The Spiderwick Chronicles

[marc]

For reasons that would take way too long to explain, I ended up in a theater complex with our youth group today.  As we split up, kids were choosing movies such as Alvin and The Chipmunks, Larry the Cable Guy's latest, Step up 2 (or something like that), etc.  My sister and her 10-year old son decided to see The Spiderwick Chronicles.  This seemed to be my only sane option.

The movie had problems, but I feel bad bringing them up, because overall, it worked, and it did something a little different.

The most surprising thing was that it was a small movie.  The story didn't overreach.  I noticed John Sayles was listed as a screenwriter, and wondered if this had something to do with it.  The acting was very good, not only by Freddie Highmore in two roles that didn't blend together but also by adults in supporting roles such as Mary Louise Parker (a very real performance), a befuddled-looking David Straithairn, Joan Plowright (I had no idea she was still alive) and, very briefly, Nick Nolte playing the human form of the lead ogre.

The photography was excellent.  Brilliant colors, helped along by seeing it in an all-digital theater.  The story was a bit trite at times (divorced parents, absent father, son having trouble adjusting), but this blended with the story in a slightly different-than-usual way.

In the end, a morally ambiguous character saves the day, but even that feels at once smaller and more satisfying than expected.  A bit of a touching, sentimental ending that also worked.

In the end, the movie was greater than the sum of its parts.  I guess I was surprised by the talent that went into putting it together.  I wonder if it was always intended as a February release, or if test-marketing moved it from the holidays to a less lucrative time.

[janine]

I'd not even heard it was coming but had resolved to Google it because one of the fast-food joints around here is offering "Spiderwick Chronicles" toys with their kid's meal.

I'll be looking for it.

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

This was actually pretty good for a kids movie.

The effects were nice, and the acting was good.
No real twists or turns, but that's because it's a kids movie.