'Spiderwick' weaves virtuoso effects into an enchanting fantasy
"The Spiderwick Chronicles," a lavish family fantasy adventure adapted from the fairy tale series by Tony DiTerlizzi (illustrations) and Holly Black (text), might occasionally frighten younger children with its scarier scenes -- such as the hopping horde of marauding goblins who keep attacking a family's country house, like a "Night of the Living Dead" restaged for Muppets. Adults, on the other hand, might be surprised at how much there is for them to enjoy at these digs.
A fine cast, smart script, sumptuous cinematography, terrific editing and virtuoso effects are some of the treats the movie has up its wizardly sleeves. It's a children's movie that doesn't go all gooey or preachy on you; it's entertaining without being self-conscious. And there's enough realism in the portrayal of the central family who go through the magical experiences that older audiences don't have to feel like suckers as they watch with their mesmerized kids.
At the center of the story are the besieged Graces: resilient mom Helen (Mary-Louise Parker), dangerously disobedient Jared (Freddie Highmore) and his more domesticated twin brother Simon (also Highmore), and their swashbuckling fencer sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger).
They've come to live in the country, in the semi-Victorian spook mansion of a family home that once housed their great-great-uncle, brilliant but slightly dotty naturalist Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn), and his daughter Lucinda (Jordy Benattar).
Disobedient Jared is angry about the breakup of the family, which he wrongly blames on his mother. It's Jared who stumbles on the book that gets them all in trouble: Arthur Spiderwick's "Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You," a compendium of the haunts and habits of the fairies, goblins and other supernatural beings who live around the Spiderwick manse (invisible until you sight them with an Eye Stone, goblin spit or some other magical talisman).
There's a good brownie in the house (Martin Short as the Dickensian little Thimbletack), a likable goblin outside (Seth Rogen as Hogsqueal) and a horde of bad, bad goblins, led by meanie Mulgarath (a nice hammy part for Nick Nolte), who try to filch the guide and use it to rule the world.
Black and DiTerlizzi told their story in spare little volumes, with spidery line drawings reminiscent of children's book maestro Arthur Rackham, the artist king of fairyland. With DiTerlizzi and Black acting as executive producers, the movie has a lush spectacle and high-speed action that suggest Steven Spielberg in his younger days (Spielberg's great editor, Michael Kahn, cut "Spiderwick").
When the goblin attacks start, or the kids soar off on the back of a winged dragonish beast called the griffin, there are thrills to spare. But what makes this movie work so well are its underpinnings -- its sympathetic portrayal of a family split apart, and kids on their own -- and the excellent cast who bring those fears and desires to life (especially Highmore in his flashy dual role and the great Joan Plowright as the older Lucinda Spiderwick).
Director Mark Waters, who has shown himself a minor master of teen comedies with "Freaky Friday" and "Mean Girls," juggles the human and fairyland sides of this tale with panache.
The pace, Kahn's mastery aside, might sometimes be a little too brisk. But that's the rhythm of today, and the filmmakers successfully mix it with the more leisurely literary fantasies of the past. It's fun to watch and feel their nostalgia and their glee.
"The Spiderwick Chronicles"
3 stars
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Mary Louise-Parker, Nick Nolte and Joan Plowright
Directed by: Mark Waters
Other: A Paramount Pictures release. Rated PG. Running time: 96 minutes.