The Spiderwick Chronicles (Widescreen Edition)

I know that there are more books to this story, and I really think they could be a great series.Great entertainment for the whole family. A must see.

I loved the books, and the film is first-rate, both technically and in brilliant casting. Freddie Highmore has to be the best juvenile actor in decades, and Joan Plowright, David Strathairn, and Mary Louise Parker always add polish and professionalism to anything they touch. This film is a winner both for young viewers and for any of us older film fans who still love magic and mystery.

I have never actually read the books, although I have leafed through them a couple of times to see the illustrations. I didn't have too high of expectations because of that. I was still disappointed in this movie. I get why the studios think they can put fantastical creatures and plotlines in these films and think that all the Harry Potter starved children and adults would flock to see them, its all about money, and less about substance.

Knowing these boys were not twins made it even more excruciating to watch, because Freddie Highmore is a good actor, but here? Not so much. The mom was miscast, as well as Arthur Spiderwick; both actors have the emotional range of a piece of toast.

The creatures were disappointing, along the lines of "nothing new" with the exception of how cute Thimbletack was. A griffin, an Ogre, Fairies, Goblins, with all the promise of the books the movie was terribly frugal with bringing other creatures to the big screen. It would have been nice to see more.

I have to admit, the scariest thing in it wasn't the Ogre, it was when the house was being attacked, I just kept thinking "oh that's gonna cost them" and I knew then that it didnt bring out the kid in me, quite the opposite!

The books were wonderful, but the movie was so hard to watch I could barely finish it. The director said he wanted a specifically "American" movie. His idea seems to be screaming bratty kids who can't say a nice word to each other or their mother. A mother who is rude and hateful. The screeching got an my nerves that I was extremely irritated when it was over. I would not recommend this for any kids to watch. An extreme disappointment.

Version: U.S.A / Region Free
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 1:35:46
Movie size: 28,352,348,160 bytes
Disc size: 40,970,339,905 bytes
Average video bit rate: 31.03 Mbps
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) English
DD AC3 5.1 640Kbps French / Spanish

Subtitles: English / English SDH / French / Spanish / Portuguese

#Featurette: "It's All True!" (HD, 7 minutes)
#Featurette: "Meet the Clan!" (HD, 14 minutes)
#Featurette: "Making 'Spiderwick'" (HD, 21 minutes)
#Featurette: "Magic of 'Spiderwick'" (HD, 14 minutes)
#Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guild
#Field Guild: In Movie Mode
#Deleted Scenes (HD, 8 minutes)
#Theatrical Trailers (HD)
#TV Spots (SD)