MOVIE REVIEW: THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

[MattBrady]

by Steve Fritz

Slight spoilers ahead!

In the middle of The Spiderwick Chronicles, there’s a small scene where Lady Joan Plowright is being fed berries by flowery and, quite frankly, beautiful sprites. Some of the berries are offered to one of the Grace children, the elder sister Mallory. They look so delectable that Mallory reaches out to try them.

Luckily, her brother Jared grabs Mallory just before she eats them. It turns out if she did, she would never be able to eat human food again.

It’s this subtle but ever present threat that makes this movie an early favorite of mine. Even the normally friendly brownie Thimbletack (voiced by Martin Short) has a very nasty dark side. When he becomes angry he turns into a creature that will wreak havoc around the house that can only be assuaged by honey.

More importantly, while I won’t quite recommend this film for ages five or younger due to some mature themes and some serious violence, it’s still one heck of family movie. The movie never talks down to its audience. It understands that families do break up, and it’s the children who usually get hurt the worst. It also understands that darker creatures such as goblins and trolls aren’t the only threats in the fantasy world. You have to watch out for the good ones, too, who won’t think anything of doing some powerful magic on you to protect their own self-interests.

For those not familiar with the book, Spiderwick is based on a novel by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. It kicks off about 80 years in the past where one Arthur Spiderwick (David Straithairn), apparently a relatively independent and wealthy man, lives with his then eight year-old daughter, Lucinda (Jordy Benattar) in a remote New England home most people can only dream about. Spiderwick has a rather peculiar hobby: he’s making a “field report” about all the magical creatures he discovers in the wilds surrounding his home.

He makes a discovery he soon regrets, one that comes to the attention of the ogre Mulgraith (Nick Nolte). With this knowledge the ogre and its goblin henchmen can destroy just about anyone, magical or human. Spiderwick then has Thimbletack hide the book, but the damage has been done. Even though Spiderwick protects his home with a magical ring of toadstools, sprites appear and whisk the man away to points unknown, leaving Lucinda abandoned and, if you ask any human Yankee who comes in contact with her, quite mad.

Move to the present. Helen Grace (Mary-Louise Parker), Lucinda’s niece, is moving herself and her three children into the Spiderwick house. While none of the kids are taking it easily, the one taking it particularly hard is Jared (Freddie Highmore), who was a true father’s boy, and anyone will quickly notice that dad (Andrew McCarthy) is quite missing in this family outing. Twin brother Simon (also Highmore) and older sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) take it more stoically, but they aren’t enjoying themselves either.

As can be expected, it isn’t long before Jared discovers the “field guide.” In spite of a written warning from Thimbletack, he spends an evening reading the book. Before he knows it, he plunges his family into a world of horror that resembles the Goosebumps equivalent of The Amityville Horror, as the house becomes the target of Mulgraith, who will do anything, literally anything, to get his paws on that book.

As directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday), this film then turns into a fast-paced action-adventure that unveils its many secrets and surprises in a refreshingly brisk yet logical fashion. Special kudos has to be given to Short and Nolte, who voice their characters in a highly believable and entertaining way. The animation work, done by ILM, is also surprisingly inventive, particularly on the character design. A classic example is the rendering of the various kinds of sprites out there. Their blending of both flower and human elements is extraordinary. The same goes for the griffin who appears later in the film, which blows any similar creature in the Harry Potter films out of the water.

Still, the real high point of the film is the performances of Bolger and Highmore.

Bolger, as the tough and athletic older sister, is refreshingly natural throughout the entire performance. As such, one can believe that she’s an expert fencer and protector of her two younger siblings. Yes, it’s a turnaround of the usual Hollywood formula, but Bolger’s performance makes you forget this one with ease.

Then there’s Highmore. If you didn’t believe this is a young actor to keep an eye on after his work on Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and Finding Neverland, this film should. He literally convinces us that he’s two distinct brothers with just some changes of wardrobe as well as some changes in posture and diction. His performance is so strong as both the high-strung Jared and the more studious Simon that if you didn’t know he was playing both in advance, you’d swear there was two different actors playing the respective roles.

Still, probably one of the best elements of Spiderwick is its handling of magic. It takes a very natural approach, underscoring that magic is all around us. All one needs are a bit of sensitivity and a willingness to accept it on its own terms, and the wonders it can reveal can be astounding, indeed. It can even let you accept a truly cartoonish character like the bird-loving, scatter-brained hobgoblin Hogsqueal (wonderfully voiced by Seth Rogen).

As one can imagine, Spiderwick is going up against some serious competition this weekend, with not only Jumper and George Romero’s Diary of the Dead, but also Ryan Reynolds’ Definitely, Maybe all also coming out this weekend and aimed at the Valentine's crowd. While this movie is the only one that’s truly family oriented, I hope fantasy fans give it the proper respect it truly deserves by taking their clans to this one. Just to repeat, its soft horror and themes of family abandonment might need some explaining after the movie is over. On the other hand, this is one rollickingly fun adventure and shouldn’t be missed under any circumstance.

[Lex]

I love the Spiderwick books. I'm looking forward to this movie.

[Blackbeard]

Originally Posted by Lex

I love the Spiderwick books. I'm looking forward to this movie.

I actually bought the boxed set for my eldest son and read them as he finished. What a magnificent, timeless series it is!

I'm taking my kids to see the movie Saturday. We can't wait.

[johnlayman]

Hmmm.

For some reason, I thought this was about a teenage boy bitten by a radioactive spiderwick!

[bubbledncr]

haven't read the books but glad to hear it's a good movie. fantasy movies tend to be bad waaay to often, which is disappointing.

[I-Ching]

I really liked the preview for this...it was sort of Jumanji / Harry Potter type of flick...Mark Waters has a solid track record with comedy so it's nice to see him extend his resume into this realm.

[AdamYJ]

Originally Posted by Matt Brady

In the middle of The Spiderwick Chronicles, there’s a small scene where Lady Joan Plowright is being fed berries by flowery and, quite frankly, beautiful sprites. Some of the berries are offered to one of the Grace children, the elder sister Mallory. They look so delectable Mallory reaches out to try them.

Luckily, her brother Jared grabs Mallory just before she eats them. It turns out if she did, she would never bet able to eat human food again.

Oh, that's an old, old bit of fairy lore.

You see, in a lot of the old stories from Ireland, the Good People (aka fairies) would abduct a human being and put in its place one of their own who was sick or dying made up in human form. These were generally called Changelings. The thing is, the only times when the abducted human could be rescued is when they didn't eat any of the fairy food. Then they couldn't come back if they wanted to. It's similar to the old myths about the Greek afterlife in which anyone who journeys into the Underworld can't leave if they eat the food of the dead.

I'm looking forward to this movie. I was interested ever since I saw the earliest teaser trailers. Ever since I found out about the various little bits of old folk and fairy lore they touch on (brownies, boggarts, sprites, etc), I've been even more interested. If nothing else, it should be a good way to spend a couple hours on a day off.

[Billy Parker]

If it tain't Spider-Man, I tain't watching!!