Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/27/2009 Run time: 101 minutes Rating: Pg
A very good adaptation of the popular series of books by Tony DiTerllizi and Holly Black, The Spiderwick Chronicles is one of the few family films in recent years to seamlessly integrate magical elements with a potent drama that will strike a chord with many kids. An exceptionally talented Freddie Highmore (August Rush) plays twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, caught up in a sad shock from their parents' divorce and coping with a decision by their mother (Mary-Louise Parker) to uproot the boys and their sister, Mallory (Sarah Bolger), from New York City to a small town. There, the broken family moves into a spooky old mansion passed on to them by the kids' great-aunt, Lucinda (Joan Plowright), who is spending her twilight years in managed care and whose scientist father, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn), disappeared some 80 years ago. Jared, angry, defiant, and determined to live with the father who seems to have abandoned him, investigates strange happenings and discovers Arthur's secret notations on fairies, ogres, and other mythical creatures that live both in and outside the house. Having no idea where his curiosity is leading, Jared soon finds that he and his family are under siege from goblins and a powerful ogre (Nick Nolte) who wants Arthur's notebook. Suddenly, the boy who is a lightning rod for a troubled family becomes a resourceful warrior intent on saving his loved ones from powerful forces. The Spiderwick Chronicles benefits enormously from a script (partially written by John Sayles) that treats, quite seriously, the emotional pain of its human characters and makes Jared's will to survive the very real engine of an otherwise fantastic story. It helps, too, that director Mark Waters, who brings a warm and knowing touch to outlandish material (Freaky Friday), has a way of making the spectacular elements of The Spiderwick Chronicles genuine enough to stir real excitement and suspense. This is one of the better film adaptations of best-selling fiction for kids in some years. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
great for kids:
this is a great movie and the animation is top notch. i have to say at one point in the movie when the kids were underground i thought they had no chance in hell of escaping. great addition to any fantasy collection.
Fun Family Movie my 14 year old loved.:
We (my wife my 14 year old and I) watched the Spiderwick Chronicles, and we all really liked it. For myself I enjoyed the folk lore about the creatures of "Faerie" I have learned about in various stories over the years. It is a fun story about learning to deal with disappointment, divorce and adversarial conflict. It is an interesting tale about keeping promises, and about accepting what you cannot change. Add to that pretty good CG effects and well thought out magical creatures, in a fast moving very... more info
Special-Effects Are Highlight Of This Involving Tale:
This is another of those fantasy films that serves its purpose in that it entertains the viewer, 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... more info
an excellent movie:
I ordered this movie on the advice of a Swiss friend. I loved it from the first moment and have been lending out my copy to all of my friends. I can't recommend this movie highly enough.
