The Spiderwick Chronicles (film)

Infobox Film
name = The Spiderwick Chronicles

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caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Mark Waters
producer = Frank Marshall
Kathleen Kennedy
Karey Kirkpatrick
Holly Black
Tony DiTerlizzi
Larry J. Franco
writer = Karey Kirkpatrick
David Berenbaum
John Sayles [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416236/fullcredits Full credits at IMDB] ]
starring = Freddie Highmore
Sarah Bolger
Mary-Louise Parker
Martin Short
Nick Nolte
David Strathairn
Joan Plowright
Seth Rogen
Andrew McCarthy
music = James Horner
cinematography = Caleb Deschanel
editing = Michael Kahn
distributor = Paramount Pictures
Nickelodeon Movies
released = February 14, 2008 (USA)
March 21, 2008 (UK)
runtime = 97 min.
country = United States
language = English
budget = $90 million
gross = $162,267,053 (worldwide)
website = http://www.spiderwickchronicles.com/
amg_id = 1:352256
imdb_id = 0416236

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" is a 2008 fantasy film adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's bestselling series of the same name. Set in the Spiderwick Estate in New England, it follows the adventures of Jared Grace and his family as they discover a field guide to faeries and battle goblins and other magical creatures. It was directed by Mark Waters and stars Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Martin Short, Nick Nolte, and Seth Rogen. Produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it was released on February 14, 2008. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 24 June 2008 in the United States. [ [http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Paramount/Disc_Announcements/Breaking:_Paramount_Unveils_Blu-ray_Launch_Plans/1696 Breaking: Paramount Unveils Blu-ray Launch Plans | High-Def Digest ] ]

Plot summary

Recently divorced Mrs. Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) moves into the Spiderwick Estate with her children when it is given to her by her elderly aunt Lucinda (Joan Plowright), though identical twins Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore) and their older sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) do not want to move from the city. When Mallory uncovers a dumbwaiter system behind a wall, Jared finds a monogrammed key and discovers the study of the late owner of the estate, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn). Jared uses the key to open a chest, he finds Spiderwick's field guide to faeries; although an attached note warns him not to read it, he does so anyway.

Soon after, Jared meets a brownie named Thimbletack (Martin Short), who explains that magical creatures are normally invisible, but can reveal themselves at will. He tells Jared about a protective circle that Arthur Spiderwick placed around the house and gives him a stone with a hole through which he can see faeries.

However, a shape-shifting ogre named Mulgarath (Nick Nolte) wants the field guide for himself so he can rule over all faerie-kind. He sends his goblins to obtain it, and they kidnap Simon, mistaking him for Jared. Meanwhile, Jared meets Hogsqueal (Seth Rogen), a hobgoblin and bitter enemy of Mulgarath. Hogsqueal gives Jared the ability to see faeries without the aid of the stone. Mulgarath lets Simon go, but Jared, who is hiding, is spotted and the twins are chased into the house, managing to escape only with Mallory's help.

The children decide to visit their great-aunt Lucinda, now in a psychiatric hospital, for advice. While Simon distracts the goblins, Mallory and Jared manage to reach a tunnel under the estate. Lucinda tells them that they need to find Arthur Spiderwick and have him destroy the book; however, Arthur is being held captive by Sylphs, a type of faerie. Suddenly, Mulgarath's goblins attack them and steal several pages from the book before they are driven off. On their return, Hogsqueal warns them that one of the stolen pages will allow Mulgarath to destroy the protective circle when the moon rises.

The siblings use the book to summon Arthur Spiderwick's pet, a griffin, which takes them to the realm of the Sylphs. There they meet Arthur, who has not aged but is also unaware of the time he has spent there. After returning home again, Jared, Simon, Mallory, and Helen arm themselves with steel knives and home-made bombs prepared by Simon. When they are forced into the kitchen, they place all of their bombs into the oven, detonating them and killing all of the goblins.

Mr. Grace (Andrew McCarthy) enters the house and tells Jared that he came to apologize. Jared, realizing that it is not his father, stabs him in the stomach, revealing him to be Mulgarath in disguise. Jared escapes with the book through the dumbwaiter while Mulgarath gives pursuit. On the roof, Jared throws the book onto the lawn; as Mulgarath transforms into a raven to catch it, he is snatched and eaten by Hogsqueal.

The Graces bring Lucinda back to the house, and the Sylphs appear, bringing Arthur. He cannot remain outside of the faerie realm, but Lucinda asks to be taken with him instead; the Sylphs transform her back into her six-year-old self and spirit the two away.

Production

In an interview, Sarah Bolger said that filming took four to five months. She said that she "was [in front of] the blue screen like 24 hours a day", and for the most part, she was "kicking and slicing and punching things that were nowhere near". Since Bolger had many fencing scenes, she had five weeks of intense training, and three hours with the Olympic Canadian fencing coach nearly every day. [ [http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_14050.html Sarah Bolger Interview, The Spiderwick Chronicles - MoviesOnline ] ]

Differences from the series

Though the film follows the basic storyline of the book series, it omits the majority of the plot of the fourth book, and there are several other differences. Simon and Jared, who are nine in the books, appeared older in the film, as actor Freddie Highmore was 14 at the time of filming. The River Troll was not included in the film, but rather replaced with a Land Troll who dwelt in the sewers. In the movie the Spiderwick house is surrounded by a protective circle not mentioned in the book series at all. Several locations were also changed: the final battle against Mulgarath took place in the Spiderwick estate, rather than Mulgarath's castle, and the tunnel under the estate was added. The Sylphs were originally Elves, and Lucinda leaving with them to live with Arthur was originally Arthur remaining on earth to turn to dust.

