'Spiderwick' spins humor and frights with classy care

By: DAN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:00 PM PST ∞

In "The Spiderwick Chronicles," characters learn more about the invisible world around them than they want to know, but the film leaves us wanting more, in all the good ways.

Based on the popular children's books, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" doesn't look down on the young, eager viewers likely to fill seats, and also doesn't shy away from some frights. There's some scary stuff here. Also, some magic, and a welcome intelligence found in both the imaginative story and young actors who carry the bulk of the tale.

That story concerns the Grace family, comprising their recently separated mother Helen (Mary-Louise Parker), her sons Jared and Simon ---- both played by Freddie Highmore ---- and her teen daughter Mallory (Sarah Bolger). Jared is the slightly angry young man who isn't quite sure why his family has moved to a strange old house in the countryside, and bitter and confused concerning why his father isn't joining them.

He makes his anger clear to his mother, who gets a little more support from the shy Simon and the bold Mallory, who better understands the ways of the world. It's the invisible world, though, that soon changes all of their lives. Jared finds a hidden book, "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You," written by his great-great-uncle. By opening and reading the book, Jared unleashes a magical world of fairies and sprites that surround the house. Some even live inside the house, such as the brownie Thimbletack, voiced by Martin Short, a diminutive and vaguely annoying little creature whose occasional angry outbursts can only be pacified by guzzling honey.

Nearby is the hobgoblin Hobsqueal (Seth Rogen), whose duty it is to guide Jared through the rough-and-tumble to follow. Also in the mix are flower fairies who guard Jared's great aunt Lucinda (Joan Plowright), she who knows the secrets to dealing with this strange world. The most formidable challenge for Jared, though, is fending off the evil ogre Mulgarath and his minions. Mulgarath will do anything to get his hands on Spiderwick's book, including doing away with the children. He sees the vulnerable Jared as the portal to securing that book, providing for Jared and his siblings the fight of their young lives.

And away goes the adventure, a jumpy trip, speckled alternately with humor and magic, and big doses of real danger, as the battle ensues and the escapades become increasingly dangerous. Effects are first-rate and fanciful characters intrigue and delight. And that Mulgarath is just plain scary. With Kathleen Kennedy ("E.T.") in as a producer, and John Sayles as a co-screenwriter, adapting the nifty books written by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" travels first class, ringing with quality and guided by nuance. By the time Mulgarath has become a huge monster chasing Jared across the house roof in a fight for his life, nuance is left behind, making the film as appealing for action-hungry kids as those who prefer the mysticism and antidotes found in the piece. It's a good marriage, and "The Spiderwick Chronicles" creates a web of whimsy and fantastical events that satisfies.

B+

"The Spiderwick Chronicles"

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn

Director: Mark Waters

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Rated: PG (for scary creature action and violence, peril and some thematic elements)

RT: 97 minutes

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