film. It was fairly short (90 minutes) and I felt that the producers made a huge mistake by attempting to cram all five books into one film instead of dividing them into separate features. I had recognized a few of the scenes from the books, but overall it seemed very rushed and excluded many of the series most exciting moments. Any fan of the books would probably be disappointed in the way the series was handled and executed.

As for the rest of film, I thought it was well done. The CGI continues to be to focal point in most of these types of family films and the producers spent a great time with its detail and design. The fairies looked neat, the goblins were frightening, and the big bad ogre looked well… big and bad.

Overall, I would say this film would make for a great matinée on a Sunday with the kids. There are several moments that may scare children under the age of five, but otherwise it should appeal to children of all ages.

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.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is based upon the books of the same name by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black. The film centers around a mother and her three children who move into a mysterious and creepy new house pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The one son Jared who is the main character in the film, finds a book written by the previous owner of the house and Jared soon discovers that this is a magical yet very dangerous book that a lot of goblins and little creatures are after, but with the help of his twin brother, his older sister and some friendly creatures he gets the book to safety and also protects himself and his family from the evil monsters that want the book to do harm. Ever since The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter films have done so well, filmmakers are taking other fantasy books and turning them into feature films as well. The majority of them that have been released over the past few years I have not seen because for one thing they did not look appealing to me at all and also because of bad word of mouth and reviews. I wasn't sure what I would think of The Spiderwick Chronicles, but to my surprise I thought it was pretty good. The film is aimed at a family audience even though some young children might be afraid of some scenes, but this is a film that I think kids will absolutely love and there is enough here for the grownups as well. The story sounds simple enough, but it is enhanced by a lot of creative creatures and imaginative things going on. The young cast each did their own and carried the film and even though I don't usually like computer generated effects in films, I didn't feel it was overdone here just for the sake of showing what today's new wonderful technology can do and I really appreciated that the film didn't go overboard with that. The running time moves along fairly briskly and the film is involving and interesting from the start and keeps it's energy and charm throughout the running time. There were a few repeated story patterns and clichés in the script, but there were also a lot of surprises and new takes on things, so that can be forgiven. When looking at a film like this at a child you would like the magic, imagination and the story that is woven in front of you with interesting characters, environments and a grand sense of storytelling that can make the make believe into a fun and entertaining film. This is all captured very well here and works as a fairy tale for kids 8 to whatever age. A creative enough story helped by good film-making and an eye for what kids and adults love about these movies make this film a generally good and above average family fantasy film of the past few years.

I wish people would stop comparing this to Harry Potter, because this is a dark and hugely entertaining film, that both kids and adults will enjoy. I am not saying Harry Potter isn't entertaining, it just is a little unfair to compare movies that are completely different, with the fact they are fantasy being their connection. The film itself looks just stunning, with beautiful sets and costumes.(the house in this film reminded me of the house in The Others) Young children will find Mulgarath a bit too sinister, especially in his ogre form, but he was essential to the plot. I think how he died, getting eaten in the form of a crow by the good goblin(can't remember his name) a bit disappointing, as I've known villains to die better than that. The script is very like Princess Bride in terms of wit and imagination, with the book and all the other basic ingredients. The story is very imaginative, with a boy finding a book and accidentally unleashing the evil goblins who want the book for themselves. What made this movie was the cast, Freddie Highmore, Mary Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright and Martin Short, all giving first rate performances. While not his best work, James Horner's score was appropriately fitting to the action. Another thing, before I round off, is that I found the ending with the father and daughter reunited really poignant, I almost cried at that bit. All in all, a beautiful and inventive movie, with a 8/10. Bethany Cox