The Spiderwick Chronicles

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2:23

The Spiderwick Chronicles

PG

Released Feb 14, 2008

1h 37m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Adventure

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

149 Reviews

63%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Of the three Grace children, Jared (Freddie Highmore) has always been thought of as the troublemaker. So when strange things happen after his family's move to a relative's dilapidated estate, sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), twin brother Simon and their mother assume that Jared is behind it all. However, magical creatures roam the grounds, and they all want a special book that Jared has found: a field guide to fantastic creatures, penned by Arthur Spiderwick.

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Critics Consensus

The Spiderwick Chronicles is an entertaining children's adventure, with heart and imagination to spare.

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

Rated: A-

Oct 29, 2008

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

A run-of-the-mill fantasy adventure.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Tom Charity

CNN.com

The storytelling is economical and brisk. In some ways, Waters approaches it more as a pre-teen horror movie.

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr Podcast

Highmore does well playing twins (though one admittedly doesn't do much) but it's the improvements on Mallory's character from the books, Bolger's realistic fencing technique, and the surprisingly fun (albeit not realistic) CGI that work best

Rated: 3.5/5

Apr 23, 2024

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Tremendously entertaining and, thankfully, self-contained and resolute.

Rated: 8/10

Nov 28, 2020

Full Review

Marcos Rebollo

Cinemanía (Spain)

Above the miscellaneous Harrys, Narnias or Eragones. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Nov 5, 2020

Full Review

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Breno G

Special Effects: 1,0/Sound Effects: 1,0/Acting: 1,0/Story: 1,0

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/17/24

Full Review

Megan W

The movie itself was good, but it barely followed the book series, which was disappointing. I loved Freddy’s portrayal of the twins!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/30/24

Full Review

Koi P

Entertaining. Interesting creatures. Might be scary for small children.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/27/24

Full Review

C R

The writing is despicably bad. As writers, these people should understand the word versimilitude. They obviously do not. There is no effort to make a coherent, sensible, and connected logic even in a fairy tale. These raiders think that they can just say anything and people will accept it since it's a fiction. It's so frustrating committing time to low effort writing. Don't waste your time. Christian Slater is literally the only good thing about this show.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/23/24

Full Review

Shelby K

Honestly, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I do but boy I am HOOKED. It is a little cheesy sometimes, it definitely seems more targeted for teenagers/young adults so I feel like we could do without the corny bits but it’s tolerable. I think a lot of people are getting stuck on the old movie so it’s best to think of it as a whole new thing. I love it, we’ve already binged halfway through and can’t wait for more.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/23/24

Full Review

Casey G

Better than expected, but is certainly not the best in its genre at a time when theaters were crowded with this exact same type of movie. I wish this series had gotten the adaptation series it deserved, it could have been wonderful. The books were certainly better than the movie in my opinion and hopefully someday they will get a serious attempt at a series of movies.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/10/24

Full Review

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Mark Waters

Director

Freddie Highmore

Jared

Sarah Bolger

Mallory Grace

Mary-Louise Parker

Helen Grace

David Strathairn

Arthur Spiderwick

Nick Nolte

Mulgarath

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The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - The Griffin's Flight

2:05

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - Hogsqueal to the Rescue

2:04

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - A Father and Son Moment

2:13

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - Oven Bomb

1:12

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - Escape

2:12

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - Under Attack

2:05

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - The Field Guide

2:13

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - The Tunnels

1:52

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Official Clip - Hogsqueal

2:09

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The Spiderwick Chronicles: Trailer 1

2:23

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Synopsis

Of the three Grace children, Jared (Freddie Highmore) has always been thought of as the troublemaker. So when strange things happen after his family's move to a relative's dilapidated estate, sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), twin brother Simon and their mother assume that Jared is behind it all. However, magical creatures roam the grounds, and they all want a special book that Jared has found: a field guide to fantastic creatures, penned by Arthur Spiderwick.

Director: Mark Waters
Producer: Karey Kirkpatrick, Mark Canton, Larry J. Franco, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
Screenwriter: Karey Kirkpatrick, David Berenbaum, John Sayles
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Nickelodeon Movies
Rating: PG (Scary Creature Action|Peril|Some Thematic Elements|Violence)
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Adventure, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 14, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $71.1M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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