The Spiderwick Chronicles (film)

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This article is about the film. For the novel, see Spiderwick.
The Spiderwick Chronicles

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mark Waters
Produced by Frank Marshall
Kathleen Kennedy
Karey Kirkpatrick
Holly Black
Tony DiTerlizzi
Larry J. Franco
Written by Karey Kirkpatrick
David Berenbaum
John Sayles[1]
Starring Freddie Highmore
Sarah Bolger
Mary-Louise Parker
Martin Short
Nick Nolte
David Strathairn
Joan Plowright
Seth Rogen
Andrew McCarthy
Music by James Horner
Cinematography Caleb Deschanel
Editing by Michael Kahn
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Nickelodeon Movies
Release date(s) February 14, 2008 (USA)

March 21, 2008 (UK)
Running time 97 min.
Country Flag of the United States
Language English
Budget $90 million
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a 2008 fantasy film adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's bestselling series of the same name. Set in the Spiderwick Estate in New England, it follows the adventures of Jared Grace and his family as they discover a field guide to faeries and battle goblins and other magical creatures. It was directed by Mark Waters and stars Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Martin Short, Nick Nolte, and Seth Rogen. Produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it was released on February 14, 2008. The film will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 24 June 2008 in the United States.[2]

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

A recently divorced Mrs. Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) moves into the Spiderwick Estate with her children, Jared (Freddie Highmore), his twin brother Simon (also Highmore), and Mallory (Sarah Bolger), when it is given to her by her elderly aunt Lucinda (Joan Plowright). When Mallory uncovers a dumbwaiter system behind a wall, Jared finds a monogrammed key and discovers the study of the late owner of the estate, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn). Jared uses the key to open a chest, he finds Spiderwick's Field Guide to faeries; although an attached note warns him not to read it, he does so anyway.

Soon after, Jared meets a brownie named Thimbletack (Martin Short), who explains that magical creatures are normally invisible, but can reveal themselves at will. He tells Jared about a protective circle that Arthur Spiderwick placed around the house and gives him a stone with a hole through which he can see faeries.

However, a shape-shifting ogre named Mulgarath (Nick Nolte) wants the field guide for himself so he can rule over all faerie-kind. He sends his goblins to obtain it, and they kidnap Simon, mistaking him for Jared. Meanwhile, Jared meets Hogsqueal (Seth Rogen), a hobgoblin, who has a liking for birds and is revengeful enemy of Mulgarath who gives Jared the ability to see faeries without the aid of the stone. Mulgarath lets Simon go, but Jared, who is hiding, is spotted and the twins are chased into the house, managing to escape only with Mallory's help.

The children decide to visit their great-aunt Lucinda, now in a psychiatric hospital, for advice. While Simon distracts the goblins, Mallory and Jared manage to reach a tunnel under the estate. Lucinda tells them that they need to find Arthur Spiderwick and have him destroy the book; however, Arthur is being held captive by Sylphs, a type of faerie. Suddenly, Mulgarath's goblins attack them and steal several pages from the book before they are driven off.

The siblings use the book to summon Arthur Spiderwick's pet, a griffin, which takes them to the realm of the Sylphs. There they meet Arthur, who has not aged but is also unaware of the time he has spent there.

On their return, Hogsqueal warns them that one of the stolen pages will allow Mulgarath to destroy the protective circle when the moon rises. Jared, Simon, Mallory, and Helen arm themselves with steel knives and home-made bombs prepared by Simon. When they are forced into the kitchen, they place all of their bombs into the oven, detonating them and killing all of the goblins.

Someone looking like and claiming to be Mr. Grace (Andrew McCarthy) enters the house and tells Jared that he came to apologize; however, Jared discovers that it is not him and stabs him in the stomach, revealing him to be Mulgarath in disguise. Jared escapes with the book through the dumbwaiter while Mulgarath transforms into a python and gives pursuit. On the roof, Jared throws the book onto the lawn; as Mulgarath transforms into a raven to catch it, he is snatched and eaten by Hogsqueal.

The Graces bring Lucinda back to the house, and the Sylphs appear, bringing Arthur. He cannot remain outside of the faerie realm, but Lucinda asks to be taken with him instead; the Sylphs transform her back into her six-year-old self and spirit the two away.

