Movie and Television Reviews

A newly single mom, Helen Grace (the very maternal-looking Mary-Louise Parker) takes her two sons and daughter to live in an old country home that belonged to her great uncle Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) and his daughter, Lucinda. One of the boys, Jared (Freddie Highmore) is a hyper-emotional child holding on to the dream that his father will come back and reunite with his mother. His twin brother, Simon (also Freddie Highmore) is a nerd, but otherwise normal. The teenage daughter, Mallory (Sarah Bolger) fences and bosses her little brothers.

Jared soon discovers the presence of magical creatures, a hodgepodge of Tolkien-like demi-humans, like goblins, and Doyleish fairies (or "faeries" for my Brit brothers). The creatures love honey, hate salt, and only let humans see them when they wish it, unless the humans have a magic creature viewing device. The house and its surroundings have other peculiarities like magic walls (a "virtual fence," as it were) and potions which Arthur Spiderwick, unfortunately "chronicled" in a book. Basically, Mulgarath, an evil ogre, wants the book for its secrets, and the children, upon learning that the book would allow Mulgarath to control the world, try to keep it from him. They do so in interesting fashion with trips to the city via a tunnel to visit an elderly and committed Lucinda, griffin flights, and scamps through the forest. You'll find it all very exciting and suspenseful if that's the way you feel about Jumanji.

Jumanji (Deluxe Edition)

In any fantasy movie, whether for children or adults, the creativity of the world is of primary importance and I think Spiderwick does well here. The good characters are somewhat original- we have a bird-eating hobgoblin called Hogsqueal and some interesting flower creatures. The bad guys aren't notable except that Mulgarath can change shapes, a power which produces a surprising twist at the end that, I must admit, had me fooled.

Another fantasy factor is the relevance of the fantasy to the story. Again, high marks. Unlike Pan's Labyrinth and the awful Golden Compass, movies in which the fantasy elements are annoying distractions, the fancy bits in SWC drive the well-paced Macguffin plot.

Politics/ Message:

Nobody has to learn to "accept differences" or "live in harmony-" the children must defeat the monster- so, I guess it's more conservative than liberal. The challenges for the children are to cooperate, be brave, and deal with reality (ironically). Specifically, Jared must confront the fact that his father isn't returning to the family. Like Enchanted, I tend to find acquiescence to the non-ideal, demoralizing.