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The Spiderwick Chronicles

posted by Matt Knicl at 10:00 pm.

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4 out of 4 stars

The Spiderwick Chronicles is Nickelodeon’s second film venture in recent years adapting a children’s series into a movie. A Series of Unfortunate Events was a great movie, unlike Spiderwick, which was purely adequate.

Based on the book series of the same name by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (a Magic: The Gathering card artist), we see twins Jared and Simon (Freddy Highmore), their older sister Mallory and recently divorced mother (Mary-Louise Parker of Weeds) moving into an old, abandoned house. It doesn’t take long for Jared to discover his great uncle Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around Us.

There are faeries and house-elves that exist around us, only man cannot perceive them. The book details the secrets of all these magical creatures, and this is precisely why the evil Ogre (voice by Nick Nolte) wishes to posses the book – with it he can rule and destroy all those who oppose him.

As far as the film goes – frankly, it kind of stunk. The same actor, Freddy Highmore, who played the lead part in Arthur and the Invisibles, played the twins but I see no reason why they need to fill the movie with awkward shots to re-establish that they were two characters. Highmore has yet to prove he deserves these main parts – his only real contribution is a good look of “astonished wonderment.”

Then there was the tacked on divorce plotline, which to the movie’s defense was in the books, but really to make that part believable you need to cast someone better than Mary-Louise Parker, an actress who has as much emotional range as a Speak & Spell on anti-depressants.

So then why do I give the film four stars? Because this is a kid’s movie! The cliché dialogue and bad acting isn’t cliché and bad in the eyes of an 8-year-old. This is a movie about escapism, where there is magic right in front of you. Sure there are things that will bother adults, but this film isn’t for us.

Matt Knicl: My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.