Director: Mark Waters. Screenplay: Karey Kirkpatrick and David Berenbaum and John Sayles, based on the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Stars: Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Nick Nolte, Mary-Louise Parker, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn. Released: February 14, 2008.
Summary
The Spiderwick Estate borders on a strange and exciting world full of fantastic creatures both friendly and unfriendly. When the Grace children discover the truth, they also unwittingly place themselves and their mother in danger, by undoing protections put in place by Arthur Spiderwick long ago.
Comments
After the overblown spectacle of The Golden Compass, Spiderwick proved that modern fantasy films -- even ones with major CGI -- don't have to be weighted down by their effects. The film's elegant story and two confident perfances by Freddie Highmore (as twin boys) make this one of the more pleasant fables since, say, Bridge to Terabithia.
DVD Information
The Spiderwick Chronicles is available on DVD.
