The Spiderwick Chronicles

Siblings bicker and call each other names ("stupid," "idiot"); Hogsqueal catches and eats birds of all sizes; the ogre Mulgarath shape-shifts from human to monster form. The goblins hurt all three kids, leaving bloody marks on their legs/bodies. The climactic battle scene is pretty intense/frightening.

Mallory tells her brothers that their father has "found someone else" and is living with the woman.

Minor: "hell," "idiot," "stupid," "crazy."

Parents need to know that The Spiderwick Chronicles is a fantasy adventure. It was 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.

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