This is a bit more than fantasy, there are quite a few bits that would qualify as mild horror, and some action scenes had me on the edge of my seat, which may be what teens are after, but would be too intense for smaller children. The story itself has some good elements, but the plot is contrived in many aspects. The hobgoblin is probably the biggest contrivance in this movie, solving "annoying" problems for the film-makers, such as giving "sight" to all the kids so they don't have to find more seer stones, and eventually killing the big baddy in one gulp. Another contrived part is the splitting up of the twins from each other, which occurs during the majority of the film. The parts where they are together are brilliantly done, but it is fairly obvious that it is technically very demanding, and was kept to a minimal. The movie is quite full of such convenient twists that do not add to the story but merely seem to be there to avoid major inconsistencies or technical problems. Otherwise, quite entertaining, although very predictable :)
The Spiderwick Chronicles
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Book-based family fantasy is magical and fun.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 8 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of The Spiderwick Chronicles was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Parents need to know that this fantasy adventure has been aggressively promoted on Nickelodeon (which helped produce the movie). But even without the heavy rotation of commercials and cereal tie-ins, fans of the best-selling book series will want to see this big-screen adaptation; expect kids as young as 5 to express interest. But the under-7 crowd might be scared by a couple of intense sequences involving the goblins, head ogre Mulgarath, and the Grace children, who do get hurt (with bloody scratches) in the action. Although the movie is connected to merchandising deals with a few products, there isn't that much product placement in the actual film besides Quaker Oats and honey in plastic-bear containers. There's also no age-inappropriate language or sexuality.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the movie's themes. How do they compare to other fantasy movies and books? Which specific books or movies does this one remind you of? Why? If kids have read the Spiderwick books, ask them what changes they noticed. Was the film better than you expected? Families can also why Jared was accountable for figuring out how to defend his family from the ogre's wrath. Why are kids rarely believed by adults in fantasy movies? Who does believe the kids?
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More on The Spiderwick Chronicles
What’s the Story?
When recently separated mom Helen Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) inherits a "creepy old mansion in the middle of nowhere," her three kids have different reactions: Mallory (Sarah Bolger) is understanding, Simon (Freddie Highmore) is cautiously optimistic, and Jared (also played by Highmore) is furious. They soon discover that their great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) had unlocked the secrets to the magical realm that exists unseen around humans. When Jared disobeys a "beware" note and opens Spiderwick's 80-year-old field guide, he attracts the dangerous attention of goblins and their dark ogre leader Mulgarath (voiced by Nick Nolte) to the Grace family.
Is It Any Good?
Highmore -- an expressive, gentle-faced young actor in the mold of Haley Joel Osment -- does a fine job handling the twin brothers' disparate personalities. Likewise, Bolger, who co-starred in In America, is great as a big sister who knows her way around swords (she's an award-winning fencer). Both actors propel the film forward as kids caught up in a sometimes frightening fantasy world. The goblins and head ogre are scary without being terrifying like the orcs in The Lord of the Rings, and there are two memorably silly sidekicks: tiny, honey-loving house goblin Thimbletack (voiced by Martin Short) and gross-out, bird-hunting goblin Hogsqueal (Seth Rogen). Both lighten the dark mood considerably and will be beloved by younger viewers.
Those expecting a sophisticated CGI spectacle a la Peter Jackson or Robert Zemeckis may leave the theater disappointed. But director Mark Waters isn't aiming for a George Lucas-style epic employing revolutionary technology. His vivid adaptation of author Holly Black and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi's award-winning book series conveys magic with shots of swirling, flying dandelions carrying Mr. Spiderwick or colorful flowers turning into sprites. With an engaging script co-written by John Sayles, Waters has managed to ably adapt a kids-as-heroes story that parents will be happy to sit through without snoozing. And when it comes to family films, that counts for a lot.
Movie Details
Studio: Paramount Pictures, Director: Mark Waters
Run time: 97 minutes
Theatrical release: 02/14/2008, DVD release: 06/23/2008
MPAA Rating: PG for scary creature action and violence, peril and some thematic elements.
Run time: 97 minutes
Theatrical release: 02/14/2008, DVD release: 06/23/2008
MPAA Rating: PG for scary creature action and violence, peril and some thematic elements.
Our Members Say
See all 63 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
Teenage mild horror, full of plot contrivances
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I rate this title off for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Spoiler Alert!!!
