The Spiderwick Chronicles
By stephanie - Monday, September 1st, 2008
I just saw this on DVD. This is another children’s fantasy trying to ride on Harry Potter’s coattails. In brief: A family moves into a creepy old house, where a boy finds a book that opens the doorway to the fairy world.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a fun movie, filled with action and paced well. The kids were great in it and the special effects were also pretty good. Where this movie disappoints is that it is way too rushed and does not take any time to explore the fairy world. Instead of letting us see the magic and wonder of the fairies, we are constantly bombarded with goblins and big nasty things snarling and chasing the kids.
This was a lost opportunity, I feel, and keeps the film from becoming a classic. Still, what we do see is entertaining and exciting (if perhaps a bit scary for really small children). Overall, I give it a B.