I really liked this movie from beginning to end. Although the special effects were good they did not have to make up for any flaws in this film. The story could be interesting to both kids and children, and has a good theme about how to move on in life when things change and how to deal with stress in the family,so maybe a good one for the holidays. There are some fight scenes but nothing too gruesome and very good role models and characters in both male and female characters. I just loved this movie and now need to read the books. I felt though some parts were really interesting and could have been developed more, sometimes the movie just moves along to quickly almost seeming to leave loose ends. Also more scenes with just the fantasy characters not interacting with the human characters. But this story was really heart warming and entertaining and reminded me of favorite children's books of my childhood.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a family adventure but although an adaptation of a series of books it lacks the wonder of the Harry Potter films but is a decent solid adventure in its own right.A newly divorced mother Helen Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) moves with her children Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and twins Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore) into an haunted old house in upstate New York that was once owned by her great uncle, a naturalist Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) who vanished and his now elderly daughter ended up in an asylum.Jared discovers a book written by Spiderwick that has a warning which is ignored. The book is a field guide explaining that the estate is inhabited by various mystical creatures such as goblins and fairies.The evil Lord Mulgrath wants to destroy the book but the house has various protection including creatures that protect the book from falling into the wrong hands. The Grace kids embark on a magical and dangerous adventure.The film is economical and set at a brisk pace but it is no more than middling despite some indie sensibilities the film has such as John Sayles as one of the screenwriters.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is a perfectly entertaining children's fantasy film that provides a neat alternative to those viewers who've overdosed on Harry Potter's antics. This one is a neat, standalone tale of mythical monsters and invisible beasties, and the three kids who have to fight them in an old, crumbling house in the remote countryside.The film provides plenty of action and lots of special effects (CGI, of course), which are for the most part very well achieved. There's humour (some of which, like the Seth Rogen character, I could have done without), scary scenes, and a great deal of imagination. It's all very familiar and rather predictable - in fact, I had virtually the same idea for a story like this, once - but there's little to dislike.Okay, so the script could have been a little tighter; there's a little too much yelling and shrillness early on, before the characters of the protagonists are given a chance to come out. The casting of Freddie Highmore in the dual role is very good, though, and something I didn't spot until about halfway through. Sarah Bolger, late of THE TUDORS, is excellent as ever. The director could have been better, but as I said, there's little to dislike in this one.

The Spiderwick Chronicles doesn't break any new ground in the fantasy genre. It's no Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, it's just a simple fantasy story about three kids encountering magical creatures. Yes I have read the books, and yeah it isn't as good as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or even Lemony Snicket's. It's just a really fun fantasy movie.The film takes all five books and fits them into an hour and a half movie. Now the books are incredibly short, so for the most part this actually works really well, but they cut out pretty much every single part of the fourth book, which may tick off some book purists. Also it rely's way too much on CGI. I've said it before, I like CGI, CGI is fine with me if it isn't completely abused. And it isn't bad CGI, but it is noticeable, and I feel that the film should have had at least a little bit of practical effects on the magical creatures.I don't really have any more problems with it. It doesn't talk down to it's audience. It follows the books really well. The young actors do a really good job, especially Freddie Highmore, who plays two characters who are complete opposites. I love home invasion stories, so the fact that they changed the end battle from a junkyard to the house. And it's just a really good fantasy adventure. It has all the magic creatures we expect, goblins, ogres, brownies, trolls, even sprites.Like I said, this film doesn't revolutionize the fantasy genre, it's just a fun adventure that brings you into a magical world of faeries.