By Keen Zhang
zhangr@china.org.cn

The Spiderwick Chronicles, basically, is a successful adaptation of the children's book series, written by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

Year after year, Hollywood seems desperate to find the next Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, so the studios constantly bet on fantasy books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Eragon, His Dark Materials, Bridge to Terabithia, and even Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. However, none of them has earned the accolades and financial rewards received by the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

The Nickelodeon movie The Spiderwick Chronicles also won't cut it financially. According to Boxofficemojo.com, its domestic office gross in the United States was only US$70 million, with another US$74 million in revenue generated from around the world.

But if you can put aside the numbers, you'll find The Spiderwick Chronicles absolutely wondrous. Children's movies can be simple and foolish. Actors' performances can be flat, such as those given in the first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, the targeted audience of young juveniles is unable to discern whether a film is good or bad. Nevertheless, The Spiderwick Chronicles is outstanding example of just how good and interesting a children's movie can be.

Frankly speaking, the movie, which congregates nearly all the major plots from 5 books, has nothing outstanding in the screenplay. A broken family moves into an old house with a huge secret, and then gets involved in an escapism-like fantasy adventure that eventually heals their pain and opens their hearts to each other while fighting against pure evil. How cliché a storyline is that!

But with the help of gorgeous CGI visual effects contributed by the ILM and Tippett Studio, combined with colorful cinematography that presents details throughout each scene, as well as the funny, eye-popping designs of the faeries and goblins, Director Mark Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls) has transformed this film into a non-stop, fast-paced, children's action adventure that simply takes your breath away and never lavishes any time on "tender moments" as do other family movies. The score composed by veteran James Honor adds an epic touch to the traditional kids' bedtime story. And the child star Freddie Highmore really surprised me by playing two major roles in the film: the twin brothers Jared Grace and Simon Grace, giving an emotional and powerful interpretation to each character.

Don't miss out on this film, possibly one of the best family-fantasy movies in years.