Critical reception

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" received generally favorable reviews from critics; it was called "decent entertainment," [cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1713836,00.html |title=Run from Jumper, Creep Toward Spiderwick |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=Richard Corliss |date=2008-02-15 |publisher= Time Magazine] "a work of both modest enchantment and enchanting modesty," [cite web |url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936159.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 |title=The Spiderwick Chronicles |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=Justin Change |date=2008-02-10 |publisher=Variety] and "modest and reasonably charming." [cite web |url=http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=16807&reviewer=389 |title=The Spiderwick Chronicles |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=Peter Sobczynski |date=2008-02-14 |publisher=eFilmCritic.com] However, it was criticized for its reliance on special effects; a reviewer for "The New York Times" said that the movie "feels more like a sloppy, secondhand pander" and called it "frantic with incident and hectic with computer-generated effects," [cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/movies/14spid.html |title=A House Divided by Old Magic and New Residents |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=A. O. Scott |date=2008-02-14 |publisher=The New York Times] and another said that "the sense of wonder and magic is lost in the shuffle." [cite web |url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/351147_spider14q.html |title='Spiderwick' looks pretty but offers little |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=Sean Axmaker |date=2008-02-13 |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Despite some negative reviews for the film overall, Freddie Highmore was generally praised for his dual role as the twins Simon and Jared. One critic said that he "skillfully portrays two distinctive personas," [cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2008-02-13-spiderwick-chronicles_N.htm |title='Spiderwick' doesn't stick, despite Highmore's performance |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=Claudia Puig |date=2008-02-13 |publisher=USA TODAY |quote=Freddie Highmore does a fine job in a dual role as identical twins. The talented actor skillfully portrays two distinctive personas.] another said he " [had] no trouble grasping the task at hand," [cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2008/02/14/2008-02-14_spiderwick_chronicles_fantasy_can_grow_o.html |title='Spiderwick Chronicles' fantasy can grow on you |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=Elizabeth Weitzman |date=2008-02-14 |publisher=NY Daily News |quote= Happily, Highmore has no trouble grasping the task at hand.] and a third remarked that, "the most special effect is probably Highmore". [cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=9183 |title=A creepy-crawly and digitized faerie tale |accessdate=2008-03-05 |author=Ty Burr |date=2008-02-14 |publisher=The Boston Globe |quote=The most special effect is probably Highmore, who gets to sharpen up his American accent and who makes each twin, bookish Simon and bad-boy Jared, a functioning individual.]

As of March 13, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 79% of critics gave the film positive reviews with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10, based on 126 reviews, [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spiderwick_chronicles/ |title=The Spiderwick Chronicles - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-03-05 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] and Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 62 out of 100, based on 30 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/spiderwickchronicles |title=Spiderwick Chronicles, The (2008): Reviews |accessdate=2008-03-05 |publisher=Metacritic]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed an estimated $19 million in 3,847 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #3 at the box office. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spiderwickchronicles.htm |title=The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) |accessdate=2008-02-17 |publisher=Box Office Mojo] With the opening day's gross on Thursday included, the film grossed an estimated $21.3 million on its opening weekend. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=spiderwickchronicles.htm |title=The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results |accessdate=2008-02-17 |publisher=Box Office Mojo] This film has grossed $162,267,053 worldwide. [cite web|url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spiderwickchronicles.htm |title=The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results |accessdate=2008-05-05 |publisher=Box Office Mojo]

Video game

Sierra Entertainment enlisted Stormfront Studios to develop and produce a video game adaptation of the Spiderwick Chronicles, following the general storyline of the books and film. [cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/thespiderwickchronicles/news_6176472.html |title= Sierra snares Spiderwick Chronicles |accessdate=2008-03-04 |author=Brendan Sinclair |date=2007-08-09 |publisher=GameSpot] It was released, shortly before the film's opening, on February 5, 2008 for Nintendo DS, Wii, PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 2, and rated Everyone (E10+) by the ESRB. [ [http://www.spiderwickgame.com/us/ http://www.spiderwickgame.com] ]

DVD release

The Spiderwick Chronicles was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 24, 2008, in both a one-disc edition and a two-disc special edition. Both include several supplementary features, and the special edition includes several more behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, Nickelodeon TV spots, and the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray edition includes the identical special features of the special edition, along with a Blu-ray exclusive picture-in-picture option called "Spiderwick: It's all true!"

References

External links

* [http://www.spiderwickchronicles.com/ Official site]
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* [http://madeinatlantis.com/movies_central/2008/spiderwick_chronicles_production_details.htm Full production notes]
* [http://www.parentalsite.com/movie/spiderwickchronicles2008.html Parentalsite.com Review]