The film Text copyright (c) Filmverdict 2006-present. Any film titles and artwork used are copyright of their respective owners.
Since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring resurrected the fantasy genre in 2001, studios have inevitably been keen to replicate the success with similarly fantastical films. In this time, two different varieties of fantasy films have emerged, both of which have had mixed receptions: the mega-budget blockbusters (Narnia, The Golden Compass) and the smaller scale family adventures (Bridge to Terabithia, The Dark is Rising, and so on). The Spiderwick Chronicles fits definitively into the latter bracket, based on a series of relatively little-known children's novels by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Storyline-wise it's rather generic; a family move into a spooky old house inherited from an elderly relative and some supernatural happenings ensue. Young Jared Grace (Freddie Highmore, who also plays Jared's twin brother Simon) finds a dusty cobweb-covered room where he unearths an intriguing book, the titular Spiderwick Chronicles. It details a realm where fantasy creatures live, in the woods just beyond the garden of the house. But when Jared encounters these creatures, he finds that they're not all friendly. Who'd have guessed it?
Generally, the film that Spiderwick most closely resembles is last year's Bridge to Terabithia, which was released at about the same time of year and made about as much money as Spiderwick has. But whereas Terabithia's flights of fantasy were short-lived and little more than a pleasant distraction from the main narrative (despite what the film's advertising would have you believe), in Spiderwick the fantasy world is the story. This has both positive and negative effects. For one thing, there's no shortage of action or computer-generated beasties, but there could have been more time spent developing the (rather broadly-drawn) characters, which greatly benefited the surprisingly good Terabithia. Also, when the action occurs in Spiderwick, there's little suspense and everything is just a bit too frantic - which does add a sense of breathlessness to the film but it also just becomes somewhat tiresome.
None of this can be blamed on Freddie Highmore, who is surely the best young actor around at the moment, here putting on a pretty decent American accent while playing two different characters at the same time. The other casting is generally apt too; Nick Nolte, receiving a rather minimal amount of screen time, is effective as the big baddie, and Seth Rogen's voice seems suited to coming out of a Hobgoblin's mouth, even if the normally foul-mouthed Knocked Up star is hamstrung by the PG rating and isn't entirely comfortable with voice acting. It's always good to see David Strathairn, too, who shows up briefly in the prologue and then again later on as Arthur Spiderwick, the writer of the book. Despite all these ingredients, however, The Spiderwick Chronicles never reaches far past "decent" in terms of quality. It's pretty enjoyable, quite well made, and likeable - just not memorable or distinctive.
The summary
An adequate, unoffensive family film, The Spiderwick Chronicles never does enough to transcend the boundaries of children's entertainment.
Agree? Disagree? Say so in the Guestbook!