Trailer Tuesday: The Spiderwick Chronicles

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Last week when I was at the cinema I saw a number of trailers for movies I had completely overlooked or forgotten about. One of them was The Spiderwick Chronicles, about a family who discover a secret world of goblins, sprites and ogres when they move into their great-great-uncle's country manor house.

Now I'm always receptive to quality family fantasy films, and although I'm unfamiliar with the Spiderwick series of books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, this film adaptation seems to satisfy my list of genre requirements quite nicely: A talented cast (including Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker and David Strathairn), impressive creature design, quality special effects, and a dark streak of scares mingled with the fun.

It just goes to show what a big budget and talented creative team can do. *Cough cough* The Dark Is Rising, please take notes...


Anyway, I received a definite Jumanji vibe watching the trailer for The Spiderwick Chronicles, so I'm definitely keen for this one. If you thought the trailer above was too kiddified, then check out this far more subtle, adult one.


The Spiderwick Chronicles opened in North America this last weekend, debuting at #3 at the box office, and scoring an impressive 79% Fresh rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. It opens in South Africa on 21 March.

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