Creative Quotient
Based on the fantasy book series, the film is about a dysfunctional family moving into an ancestral estate in an attempt to bond and rejuvenate their relationships. The Grace family includes twin brothers Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore), sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and their mother Helen (Marie-Louise Parker). Jared is the protagonist of the film and he’s an inquisitive,adventurous boy who loves to snoop around in their new mansion. Jared is angst-ridden owing to his parents’ recent split.
He stumbles upon an old magical book written by his uncle. The book unlocks a gateway into the world of fairies, goblins and ogres. The magical creatures make it to the human world and the big bad ogre looks to hatch a plan that would jeopardise the lives of both humans and magical creatures.

Technical expertise
This is a fantasy film for kids and their parents. It is based around the elements one has recently seen in films like the Narnia series, The Golden Compass and even Harry Potter. But in certain parts the film excels each of these films’ entertainment value. The characters of Spiderwick are far more believable and real than those seen in Narnia. The film’s charm is more suitable to younger audiences as compared to Harry Potter’s grown-up appeal that relates more to young adults. And finally the strongest element that makes Spiderwick a good fantasy film is its continuity. More often than not, fantasy films based on a series of books tend to end abruptly in lieu of continuing a film series, but the Spiderwick screenplay has been written to conclude the story in a single film.
Freddie Highmore’s acting prowess is on showcase in the film. He plays to distinct characters and juggles well between the contrasts of their emotions. The rest of the cast does a decent job at their characters too. The film is heavily laden with CGI (Computer- Generated Images) and they are as good as any seen on the big screen.
On the flipside the film’s script has a lot of loopholes and the plot developments do seem cheesy. It is not exactly a smart fantasy film but it’s definitely an entertaining family film with lots of eye-candy.

Verdict
The film is worth three stars. One for its continuity thanks to the story’s completion in a single film, the second for Freddie Highmore’s balanced performance and the third for the really good visuals effects of the film.