While watching this movie we had to stop and occupy our 4, and 6 year old with something else in another room because it became too scary i.e. the house seems haunted by a poltergeist. Spoiler! Near the end, our biggest concern was when their father comes home and tells his son that he loves him. Then the son stabs his father because he believes his real father doesn't love him. Turns out that it wasn't his father but was actually the evil shape shifting ogre. The message I got was "if I believe my parents don't love me and they try to tell me other wise then maybe they are actually an imposter and I should kill them with a kitchen knife!" Just our opinion though.
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I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
awesome
awesome
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I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Scary and exciting (spoiler)
Wow, we all liked this movie, but I was really glad that I was able to prepare my daughter for the part when the monster makes itself look like the boy's father. When watching the movie, it appears that the boy kills his own father. Super scary moment. It's also pretty scary in general when the monster is chasing them around the house. All in all, it was a movie we liked, but it was almost too intense for my 8 year old.
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Excellent movie. 1 profanity, no sexual content, except for the fact that Jared's parents are divorced.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
pretty good- will encourage reluctant readers
It could have been a lot worse. Within the first two minutes I decided Mallory was way too girly, fortunately I was wrong. Simon's part was much too small, and the ending was awful- awful- the way they handled Arthur Spiderwick (who happened to look uncannily like the illustration in the book) was just terrible. There is a lot of crashing-glass-breaking-walls violence toward the end, but no blood. There were a couple of lines where I laughed out loud ("I'm a pacifist.") and other than that, and the fact that they squashed all the books into one movie and except for one or two scenes decided the fourth book was irrelevant definitely detracted, but it's gotten my younger brother interested in the books and the movie as a whole was done pretty well. Also, the reason Jared knew to stab Mulgarath (I'm trying not to give any spoilers here) is a lot clearer in the movie than it was in the book. The scene in the book could be a little disturbing for a younger reader who didn't really understand it. The fact that the movie contains so much less information than the books do can be seen as an advantage, because it can encourage kids to pick up the books and find out there's a lot more to discover inside them.
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Tweens and up.
It was OK but there was some creatures that could scare little kids alot. There was also some bad language and parts younger kids shouldn't see (if you have seen this you know what I'm talking about)
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
Very good special effects were excellent, but extremely effective in making the creatures scary! I liked the fact that the children learned to trust each other, and eventually Mom trusted in her kids' perception.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
PG for a reason
My 7 year old agreed this movie was "too scary" about 20 minutes in when there is something implied as scary, but invisible, attempting to attack one of the child characters. He isn't usually bothered by this kind of thing, so we were surprised but immediately turned it off and switched to something lighter. I later completed the film- excellent and I highly recommend for fantasy fans, but definitely much too intense for 7 or 8 yrs. I would probably hold off until he has read the book(s?) or even age 11 or 12. Next time I will pay more attention to the "why" of the PG rating; in this case "For scary creature action and violence..." I am also not a big fan of "kids of divorce" themes, and the father in this story let's down the lead child character, but I probably need to simply accept it and then discuss with my child.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
A pretty good movie though very violent. I think on for age 10
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I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
kokoooo
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I rate this title pause for age 6 and give it
For covered my eyes for some parts
a scary movie for kids under 6.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
A must see for every fantasy lover
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Great family movie
Great movie but watch it with your kids...it is a little scary but nothing violent or permanently damaging. :)
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
fantastic!
i thought this would be a little lame for my age, but is was not at all. it stayed very true to the book, and the actors/actresses playing simon, jared and malory were wonderful. the special effects were great, and i loved the fighting scenes. i loved it!
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Spiderwick starts out with a angery kid that does not want to move in to a new house. He later finds a book and starts to read. Over the course of the movie the main character starts to realize that his family is very important to him and he tries very hard to save his family.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Very Good!
Take the time and watch as a family. Kids and adults will enjoy watching, and at least jumping once.
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
Should have been PG 13!
This movie is not appropriate for young children! Like another reviewer I am shocked that this movie got a PG rating! My friend and I took our sons to a summer showing at our county library and most of the elementary school age and younger children were crying, screaming in fright, or begging their parents to leave. The bloody slicing and exploding violence to adults, children, animals and fantasy characters was over the top PG 13! The twin boy whom is the main character and hero is the one of the worst role models of making good choices and caring about others I have seen in a youth movie based on a popular children's book series. The character doesn't seem to grow and just makes more and more dangerous selfish decisions during the movie that get others killed, tortured or injured.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 40% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
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For Your Family
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