In the age of Harry Potter, most young adult books turned into movies involve young kids who have powers; unlike Potter, they don't usually transfer well because they aren't as strong as that little em wizard boy. When I first saw a trailer for Spiderwick, I was more reminded of The Neverending Story than I was of the Potter franchise. It made me a bit excited. I know absolutely nothing about the books and normally nickelodeon movies don't make me want to run out see a movie, but I was there on the opening weekend to watch this one.
Jared Grace (Freddy Highmore) is a young boy unhappy with the impending divorce of his parents. He has moved to a giant creepy house in the middle of nowhere with his twin brother Simon (also Highmore), his sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and their mother Helen (The simply gorgeous Mary Louise Parker). When things begin to go missing in this giant house, Jared is the assumed culprit because he tends to lash out when angry and he is angry a lot. During one of his outbursts he starts bashing at the wall with a broom because he thinks he hears something in the walls. He comes across a secret little dumbwaiter and goes up to the top of the house where he discovers a secret book with a warning not to open it. He opens it and all of a sudden all hell breaks loose. A little honey loving creature named Thimbletack (voiced by Martin Short) comes out and explains what is going on. Jared's Great Grand Uncle, Arthur (David Straithairn) discovered a magical world hidden within ours and compiled a book featuring all of the secrets of this world. Unfortunately a nasty Ogre wants his hands on so he can crush the entire world. The book must stay inside the protective circle, around the house, in order to remain out of the hands of the Ogre. Jared cannot seem to grasp this concept and he takes the book out, often and little trolls start to cause drama and pain.
Visually The Spiderwick Chronicles is quite stunning, especially the little flower creatures that we don't see nearly enough. The house, which is sort of a character in its own right, is a big gorgeous set piece. The trolls have a nice distinct look and their captain provides a few nice slapstick moments. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of the Ogre. He can take any form he wants but we only see 4 forms- a raven, a human in the form of Nick Nolte, a snake and his true Ogre self. Oh wait, we get five because he shows up once as Jared's Dad and Jared's dad looks an awful lot like Andrew McCarthy, yes that Andrew McCarthy! As twins, Jared and Simon, Freddy Highmore proves that he can be the real deal in young acting. He seems to be perpetually going through puberty though, unless that is just how his voice is going to sound. He does a good job of creating two very different characters- the wild obnoxious Jared and the borderline boring Simon. As Jared he really drives the action, giving a performance that suits this film perfectly. He acts opposite creatures that are not really there quite well, which is not always easy.
The movie is almost too short, though. The climax felt rushed because they were worried kids would get restless and so things feel unfinished. I am not sure if this is the first book in a series, or if it includes the entire series, but things felt left undone. I also kind of wish we could have spent more time getting to know the various creatures of this world. We are only introduced to maybe 7 or 8, but the book has hundreds of pages. Seth Rogen provides some great laughs as a pig like creature that eats birds and has a deep desire for killing, if he wasn't so afraid of everything. I certainly prefer this movie to The Seeker, The Golden Compass and other Harry Potter light types of movies. Hell, I preferred this to Harry Potter 5. And while it is not perfect, it is a visually interesting, and it is fast moving enough that any short comings can easily be forgiven.
Final Grade: B-
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