Spiderwick Chronicles, The

For me, though, the standout is Joan Plowright as Aunt Lucinda, Arthur Spiderwick's daughter, now eighty-seven years old and living in what the kids call a "nut house." When she's on-screen, which is all too little, the whole movie springs to life with her casual and endearing grace.

There are some exciting and even frightening parts to "The Spiderwick Chronicles," maybe more so for youngsters than for adults, which go far in carrying the action along at a steady pace. More important, there are some touching scenes as well, which help temper the narration and ensure that this isn't just another juvenile fantasy/action adventure.

It takes a while before the appearance of the first fantastical creature, but when we first see Thimbletack, it is magical, indeed. James Horner's appropriately gentle and heroic musical score (a score that never gets too drippy, by the way) supports things along the way, as does Industrial Light & Magic's creature-design team.

Department of Useless Information: Tomato juice kills goblins. You never know when that will come in handy; but, remember, goblins are stupid creatures and relentless, so don't get overconfident. Of more importance, the movie is 97 minutes long, not 101 minutes as the keep case announces. And according to IMDb, there is a 107-minute unrated version available someplace. Just not here.

Video:
I was greatly impressed by the video quality of the standard-definition edition, and this Blu-ray high-def version is, naturally, even better. As before, we get a wide, 2.35:1-ratio, this time in a MPEG4/AVC, 1080p, BD50 transfer. I loved the colors, which are extremely natural, never too bright, too gaudy, or too dull, just perfectly realistic. I also liked the object definition, although it seemed a bit soft, with faces a little too smooth. Needless to say, the screen is ultra-clear, showing very little grain, maybe even less than was in the original print; I don't know for sure because even though I also saw this film in a theater, I can't recall the detail level. Dark scenes, though, are far more revealing in HD than they were in standard def.

Audio:
As befitting a fantasy film in high definition, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack provides a multitude of surround effects, starting with the subtle sounds of the woods, crickets, wind, and the rustle of leaves. Then, with the first entrance of Mulgarath, the lossless audio really comes into its own, with all the things that go bump in the night emanating from just about everywhere in the listening area. Yet the noises seem cleaner and more finely nuanced than in regular Dolby Digital, tighter and more refined, making the dynamic impact appear all the stronger.

Extras:
The extras on the Blu-ray edition duplicate the extras on the two-disc standard-def set, with the addition of an enhanced in-movie version of "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide." Here, you'll find special notes throughout the movie, and when you see them you can leave the movie and go to the "Field Guide" for further information. Or you can go directly to the "Field Guide" and click on each of the magical creatures listed and get text descriptions of them as well as a look at them from the movie. Next up, is the seven-minute featurette, "Spiderwick: It's All True!," in which the director introduces us to the "Field Guide" and to the fantastical creatures of the story. Next, there is the nine-minute featurette, "It's a Spiderwick World!" in which the books' authors explain where they got their story ideas. After that, there's the longest featurette in the set, the twenty-one-minute "Spiderwick: Meet the Clan!" Here we meet the various cast members and get some behind-the-scenes peeks at why the filmmakers chose them and how the cast prepared for their roles. Of course, the director cannot help himself from referring to the story as a "Hero's Journey," and thank you Joseph Campbell. Then, there is the fourteen-minute featurette "Making Spiderwick!" in which we learn more about the sets, costumes, and locations of the "Spiderwick" world. Following that is the fourteen-minute featurette "The Magic of Spiderwick!" about the CGI animation in the film. Then the director returns for a quick, two-minute summing up in "A Final Word of Advice..."

The bonus materials conclude with four deleted scenes, totaling about eight minutes; a series of Nickelodeon TV spots; two widescreen theatrical trailers; twelve scene selections; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. Incidentally, the keep case says that most of the extras are in high definition. However, Paramount transferred them to disc in an MPEG2 codec, and they aren't in the best HD I've ever seen.

Parting Thoughts:
As I've said, the authors and filmmakers have geared "The Spiderwick Chronicles" primarily for children, and as such the movie seems to me quite effective. There may be a few scenes that are a bit intense for the youngest audience members, but overall it should please kids well enough. For adults, the movie can work, too. Although it's not particularly innovative, it is long on charm, which should carry it a fair way with many older folk. I've enjoyed it each of the times I've seen it now, starting with its theatrical run through this BD edition, but maybe I'm still a kid.

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