KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * *
Cast: Joan Plowright, Nick Nolte, Sarah Bolger, David Strathairn, Freddie Highmore, Mary Louise Parker, Seth Rogen
Director:Mark Waters
Running Time: 96 mins
Rating: PG (some scenes may scare young children)
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts, Berkeley
Verdict: Fast, lively action for the kids
As the school holidays approach, family films look set to fill the cinemas, and leading the pack is The Spiderwick Chronicles, based on the best-selling series of books, which should enchant kids seeking a lively film filled with goblins, fairies and ogres.
More along the lines of Bridge to Terabithia, than say The Chronicles of Narnia, this family adventure flick tells the story of Jared (Highmore) who is struggling to deal with his parents' recent separation. With his twin brother Simon (also played by Highmore), older sister Mallory (Bolger) and mum Helen (Parker) he moves from New York to live in a very large, spooky and secluded house in the middle of nowhere.
Helen inherited the estate from her mad aunt Lucinda, who has been put into a sanatorium; and it's clear on their first night that they are not alone in the house.
Jared investigates, finding a hidden attic filled with his great uncle Arthur Spiderwick's research on an alternative world of fairies, goblins and other strange creatures.
Jared also finds a large book filled with secrets of this mythical underworld. Ignoring the warning on the outside of the book, he opens it, and without knowing it unleashes "a goblin fury" on himself and his family.
It turns out the creatures Uncle Arthur wrote about 80 years ago exist, and some of them aren't very nice. The nastiest is a giant ogre called Mulgarath, who with his army of goblins, will do anything to possess the book, as it holds all the secrets of this magical underworld, and will tell him how he destroy all the good in the fantasy and real worlds.
It's up to Jared to protect his family and the book.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is aimed at the readers of the books. There is also a message for parents about absentee fathers and dealing with divorce, and while all this serious real-world stuff might explain Jared's motivation, it's all a bit dull compared to fighting ogres for your life.
Director Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday) doesn't mess around with these computer-generated creatures - they are all pretty nightmare-inducing for the younger members of the audience.
The film does feature a few slightly better looking characters - the cowardly, pig-like Hogsqueal, the strange mouse-like Thimbletack - and we get a quick glimpse of some ethereal looking fairies, but Waters is more interested in keeping the action going than being cute.
