User reviews

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.

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.

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 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.

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

I was a child when this film released and really liked it so much, cause every child dreams of such adventures. But being an adult spoiled an impression about this film a bit. Now I see that it isn't perfect. Nevertheless, while children can be amazed by this movie, adults wouldn't be bored. It is really a family film, though parents would like it less. But it is a typical 00's fantasy film which wanted to repeat a LOTR's success but lacked an art in it. While watching The Lord of the Rings in adult age you will probably like it more than in childhood cause it is a real work of art, drawbacks of The Spiderwick Chronicles are obvious while watching it being over 20 y.o. First is that it is too hasty. Without titles it would run for an hour and a half, and it's okay for children who don't like long movies, but makes the movie less understandable. I think the creators should have made it 20 minutes longer to let us feel the atmosphere better and to represent the characters more thoroughly. The other drawback is Freddie Highmore. His performance is not good enough in both his roles. Other actors are good, though not incredible. Sarah Bolger looks much more convincing, though she was only one year older and wasn't that experienced. But still it is just a child movie, so don't be so serious about it. You can surely watch it with your child and wouldn't be disappointed.

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.

Since Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have reinvented the fantasy film genre producers in Hollywood have been desperate to repeat that success. Producers have looked for children's books to adapt into films and hope to have a series. The Spiderwick Chronicles is a better attempt and a perfectly enjoyable family film.

The Grace Family, mum Helen (the always lovely Mary Louise Parker), daughter Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and twins Jared and Simon (both played by Freddie Highmore) move from New York to a country house they inherited. Jaden is particularly hostile to the move and clashes with his family. But Jared soon finds a book written by his great great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathaim) that is about the mystical creatures that we can not see. But the powerful ogre Mulgrarath (Nick Nolte) wants the book for himself to make him unstoppable. Soon the children have to work together to stop him.

Mark Waters is know for making family friendly films and he certainly makes a fast paced little adventure with quite a bit of action and small doses of comedy. The Spiderwick Chronicles speeds along nicely, not allowing things to drag and there is a some good CGI for the fantasy creatures. They is a light hearted tone to the film, making it enjoyable for children of all ages, I am such children would enjoy it like I enjoyed Jumanji when I was a child.

There is strong chemistry between Highmore and Bolger. You can believe that they are brother and sister, fighting, arguing and putting each other down. It was also a tough role by Highmore because he had to play two very different characters, though Jaden was the more major character. As well as being a fantasy film there is also a family drama behind all the action as the family learn to trust Jaden and come to terms with their new move.

There are some elements we have all seem before such as the kids moving to a new town and having trouble within their family situation. But it is still a well done film.

Went to a UK preview tonight and this completely took me by surprise. A brilliant fantasy adventure which retains it's dignity and doesn't sell out for a cute Disney style box office attack.

The issues in it were quite good and realistic and it wasn't necessarily 'happy ever after' in the end. The scripting and the style of the piece reminded me of 'The Princess Bride'- although this is more of an action adventure than a comedy.

Well worth seeing, and there doesn't seem to have been much 'hollywood tailoring' such as there was with the Golden compass and Narnia...

As to the monsters / fairies- they were very well done indeed, quite believable considering they were computer generated.

Well worth seeing, but I have the feeling it won't get as much publicity as the usual run of the mill children's movie...

Why do I keep saying children's movie when I am 34?

In "The Spiderwick Chronicles," based on the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, a mother and her three children move into a cobweb-infested ancestral home, only to find the property already occupied by an assortment of goblins, ogres, griffins, fairies and sprites that the children's great-great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick, discovered living there a century earlier.

While the very youngest in the audience may be freaked out by the movie's intense action sequences and occasionally rather gruesome imagery, their older siblings will likely be drawn in by the darker tone and the self-aggrandizing nature of the kids-to-the-rescue scenario. Most adults, however, will probably find less than meets the eye in what is, essentially, a domesticated version of the "Narnia" movies. Still, what DOES meet the eye is often quite impressive, and the reassuring presence of such acting stalwarts as Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright and David Strathaim in minor roles goes a long way towards mitigating the rather mundane nature of the material.

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.

John Sayles has never let me down before. But he surely has this time with this wildly tepid movie.

I suppose there are so many child-magic "save the world" movies because kids are really easy to please.

