Customer Rating:  
Summary: great for kids
Comment: this is a great movie and the animation is top notch. i have to say at one point in the movie when the kids were underground i thought they had no chance in hell of escaping. great addition to any fantasy collection.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fun Family Movie my 14 year old loved.
Comment: We (my wife my 14 year old and I) watched the Spiderwick Chronicles, and we all really liked it. For myself I enjoyed the folk lore about the creatures of "Faerie" I have learned about in various stories over the years.
It is a fun story about learning to deal with disappointment, divorce and adversarial conflict. It is an interesting tale about keeping promises, and about accepting what you cannot change. Add to that pretty good CG effects and well thought out magical creatures, in a fast moving very watch-able story.
So here's the deal...
Often when trying to make a movie acceptable for kids to watch, the story gets so silly that it is a chore for adults to sit through, and conversely, in attempt to make a kids movie watch-able for adults, it often gets lost in sub-plots so that nothing works. This is not the case with the "Spiderwick Chronicles" it is a thoroughly enjoyable fast paced film that doesn't ever fall flat.
4*
Customer Rating:
Summary: Special-Effects Are Highlight Of This Involving Tale
Comment: This is another of those fantasy films that serves its purpose in that it entertains the viewer, no matter what the age. It's not among the elite in its genre, but it is a story that hooks you in by the 20-minute mark and you just go along for the ride, mainly to see how things will turn out.
There is good suspense in here, enough to make adults care about what happens, not just kids. There also are some scary scenes that are probably too much for small kids, but fine for teens on up. In all, you get a good mix of horror, comedy, fantasy and drama all rolled into one odd (fantasy) story.
To me, the star of the film isn't Freddie Highmore or the otheer actors, or even the story.....it's the special-effects, which are very good and a lot of fun to watch, from little beings to monsters to fairies to whatever. I saw this on Blu-Ray and it really looks good. All of it is very colorful and entertaining to view, making this a film fun for both kids and adults.
Customer Rating:
Summary: an excellent movie
Comment: I ordered this movie on the advice of a Swiss friend. I loved it from the first moment and have been lending out my copy to all of my friends. I can't recommend this movie highly enough.
Customer Rating:
Summary: For kids of all ages...
Comment: I didn't read the books, but I would think this is an excellent adaptation, just under 2 hours long, which doesn't waste a minute to get the action going. Very clever foray into the world of goblins, fairies & ogres, I was consistantly entertained. Kids will certainly enjoy it, too.
Too bad it was released so early in the year; it will certainly be ignored at awards time. There were also some lukewarm reviews, which I don't understand.
The acting is, without exception, excellent. Freddie Highmore was perfection, as was Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn, Sarah Bolger & the wonderful Joan Plowright.
It was very easy to get absorbed into the goings-on, and I'm glad I made the decision to watch this film.
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