Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1979 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-07-14
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Customer Reviews

Great fun...and no spiders !
I took my 12 year old daughter to see this at the cinema recently and we both really enjoyed it.

It centres on a mother and her three children who relocate from New York to their great aunt's house in a wood (far far away) following the marriage break-up. Family issues are soon forgotten when the inquisitve Jared discovers Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the enchanted woods and it's fabulous inhabitants - fairies, trolls, goblins and of course the evil ogre Mulgarth. He will stop at nothing to get hold of Spiderwick's writings and the knowledge and power it would give him. Will Mulgarth and his goblin (look more like toads to me) army break the magic ring around the house to get at the family and the Field Guide ...??

This is a 21st century tale, not Disney schmaltzy, pretty original and generally good fun for the whole family, though I think the PG rating is pretty fair as young kids could get scared. It has some real laugh out loud moments, good characters (the Shrek-like pig grates a bit, but he has his moment at the end) flawless CGI and a well paced story to keep everyone entertained.

It's not as epic as say the Chronicles of Narnia or the Golden Compass, but this is not a bad thing as they can be a bit "worthy" and heavy. This is more fun and worked for us.

Happy endings all round and four stars from us, well deserved

A Heart Pounding Family Fantasy Adventure
The Grace family is moving from New York to the family estate in the middle of nowhere. It is no one's first choice, but newly single mom Helen (Mary-Louise Parker) has a job in the area. And it allows them a chance to move into the Spiderwick mansion. Helen is related to the Spiderwicks. In fact, she has inherited the mansion, so it cuts down on costs.

Of her three kids, daughter Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and son Simon (Freddie Highmore) are okay with the change. Simon's twin Jared (also Freddie Highmore) is not. He can't wait for his dad to come and get him out of there.

The house is creepy, and right away things start to go missing. Jared hears a noise in the wall that leads to the discovery of a dumb waiter and a hidden room. Exploring further, Jared finds an old book with a warning on the cover. Ignoring the warning, Jared opens the book and starts to read.

It's only after reading the book that Jared realizes what he's done. See, the book contains the secrets of all the creatures that are in the world around us that we can't see, like fairies, goblins, and ogres. And one ogre in particular, Mulgarath (voiced by Nick Nolte), wants that book so he can destroy everything. Now Jared, Simon, and Mallory are in the fight of their lives to find a way to defeat Mulgarath and stay alive. Can they do it?

This movie is an adrenaline fueled ride. It is creepy and intriguing from the first few seconds and builds from there. I was on the edge of my seat by the end. While I absolutely loved it, it might frighten young kids. I would seriously question whether anyone under 8 or so would enjoy it. Of course, you know your own kids best, so judge accordingly.

While a fast paced thrill ride, the story still hangs together. A couple things got glossed over in the ending, but they were minor. The acting is great as well, especially from Sarah Bolger and Freddie Highmore who carry the film since they are in every scene. Freddie makes both his characters different. I expect we'll be seeing lots more from him in the future.

The special effects could have been a little better. I don't know whether they were going for stylized or what, but they aren't up to the level we are used to seeing these days. And it just goes to show how spoiled we are because they are certainly adequate. They just aren't the blow your socks off stuff we normally see these days.

If this movie won't scare your kids, see it. Heck, see it even if you don't have kids. This is an entertaining fantasy thrill ride that anyone old enough will love.

Very Disappointing
Be warned this film is hardly anything like the Spiderwick Chronicles books.My son and I have read all the Spiderwick Chronicles and we found this screen adaptation very disappointing. Where's the dwarves, elves, dragons , the palace of trash and the incident at the school where Jared first meets Mulgarath ? It seems to me that they tried to make the film as cheap as possible using mostly cgi, hence no dwarves and elves and tried to save money by using ,mainly one set (the house and the estate it's on). We also found the relationships of the characters had been changed. Why? There was nothing wrong with the supportive relationship between Jared, Simon and Mallory that they have in the books which you only see later on in the film.
The film could easily have been another half an hour and without completely re-writing the storyline of the books.