But you have to have several things for these to work. You have to have charming kids. You need to have some unique imagination in the creatures or the forces they operate under. And you need to have basic narrative shape to the thing.

This has none of that.

Now this may just be my experience, because I made the mistake of seeing it in Imax, and when things get bigger you expect the spaces to be filled. This is gremlins meets Potter kids lite.

I went to it, in fact blew most of a day to get to it, because of Sayles. His cinematics are a bit stagebound for my tastes, but knows how to shape things so that you go somewhere. Waters, the director has done some poor work recently, but his first film (House of Yes) really impressed me. That was based on a play and used the same stagecraft preferred by Sayles. So I thought we'd get something both tasty and nourishing.

Alas, neither. What do parents think? That you can scrimp on children's imagination and narrative sense and not have them suffer?

I suppose a bright parent could say that the story was about stealing a book with lessons in it, and the book was destroyed.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

My two boys (12 and 9) saw this movie yesterday and honestly, we truly enjoyed it, but to say that it follows the adventures of the Spiderwick book series is a bit of a leap. Actually a huge leap. After the movie my boys and I wondered if Holly and Tony (creators of Spiderwick series) were disappointed in what was created in the Spidewick name. We know that movies cannot follow books completely because of the expenses involved with film making, but the folks who made the Series of Unfortunate Events movie did a nicer job changing the story line to merge the first three books and keep the essence of the story alive. Spiderwick is a fun film, (and yeah, younger viewers will be creeped out, so be cautious about that) but true lovers of the Spiderwick book series will be frustrated by the many, many changes.

One more thing... the book series is creepier than the movie. The movie monsters are a bit sillier, more like muppets. In the book they are much scarier.

I know, I know, Spiderwick is the name of the guy who wrote the book, but still, I was expecting a spider of some sort within this strange fantasy tale. Was not all bad, but I can also see why this went no further than the one movie as it is really nothing all that special. Just seems more like it should have been a pilot for a television movie rather than a feature length film, maybe even a Netflix series. Some things just are not as good when transcribed from book to film and that may be the case here too.

The story has a mother and her children moving into a house because they cannot afford to live in New York anymore and as usual they somehow end up moving into what is essentially a mansion. Happens all the time in films and books and it is a bit of a tired trope. "Children, we cannot afford to live in this two bedroom apartment, but as luck would have it, I have access to a mansion in the middle of nowhere that will cost vastly less to live in!" Of course,there is one child who is not to keen about this, but then his brother is not exactly on his side, even though they are the same person! Then there is the sister who is annoying, but she knows fencing! cough foreshadowing cough cough. Well there is something in the house and it inadvertently leads to an upstairs secret room which houses a book that seems to have many secrets of mythical and wondrous creatures and opening seems to trigger things in motion leading to all sorts of nasty creatures looking for the book! The brother must find a way to protect the book and stop the creatures from taking the book, because there will be trouble if Mulgarath gets his hands on the book!

Freddie Highmore plays duel roles in this one as both twin brothers. He is more known now as the doctor with autism in, The Good Doctor. The film also has Andrew McCarthy in a small role which is a shock cause I have not seen him in anything in years! Dude used to be in everything! Nick Nolte is also in this film; however, his voice is used way more than the actor himself, though he does appear briefly as a human in this one. All the cast do okay , but the film is so by the numbers that it is not really all that surprising.

So, it was not a bad film, just a bit on the underwhelming side of things. Like I said, feels like a television pilot or something. For the most part, nearly all the action takes place around a house, but then we have this generic flying scene that does not look good to another bland locale. Just seems like this one should not have cost 90 million to make. It is not the worst movie though and has entertaining moments within, just not enough to be a really solid film.

The Spiderwick chronicles is a fun family friendly fantasy thriller of sorts. A family moves into an old home and discover a mysterious book about magical creatures. They soon realize these creatures are real and are forced to defend their home from goblins trying to steal the book. The cgi is pretty good and the monsters aren't too scary. The acting is good from the kids, Freddie highmore plays both twin brothers and does a fair job. Cute movie, storyline is simple, and the ending is wholesome.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is a perfectly entertaining children's fantasy film that provides a neat alternative to those viewers who've overdosed on Harry Potter's antics. This one is a neat, standalone tale of mythical monsters and invisible beasties, and the three kids who have to fight them in an old, crumbling house in the remote countryside.

