The Spiderwick Chronicles

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a 2008 American fantasy adventure film based on the book series of the same name by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. It was directed by Mark Waters and stars Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, Nick Nolte, and Seth Rogen. The film, set in the Spiderwick Estate in New England, follows three children who discover a field guide to fairies while encountering various magical creatures such as goblins, ogres, brownies, boggarts, hobgoblins, trolls, and many others.

Plot
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.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The idea of the story about a troublemaker boy found the special book penned by Arthur Spiderwick to allowing the encountering magical creatures is interesting and creative.
 * 2) It does follows faithfully of the book series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, despite a heavily compressed adaptation.
 * 3) The most famous line of the movie seems to be when Jared hands his mother two steel knives and tells her they cut and burn goblins. Her response? "Good thing we're New Yorkers."
 * 4) Freddie Highmore plays two characters role in one film (Jared and Simon Grace), providing that he was the impressive acting performances choice.
 * 5) The film's music was done by the late James Horner, and it shows. While some of the themes are reused from Casper, they still sound as beautifully haunting and captivating as always.
 * 6) Jared seems like a bit of a brat with a temper, and he does admittedly treat his mother horribly - as well as being responsible for alerting the goblins to their presence in the house. But he's a kid dealing with his parents' divorce, and seems in denial about his father's lack of interest in him. You can hear the pain in his voice as he begs his dad to come and get him. And it can't help that his other siblings blame him for things that legitimately weren't his fault, making him likable and good character development, unlike Lucas Nickle from mh:awfulmovies:The Ant Bully.
 * 7) Once you know about the reveal, you feel so bad for Helen when she has to take Jared's abuse. The kid is too young to comprehend that his father doesn't want to see him, so all he can do is blame his mother for everything. The poor woman is at her wit's end for most of the film, and the way she reacts when Jared attacks her for the divorce... not a raised voice but with no less hurt and angry.
 * 8) *Then Mallory breaking the truth to Jared. Notably she'd been dismissive of him for most of the film, and treated him like an annoying young sibling. But this time she says it gently, and it's the only time we see her cry. Even if she knows this, she says it like she still can't believe her father doesn't want to be in their lives anymore.
 * 9) *Jared's heel realization when he's in the fairy realm with Arthur Spiderwick - who in turn has just realised he's been missing for eighty years, and Jared is worrying that he and his siblings are risking the same.
 * 10) The CGI magical creatures in the movie, such as goblins and ogres, looks amazing holds up very well.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) It seems odd to cast Dame Joan Plowright as the older Lucinda Spiderwick. While she gives a fine performance, she inexplicably keeps her English accent when her child self clearly had an American one. It's entirely possible for her accent to change since she's only six in the flashbacks, but she lived in the house alone for most of her subsequent life (surrounded by American accented fantasy creatures as well).

Reception
The Spiderwick Chronicles received generally positive reviews from critics, with Highmore's dual performance being singled out for praise. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 149 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The Spiderwick Chronicles is an entertaining children's adventure, with heart and imagination to spare.". On Metacritic the film has an average score of 62 out of 100, based on 30 reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A-" on scale of A to F.

Trivia

 * This is the first film that used Nickelodeon Movies "The Splat" logo.