The Spiderwick Chronicles (Widescreen Edition)

Never having read the books, & in fact I'd never even heard of them until I started to see the trailers for the movie, I thought 'The grandkids might enjoy this one?'
Even if they did, I felt that there was too much of the tale which had not been told.
Maybe if I did know the story; but then those who have read the book/s complain that it wasn't true to the script either, so it's the old book to film dilemma: what to keep, what to change (however little - or much), & what to leave out completely.
I think that too much was left out, leaving it an incomplete viewing experience for me at least.
Still worth a watch though.

Spiderwick Chronicles

Going through a divorce, kids missing their father, moving away from friends, Helen Grace has her hands full.

Mallory, Jared and Simon never realize what life has in store for them when their mother moves them into the spooky old mansion of her great-aunt Lucinda.

Jared is a bit rebellious, and Simon is a bit of a nerd. Mallory is the typical older sister, when things happen around the house, she naturally blames her brother. Jared discovers a secret room, with a locked box containing the writings of Arthur Spiderwick. Arthur has been missing for 80 years.

The family and the home are surrounded by creatures that desperately need to get their hands on Arthur Spiderwick's field manual. Will the creatures get the book? Will the family be forced out of their home?

I did not read the books, but I plan to, soon. Based on only watching the movie, with all stars, I enjoyed Spiderwick. It may be scary for younger children.

Jill Vanderwood
Author of the magical adventure book series,
Through the Rug
Through The Rug: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)
Look for my Through the Rug 2: Follow that Dog
Video trailer on YouTube

this movie sucks its lame and for losers it doesn't follow the book and it skips some of the cool stuff in the book this is so lame and its for losers

The Spiderwick Chronicles movie attempts to pack the plot, characters, and action of all five fast-paced books into a mere 101 minutes. As a result, many of the most suspense-filled scenes in the books had to be sacrificed, and the final battle between good and evil is moved from the goblin's lair to the house. The house brownie, goblins, hobgoblins and other mythic beings are well done, both artistically and in tune with the author's images and characterization. Children and young adults who have never read the books will likely be clamoring for the complete set for their fuller enjoyment of the magical world of Spiderwick.

While I write this review keep in mind I have never read the books, though I probably will sometime soon because of this movie.

Pros:

Characters: I liked the characters of this movie, all were interesting enough to also keep the movie interesting. I especially liked the same kid playing simon and jared (Freddie Highmore) and how different he made those characters. Great job Freddie! Though they weren't the most unique characters, they were good enough for me.

Story: Wow! This was a great story! I never expected it to be at all. Fun, fast paced, incredibly creative and clever, susupensful, and somewhat funny. It was also fairly complex, and thats what I love about stories.

Graphics were fantastic as well.

Cons:

Sometimes characters were annoying, like Jared constantly bringing the book everywhere with him when he knew that was a bad idea. Another thing was there was a lot of yelling. But right when it got annoying they stop doing it, so I'm fine with that.

Those are the only bad things. It had a great story, a great ending, great cast, interesting characters mostly, and good graphics. Great family movie!