The film provides plenty of action and lots of special effects (CGI, of course), which are for the most part very well achieved. There's humour (some of which, like the Seth Rogen character, I could have done without), scary scenes, and a great deal of imagination. It's all very familiar and rather predictable - in fact, I had virtually the same idea for a story like this, once - but there's little to dislike.

Okay, so the script could have been a little tighter; there's a little too much yelling and shrillness early on, before the characters of the protagonists are given a chance to come out. The casting of Freddie Highmore in the dual role is very good, though, and something I didn't spot until about halfway through. Sarah Bolger, late of THE TUDORS, is excellent as ever. The director could have been better, but as I said, there's little to dislike in this one.

This is being compared to Harry Potter? That is completely ridiculous. Some idiotic critics are saying "This movie isn't like Harry Potter, therefore, it's terrible" This movie is an amazing example of a fantasy movie, and one that doesn't cut much out, unlike Harry Potter. This movie has great acting, especially by the dual-part playing Freddie Highmore, who loses his British accent quite convincingly. Also, Sarah Bolger and Mary-Louise Parker do superb jobs with their acting considering it's mostly a four-person cast. (Excluding voice overs) The special effects alone are amazing. If you don't like this movie, you have to admit, the special effects were amazing. If there were a sequel, I would most definitely see it as long as it has the same actors, special effects team, and director.

1st watched 6/4/2009 – 4 out of 10 (Dir – Mark Waters): Scary supposed children's fantasy film was really pretty much a horror flick with fantasy characters thrown in. A real disappointment, in my opinion, because they focused on the kids in terror aspect instead of allowing us to understand the fantasy world a little bit better instead of jolting us for 90 minutes. The basic storyline revolves around a troubled family that movie into an old house and find a book that is(guess what…) not supposed to be opened!! And, of course, one of the Freddie Highmore characters( he plays a dual role of American speaking twins) opens it and all hell breaks loose in the fantasy world. The book was written by a man named Spiderwick 80 years earlier and tells of the unseen world and all of it's secrets. An evil character wants the book and a protective character, voiced by Martin Short, tries to explain the scenario to the child. The rest of the movie, the kids are pursued by the evil forces and their goal is to not be killed by it and kill it, of course. Sounds like a horror movie, doesn't it?? Anyway, the last 15 minutes are good but getting there is not fun. This movie was based on a series of books but I find it hard to believe that the series boiled down to this action piece. In my opinion, this was Hollywood's attempt to make it marketable and it doesn't work. Too bad, because I'm sure this movie disappointed many adults and the kids they brought in to see it.

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.

'The Spiderwick Chronicles' might be a magical, mystical fantasy, but be warned, this film might give young viewers nightmares.

Freddie Highmore gives a fantastic performance in the dual roles of twins Jared and Simon, with Jared being the film's protagonist. Jared, Simon, their sister Mallory and Mother, Helen, moves into the Spiderwick home. Soon after moving in things start going very wrong as they notice something weird about the estate.

I'm not going to give away the story, so you can follow and discover for yourself. The film wastes no time before the action starts, and never slows down. Nick Nolte stars as Mulgarath, the film's main antagonist - a creepy and rather scary character.

Jared, Simon and Mallory learn about friendly creatures all around us - usually invisible to humans although they sometimes do choose to reveal themselves should they wish to do so. But there are also evil and vicious creatures around us. Evil Ogres will do anything to get their hands on a research book, The Field Guide, which has to be kept within a protective circle around the house at all times. But time is running out and our young heroes must do everything in their power to protect themselves, and humanity.

This was an amazing fantasy action adventure with spectacular visual effects. It is funny, scary, thrilling, and filled with adventure!!

Other than the names of the characters and the house, this bore almost no resemblance to the books. Compressing 5 books totaling almost 600 (sparse) pages into 95 minutes IS a challenge, but this "adaptation" sucked the soul from the series and turned it into a mini-horror movie for kids.

If you have young kids, skip the movie and read the books. They're a quick read and offer so much more entertainment, imagination and wonder than this movie did.

Things you'll find in the books that you won't find here: Characters that aren't complete jerks, mystery, a sense of adventure, more existing creatures and far more interesting challenges.