The Spiderwick Chronicles (Mark Waters, 2008): USA

Reviewed by Keith Chancey. Viewed at Camino Real, Santa Barbara.

This was not the best weekend for movie releases. Aside from In Bruges, which I’ve already seen twice, I would have expected some better releases for the longer weekend. I wasn’t too anxious to be the first to see any of the films in theaters this weekend, it was a good choice on my part because I almost went and saw Jumper.. The Spiderwick Chronicles received the most praise from most movie critics, so I met up with a friend and caught the last afternoon showing at Camino Real Cinemas. I have to say, I was quite pleased with most everything about the film.

The Spiderwick Chronicles at first glace appears to be attempting to capitalize off the success of Lords of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Golden Compass, but I would have to say otherwise. The Science Fiction adventure book adaptations are usually done in multiple feature films, rather than chopped up in to one, surprisingly short 93 minute film. I never read any of the books, but I hear there were five of them. I can tell you right now that there are not five books worth of story here, I would have suspected they cut some scenes out even if this was just one single book. I certainly did enjoy it this way though. The film is short, to the point and entertaining for all ages. Once seeing the full film, there is still room to go back and read the books too, which I very much appreciate.

The part of the film I was most impressed about was Freddie Highmore’s dual role. He played two twin boys, that I was actually able to tell apart and not be able to figure out how the film makers put the two together so seamlessly. There are scenes when Jason and Simon (Highmore’s characters) have physical interaction and it really seems like two different people. I asked others if they could tell it was the same actor portraying both kids, I was given a lot of shocked reactions and a “are you sure about that?”. Highmore definitely makes the film and I will certainly be expecting him to get bigger roles in the future.

As far as the mise-en-scene goes I would have to say the lighting was consistent, camera angles all flowed smoothly with the stories progression, story line was okay at best but the CGI was about the only thing that really stood out. I would have much rather seen real characters in costume, but from what I could tell the CGI was suppose to be the selling point of the film so it does work out. The character design of the fairy world is quite impressive, I cannot comment on how true each character is to the book, but each character is given a lot of personality and shown in great detail.

If you’re looking for a movie to seen between now and Friday, this would be my recommendation for you. It is very enjoyable for everyone. I was in a smaller audience that consisted of a wide variety of people, so don’t be afraid to show up with anyone too young, too old or too confused. 7 out of 10