What is crawling about in the house? (The Spiderwick Chronicles (DVD))

Member Name: Ailran

Product:	The Spiderwick Chronicles (DVD)
Date:	29/04/09 (177 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Freddie Highmores acting

Disadvantages: A good but not involving storyline

Since Harry Potter became such a smash hit success there has been a rush from the main studios to find their own fantasy books to buy the rights to and then bring to the big screen. Narnia, Stardust, Eragon and Bridge To Terabithia all got adapted and achieved success of varying degrees.

Spiderwick Chronicles is yet another adaptation to hit the movie screens and stars the up and coming child star, in fact he may have already gone past up and coming having appeared in numerous movies already, Freddie Highmore. This time he takes a double role, playing twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace.
The brothers, along with their sister and mother, have only just moved from New York to an old country house that was owned by their great aunt, who is now in an old people's home.
Jared in particular is not happy about this move, or about his dad not being around any more, and becomes even more of an obnoxious teen then he probably was before we meet him and his family.
The discovery of an old, dust laden room hidden at the top of the house also leads to the unearthing of a very old book, a book that has a warning never ever to open it. Of course Jared does this and he reads a book that was written by his great uncle Spiderwick (David Straithairn) detailing all the strange and unusual creatures that he discovered around and about the house.

What Jared doesn't realise is that opening the book alerts these creatures as to the whereabouts of it and the evil Ogre Mulgarath sends his goblins to bring it back to him, knowing that he can use what is written in it to take over the world.
With an army after the book can the headstrong and impetuous Jared persuade his brain box of a twin and his older sister that their lives are in very real danger?

Spiderwick is a film for children, it has a PG rating and that is the perfect rating for it. It is very lightweight fun that will only just have enough to entertain an adult, and even then only if they really like fantasy films. I enjoyed Spiderwick but only in a superficial way. It was enjoyable while watching but it will never stir any deep emotions or memories in me to encourage me to see it again. When you compare it to Stardust and Bridge To Terabithia though it will fall unceremoniously towards the bottom of a list, a list that is topped by those two, at least if you are an adult anyway, they are both fantasy movies that can easily be enjoyed by young and old alike.

Freddie Highmore is terrific, not since Dakota Fanning (who has made a reappearance of late) has a child actor shown as much versatility as him. The twins Simon and Jared are both very different, so much so that I did wonder, at least at first, whether or not Freddie had a real brother who was playing the other twin. The way he makes them come across as two entirely different individuals is a real testament to his growing skill and maturity as an actor.

The rest of the cast, who mainly have bit parts when compared to the three children, consists of some good actors, maybe not major names but all well known. David Straithairn, Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Andrew McCarthy and Joan Plowright all appear in various roles, although in two cases it is a blink and you'll miss them appearance.
Seth Rogan and Martin Short also 'appear' in the sense that they do the voices for two of the animated characters in it, two of the more friendly denizens of the fantasy world. Seth Rogan again shows what a great actor he is, suddenly appearing from nowhere (or so it seems) he vocalises his character with the same kind of energy that his live action appearances generate.

What this kind of film lives or dies on though is the look of the creatures and their interaction with the human actors. On this point Spiderwick is near perfect. The creatures look fantastical but realistic. They move oddly and act in away that you would imagine them to.

Spiderwick is an enjoyable if not spectacular movie that will find fans amongst older children and young teenagers. Most adults will find it a bit too lightweight, but I have seen a lot of far worse kids films in my day.

Summary: A childrens fantasy adventure