The Spiderwick Chronicles

Ahh yes just what we need another children's fantasy series turned into a budding movie franchise. Going into this one I didn't know what to expect. The trailers looked like it was interesting, the special effects look good, and the down to earth characters seemed a change of pace.

My one big draw back was the movie's running time. At just under and hour and half, it was a hard sell. My hard earned 16 dollar tickets and 15 dollar snacks(hey I am buying for two now) seem to be worth at least another half hour's worth of time. But alas I bit the bullet and went.

And boy was I surprised. After all Narnia was pretty disappointing, and the Golden Compass was out right bad. It was nice to see a children's fantasy that didn't have boy with a lightning bolt shaped scare actually deliver a good movie.

The premise goes like this. After a separation a mother moves to an old family home with her twin sons and fencing loving daughter to start over. However the old home has an old past, complete with an insane aunt and her vanishing father, who saw fantastical creatures. As the name suggest the Father wrote a book of his findings, which of course is the main catalyst of this tale.

The fantastical journey takes center stage here, as these kids, still grounded in reality, start to learn about the magical things around them. Things go quite fast in this flick, mainly to keep the target audiences attention,(10-15 year olds) and the side stories don't get their fair due. But all and all it was a fun ride, with great visuals, and a story that didn't seem too long or even too short.

I think what separates this movie from the Narnias' and Golden Compass', is its grounded-ness to the real world. Real world materials were used to fight mythical beings, and real world problems were thrown into the mix. You didn't have to wrap your mind around a fictional setting with fictional laws.

I would recommend this movie, for a light hearted viewing affair. You don't have to think much, you will enjoy your time, all you need to to is relax use this movie as a chance to unwind.