THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

Directed by: Mark Waters Written by: Karey Kirkpatrick, David Berenbaum, John Sayles Based on a series of books by: Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black Starring: Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Nick Nolte, Mary Louise Parker, David Strathairn Distributed by Paramount PicturesFilm is out now in the U.S. and opens in the U.K. on Friday 28th February 2008. Review by Michael Edwards

rating: 3

We live in a world of wonder, a world populated with a myriad of different experiences and creatures, some of which we can see and some of which we can't. It is the latter that form the fantastical population of The Spiderwick Chronicles, a classical children's tale of escapism, of seeing the unseen and, of course, of coping with family drama and developing into a strong, confident adult. The basic plot is that three kids leave New York with their mother, recently separated from their father, and move into a ramshackle old house in the country. Here they discover an old book (the eponymous Spiderwick Chronicles) written by their mysterious great uncle Arthur Spiderwick who disappeared under strange circumstances many years ago. Despite the warning signs around the house, and a glaringly obvious and painfully ominous note on the cover of the book itself, they obviously open this book and find it reveals an insight into a previously invisible world of magical creatures - some astoundingly beautiful, others amusing, and a lot just downright evil. I'm not hyperbolising when I say that these creatures are truly fantastic. The content itself is a standard affair, a good versus evil set up with a feisty young lad at once struggling to cope with his broken family, his inner demons, and his burgeoning development into manhood. Some children might find certain chase and battle scenes a little too intimidating, particularly where invisible goblins try and drag a young boy away from his home - sinking their pointy teeth into his leg in the process, but I'd much rather see that than have a film shy away from its aim in an attempt to remain squeaky clean and suitable for even the most sensitive little souls. The weakest points are common flaws for kids films - the young heroes don't talk anything like real kids, and the formulaic plot progression is mostly pretty predictable, with the exception of a few clever twists and quirks. The real heart of the film lies in its delightfully imaginative denizens. Nick Nolte voices an intimidating ogre named Mulgarath who has an unnerving ability to change his form and who would use the secrets of the book to destroy all of the other creatures inhabiting his mystical realm, as well as those that don't. The other creatures range from creepy goblins to delicate fairies of all sorts, all crafted lovingly through carefully created CGI. There are flower fairies that flit around the flower beds, strange dandelion-seed fairies that hypnotise with a shrill humming sound, and a crazy bird-eating hobgoblin that can give you the ability to see these mythical beings by spitting in your eyes. Of course this does occasionally throw up the odd CGI conundrum ( for example how do real actors, including one actor simultaneously playing his own twin, mount a griffon?) but these are neatly glossed over without any obvious glitches or uncomfortable consistency issues. Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable film, not an instant classic but a palatable children's movie populated with sufficiently intriguing, well-crafted and entertaining CGI creations to offset the blandness of the scripting. Even Seth Rogan's unwelcome appearance as a voice artist for the cheeky hobgoblin Hogsqueal couldn't dampen my enjoyment of this affable fairy-tale.