Spiderwick Chronicles, The

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Director Mark Waters does a fine job meshing the fantastical with the quotidian.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A well-crafted family thriller that is truly scary and doesn't wimp out.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

The film underscores the power of reading, and applying what we read to problem-solving. The story suggests that we don't really see the natural world around us, and if we did our lives, like Jared's and his siblings', would be immeasurably richer.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Not great fantasy, but it's on more solid ground than "The Golden Compass" and will seem less baffling to some. There's enough here to keep adults engaged, which is an important component of any motion picture that wants to be known as "family entertainment."

Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson

A fast-moving adventure with more than dynamic glitz to recommend it.

San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand

A mostly superb cast, superior special effects, a sparkling musical score and a fantasy-filled plot .

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The movie is funny and scary and touching in all the ways the best children's pictures are, but it is also fast and compact, running a perfectly paced 93 minutes (including credits).

Time Richard Corliss

A decent entertainment -- not up there with the "Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings" sagas, but a notch above "The Golden Compass" and "Narnia."

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Meticulously rendered CGI creatures--from Arthur Rackham-esque flower sprites to a troll that could have sprung from "Jurassic Park"--spike this dark adventure, shot marvelously by Caleb Deschanel.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The children's real world, or what passes for real in a fantasy, could hardly be more inviting, for reasons that are hardly mysterious: the strong performances, under Mark Waters's accomplished direction; the smart, bright language, much of it taken from the books; the stylish cinematography, by Caleb Deschanel.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

The movie's richly autumnal look is by swift turns cozily naturalistic and terrifyingly baroque, and director Mark Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls) sustains the balance between real and surreal with mischievous brio.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

An enjoyable adventure fantasy that pushes all the requisite buttons while still managing to throw in a pleasant surprise or two.

Variety Justin Chang

A work of both modest enchantment and enchanting modesty, grounded in a classically Spielbergian realm where childlike wonderment crosses paths with the tough realities of young adulthood.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Suffers slightly from that not-so-fresh feeling.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Spiderwick is set in the present, but goes for an overall design look of dainty, cozy, William Morris-y arts-andcraftiness.

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

Starts off promisingly by empathetically depicting the fear and anger children feel when their parents separate, but ultimately its human emotions are dominated by goblins, trolls, and other CGI-generated creatures running amok on the screen.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Anyone looking for handsomely presented, kid-friendly thrills need look no further.

Premiere Karl Rozemeyer

Perhaps Highmore could have tried a little harder to make us doubt for a moment that, once again, Good will inevitably overcome Evil.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

It's a good movie for its type, but it rarely stops to let us marvel at the world it creates.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

A world designed for children, and most of the grownups involved don't quite understand it - on or offscreen.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Unlike Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth," which was also inspired by Rackham, The Spiderwick Chronicles is more whimsical than scary.

USA Today Claudia Puig

We're supposed to be agog at the fantastical creatures and dazzling special effects. But the more wrenching story of disillusioned children nags in the background, distracting from any enchantment.

Film Threat Matthew Sorrento

Once “Spiderwick” gets to the fantasy, the story gets going.

Empire Sam Toy

A late entry in a crowded field, Spiderwick works hard to set itself apart from the competition, and almost entirely succeeds - no mean feat these days.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Maybe it's fantasy fatigue, but for all the pretty effects and breathless chases and goblin war battles, the sense of wonder and magic is lost in the shuffle.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The obvious product of a corporate search for the next great fantasy franchise, this adaptation of the first in a series of popular children's books by the writer-illustrator team of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi is a lump of leaden whimsy.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Spiderwick. There’s nothing wrong with it that passion and personality couldn’t fix.

New York Post Kyle Smith

Overrun with malicious goblins, a vengeance-minded pig, a fast-moving troll and a giant horned ogre, but the true source of terror is scarier than all of these combined: New York real estate prices.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

For the uninitiated? Man, it's a bummer.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Instead of the kind of inspired imaginative synergy that distinguished the “Lord of the Rings” and later “Harry Potter” pictures, this movie, directed by Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”), feels more like a sloppy, secondhand pander.