Review of The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) by Nigel D — 26 May 2010

Okay, this is a GREAT movie. In the family fantasy-adventure genre, it is top-notch.

Comparisons to Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia are immediate and impossible not to make, but I think Spiderwick has both of those bloated franchises beaten, hands-down. There's an economy to its storytelling that puts Harry Potter to shame; it's a relatively short story, but it doesn't feel rushed, and avoids any obvious sequel setup. (Those can be seriously annoying.) Yet, it also attracts great actors, like the Potter franchise.

The CGI in Spiderwick is fantastic. All the creatures are thoroughly believable (particularly the nasty Molgarath, voiced by Nick Nolte, who, delightfully, gets a scene in the flesh, too). And the level of violence is more believable than in Narnia, which was so video game-like, it was off-putting to me. I wouldn't watch Spiderwick with a young kid (nor Narnia), but the completely bloodless and unrealistic violence of Narnia seems worse, somehow. (Not that Spiderwick is overly violent; it reminded me of Gremlins in its level of mayhem and creature gore.).

The cast is great; Freddie Highmore, whom I've heard lots of but never before seen, carries the movie well in a dual role. Nolte, Martin Short and Seth Rogen provide great voice-overs. And it's always great to see David Strathairn.

Bottom line, The Spiderwick Chronicles is never going to beat The Lord of the Rings, but if you like Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia, I dare you to try and tell me those movies are better than Spiderwick in any way.