Spiderwick Chronicles

Blu-ray Review

Paramount Home Entertainment

Released: June 24, 2008

The Spiderwick Chronicles has arrived on the Blu-ray format from Paramount, following in the footsteps of film such as Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and others. The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on the book series and has been brought to the big screen.

The film follows the story of twin brothers named Simon and Jared. Both brothers in the film were played by Freddie Highmore. Beyond those two, there is also their older sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), as well as their mother (Mary-Louise Parker).

The family has moved to a mansion which has a great deal of history to it. Its former owner, Arthur Spiderwick, disappeared in a very mysterious manner some 80 years ago. His daughter stated that he was carried away by fairy-like creatures, and went insane trying to prove it to people.

One day, Jared, who is going through a tough time with his parents getting divorced, believed he has heard something in the walls of the mansion. Jared quickly discovers two things, one that there is a House Brownie, and also that there is a special shaft which lifts him to the secret workroom of Arthur Spiderwick. Jared then quickly finds the Field Guide, which revealed quite a bit of information discovered by Spiderwick.

Things get more adventurous from here, as the book is also sought by the villain of the film, Mulgarath.

Spiderwick is an interesting film in that it focuses a lot on how kids deal with problems in regards to home life and with their parents. This takes it away a bit from the whole fantasy aspect, which does pick up more later on in the film. The film depends on CGI a great deal as well, but comes across believable.

For those looking for the next Harry Potter though, you are not going to find it here. Even fans of the book series may think the film just seems too rushed. Unfortunately, Spiderwick lacks the magic of other comparable but superior films out there.

The video quality for the Blu-ray release is very nice indeed and is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Since the source of the transfer is pretty much perfect, we got exactly what we expected here as the colors absolutely pop off of the screen in every single seen.

The level of detail and depth is top-notch and the black levels are also very rich. All in all, Spiderwick Chronicles looks great on Blu-ray.

The audio presentation is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and was actually a bit disappointing due to the fact that it came across rather soft on Blu-ray.

Everything in the audio mix feels very low-key, almost as if they were scared to be aggressive with the mix. For what is there, the clarity is very well-done. Things which could have made the audio mix far more impressive though would have been improved ambiance, better use of bass, and just a more impact-full feel.

All of the features in the Blu-ray release are identical to what we have seen in the 2-disc DVD release, only that they are all presented in HD. It is a bit disappointing to see now Blu-ray exclusive features.

To start off the special features, you first get Spiderwick: It’s All True, which looks back at the film and shows that everything is realistic and true.

The next feature, A Spiderwick World, has interviews with the authors of the book series.

Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide is next up, and is the most impressive feature here. What this does it is shows pages from his book, and allows you to link the pages to scenes in the film.

Spiderwick: Meet the Clan features interviews with many of the main characters in the film.

Up next is Making Spiderwick, which is your basic making of documentary.

The Magic of Spiderwick will please the visual junkies as it looks at how the CGI was done.

The final extra, beyond the deleted scenes and such is called A Final Piece of Advice, which features director Waters going through the events of the film once again.

Overall The Spiderwick Chronicles is a good release on the Blu-ray format with a nice video transfer, but a very average audio mix. The film itself provides some nice fantasy entertainment, but does not live up the high standards set by Harry Potter and others. For those fantasy fans out there though, this is worth a rental.

Film: 7.5

Not a masterpiece by any means, but a good fantasy film.

Video: 9.2

Great stuff on Blu-ray with amazing pop, colors, black levels, etc.

Audio: 8.0

An average audio mix for the Blu-ray format, far too soft.

Extras: 7.0

Final Score: 7.2

Some nice extras here, but a lack of any Blu-ray exclusives is disappointing.