It's easy to see what's coming, but the payoff is still touching. The Spiderwick Chronicles finds its magic.
Comment
02/22/08
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
79
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:138
Fresh:109
Rotten:29
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: The Spiderwick Chronicles is an entertaining children's adventure, with heart and imagination to spare.
Theatrical Release:Feb 14, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $71,148,699
Synopsis: Based on the bestselling series of children's fantasy novels of the same name by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES follows the adventures of the Grace family, newly... [More]
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright
Director: Mark Waters
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Reviews for The Spiderwick Chronicles
...followers of Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black's series of books will find themselves scratching their heads at the omission of several key plot points and characters.
02/22/08
It is more adult than its family audience theme would let on. You wouldn’t want to bring any young children to see it.
02/21/08
Condensing five short juvenile novels into a single 90-minute film, the screenwriters have done a decent job of constructing a tale that will entertain tots without insulting parents’ intelligence.
02/21/08
The Spiderwick Chronicles is fast, funny, and clever, with memorable creatures to sweeten the deal.
02/20/08
The story is very condensed and straightforward. It gets right to the action and stays there.
02/20/08
OK of its type, even if its type is starting to exude that slightly disagreeable scent of 'been there, done that.'
02/20/08
The overall story and action is mighty familiar. But at the same time, Spiderwick does what it does remarkably well.
02/19/08
I found it to be more irritating than scary, more tedious than exciting.
02/19/08
Top CriticThe movie reveals these creatures with some well-ingrained CGI that makes the visuals appealing for young and adult viewers.
02/19/08
The people who made this film cared enough about it to give their all.
02/17/08
The mood never wavers, allowing The Spiderwick Chronicles to develop into an exciting and largely watertight adventure.
02/17/08
Waters does ground his film in the real world, and more importantly he creates a real sense of the family dynamics before Jared opens the door to the world of goblins and woodland creatures.
02/17/08
'Spiderwick's' biggest shocks are due to big names cast in off beat roles...the real eyebrow raiser is seeing Nick Nolte as the evil ogre Mulgarath.
02/17/08
See what happens when you drink yage.
02/17/08
A pleasing melange under the direction of Mark Waters, who, after Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, is becoming the go-to auteur of traumatized youth.
02/16/08
Top CriticCharacters with such real-world problems lend the film some real-world credibility
02/15/08
[C]harming... lots of humorous and thrilling fantasy action...
02/15/08
Gorgeous cinematography from Caleb Deschanel (The Black Stallion) and wonderfully intricate production design from James D. Bissell create a believably magical world of dusty tomes and toothy goblins.
02/15/08
Spiderwick is The Neverending Story of the new millennium -- a family-friendly fable that kids will applaud but adults may nap through.
02/15/08
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