Movie Review by Perry Pannu:

The Spiderwick Chronicles
In Theatres Today

From the first minute to the last, this movie throws you into an alternate realm that could frankly very well exist! That’s how plausibly Mark Waters (who also brought you Mean Girls and Freaky Friday) has adapted the original children’s fantasy novel series onto the silver screen. A world of fairies and goblins? Why not? They could be walking right in front of you right now but can’t be seen with the naked eye because they choose not to show themselves to us. You may not be able to prove that they are there, but can you prove that they aren’t? From the minds of its original creators, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, comes this great example of a successful ‘book-to-movie’ transformation.

Freddie Highmore stars as Jared Grace and his twin brother, Simon. Even though he plays both roles, the characters couldn’t be more different. Jared, being the rebellious one, bears the blame for everything whether he is responsible or not, and Simon avoids conflict…at all costs. You may recognize Freddie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the more recent remake with Johnny Depp) and Finding Neverland. Sarah Bolger plays Mallory, the older sister, and ‘Weeds’ star Mary-Louise Parker plays their single mother.

It all begins when the Grace family moves into the Spiderwick Estate. Jared finds a book that contains a lifetime’s worth of work that Arthur Spiderwick (the children’s great great uncle) collected about a fantastic (in the truest sense of the word) world that co-exists with that of ours. Jared learns about this other dimension, and very quickly realizes that the discovery now endangers his whole family. Thus the movie begins. Packed with scenes that will make your heart skip a beat, and action that can be kind of scary (for small children), this movie is one of the best ones I’ve seen so far this year.

With a solid story as a base, I’d say this movie gives Harry Potter a run for its money. There’s more fluidity to the plot line, the bad guys (i.e. goblins) are the only ones that die, and because its young characters are not endowed with special abilities, they are more relatable. The only ‘powers’ they have, come from gadgets they have to carry with them, such as the ‘looking stone (a rock with a hole in it) that they need in order to see into the land of the fairies.

I recommend that you see The Spiderwick Chronicles in the theatres. Only the big screen can do justice to the special effects, the creatures and all the magic in between. It’s fun for the whole family.