A blue screen set used during filming.
A blue screen set used during filming.

[edit] Critical reception

The Spiderwick Chronicles received generally favorable reviews from critics; it was called "decent entertainment,"[3] "a work of both modest enchantment and enchanting modesty,"[4] and "modest and reasonably charming."[5] However, it was criticized for its reliance on special effects; a reviewer for The New York Times called it "frantic with incident and hectic with computer-generated effects,"[6] and another said that "the sense of wonder and magic is lost in the shuffle."[7]

Despite some negative reviews for the film overall, Freddie Highmore was generally praised for his dual role as the twins Simon and Jared. One critic said that he "skillfully portrays two distinctive personas,"[8] another said he "[had] no trouble grasping the task at hand,"[9] and a third remarked that, "the most special effect is probably Highmore".[10]

As of March 13, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 80% of critics gave the film positive reviews with an average rating of 6.7 out of 10, based on 110 reviews,[11] and Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 29 reviews.[12]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed an estimated $19 million in 3,847 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #3 at the box office.[13] With the opening day's gross on Thursday included, the film grossed an estimated $21.3 million on its opening weekend.[14] As of June 8, 2008, the film has grossed more than $162,000,000 worldwide.[15]

[edit] Video game

Main article: The Spiderwick Chronicles (video game)

Sierra Entertainment enlisted Stormfront Studios to develop and produce a video game adaptation of the Spiderwick Chronicles, following the general storyline of the books and film.[16] It was released, shortly before the film's opening, on February 5, 2008 for Nintendo DS, Wii, PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 2, and rated Everyone (E10+) by the ESRB.[17]

[edit] Differences from the series

Though the film follows the basic storyline of the book series, it omits the majority of the plot of the fourth book, and there are several other differences. Simon and Jared, who are nine in the books, appeared older in the film, as actor Freddie Highmore was 14 at the time of filming. In the movie the Spiderwick house is surrounded by a protective circle not mentioned in the book series at all. Several locations were also changed: the final battle against Mulgarath took place in the Spiderwick estate, rather than Mulgarath's castle, and the tunnel under the estate was added. The Sylphs were originally called Elves, and Lucinda leaving with them to live with Arthur was originally Arthur remaining on earth to turn to dust and die.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Full credits at IMDB
  2. ^ Breaking: Paramount Unveils Blu-ray Launch Plans | High-Def Digest
  3. ^ Richard Corliss (2008-02-15). Run from Jumper, Creep Toward Spiderwick. Time Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  4. ^ Justin Change (2008-02-10). The Spiderwick Chronicles. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  5. ^ Peter Sobczynski (2008-02-14). The Spiderwick Chronicles. eFilmCritic.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  6. ^ A. O. Scott (2008-02-14). A House Divided by Old Magic and New Residents. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  7. ^ Sean Axmaker (2008-02-13). 'Spiderwick' looks pretty but offers little. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  8. ^ Claudia Puig (2008-02-13). 'Spiderwick' doesn't stick, despite Highmore's performance. USA TODAY. Retrieved on 2008-03-05. “Freddie Highmore does a fine job in a dual role as identical twins. The talented actor skillfully portrays two distinctive personas.”
  9. ^ Elizabeth Weitzman (2008-02-14). 'Spiderwick Chronicles' fantasy can grow on you. NY Daily News. Retrieved on 2008-03-05. “Happily, Highmore has no trouble grasping the task at hand.”
  10. ^ Ty Burr (2008-02-14). A creepy-crawly and digitized faerie tale. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2008-03-05. “The most special effect is probably Highmore, who gets to sharpen up his American accent and who makes each twin, bookish Simon and bad-boy Jared, a functioning individual.”
  11. ^ The Spiderwick Chronicles - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  12. ^ Spiderwick Chronicles, The (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  13. ^ The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  14. ^ The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  15. ^ The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  16. ^ Brendan Sinclair (2007-08-09). Sierra snares Spiderwick Chronicles. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
  17. ^ http://www.spiderwickgame.com

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Nickelodeon Movies
v • d • e
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Books
Characters
Adaptations
Feature film · Video game