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This is the sort of story that could quite happily sit alongside some of the greats of the genre.
It
looks superb, it plays out at a fantastic pace - only occasionally
getting bogged down by sentiment, ticks all the boxes when it comes to
fantastical creatures - and most importantly - delivers something of a
unique spin on an often all to familiar formula.
When the three
Grace children - troubled Jared,
his bookish twin Simon (both, inexplicably, played by Freddie Highmore)
and their sister Mallory - move to the run down Victorian home formerly
owned by their great Uncle Spiderwick, things couldn't look worse.
Jared hates his mum for leaving his dad, Simon is almost invisible to
his siblings and they now have to endure life out of the city.
That is - until they discover a Brownie (an enchanted creature) living
in the walls.
They soon find a book (Arthur Spiderwick's Field
Guide to the Fantastical World Around You) in one of the many hidden nooks and cranies of the old mansion which opens their eyes
to the invisible, odd, and sometimes dangerous world of dragons and
boggarts, phookas, fairies, sprites, goblins and the dreaded Milgareth which surrounds them.
But things take a dangerous turn when they realise they aren't the only ones interested in the book.
Taking a leaf out of some of the more memorable fantasy classics (Return To Oz, Never Ending Story, Potter), Spiderwick
does on occasions get a bit tense and scary. Not scary in a
"I'm-Going-To-Tie-You-To-A-Chair-And-Rip-Out-Your-Entrails-Using-A-Hacksaw-Saw-Style",
but scary in that
"I'm-Twelve-And-These-Images-Of-Murderous-Goblins-Will-Stick-With-Me-For-Life"
sort of way.
And that's by no means a bad thing. It actually brings something extra to the adventure - especially for the older audience.
Freddie
Highmore is excellent as always, but it is noticable that he is heading
into the era of his career where he will either thrive or go the way of
McCauley Culkin. The several cameo voices of the magical creatures are
somewhat underused - and almost unrecogniseable. What's the point of
having Martin Short and Seth Rogen offering up their talents only to
manipulate their voices so they sound nothing like them? Who knows -
but it's happened - we all have to deal with it.
By no means as mediocre as it's Box Office takings may have suggested during it's theatrical run, because The Spiderwick Chronicles is a classic piece of the mystical genre. EXTRAS
Along
with a commentary from the creators, there are a swag of featurettes
which range from mildly amusing to downright mundane. Not to sure if
the kids will get much out of it, but those still amazed by the process
of Book-To-Film it's probably worth checking out.
The most
useful (and kind of cool) extra is an extensive look inside Aurther
Spiderwicks journal - a fantastic little book which really does go a
long way in supplying back story to often unexplained aspects of the
magical creatures which feature in the movie.
Well worth adding to the DVD collection.
Conclusion:
Movie 75% Extras: 65%
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