"B-"Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

The "Spiderwick Chronicles" continues a recent trend in Hollywood where the plot of a futuristic/fantasy movie puts siblings in harm's way. And as was the case with similarly themed movies such as "Eragon" (2006), "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (2004) and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005), children have to band together to defeat dragons, the Ice Queen and in this case, various trolls and goblins.

Let me say from the outset that the monsters in this film are genuinely scary creatures. While my grandchildren, Connor (age 9) and Calen (age 6), sat delightfully entranced during the entire film, I must be frank in that they have collectively seen several hundred movies with me. Thus, monsters in "Spiderwick" could scare the daylights out of children who have been exposed to nothing worse than a "G-rated" film.

In summary, "Spiderwick" tells a rather tight tale of a mother (Mary Louise-Parker) and her three children moving into what is obviously a disturbed, neglected mansion. Apparently deserted by their father, the children are rebelling against the move in general and their mother in particular.

The older sister (Sarah Bolger) wants largely to be left alone by her younger twin brothers, both of whom are played by Freddie Highmore. While young Mr. Highmore was captivating in both "Finding Neverland" (2004) and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), he is far less interesting in this tale. Having lost his early childhood innocence that worked so well in "Neverland" and "Charlie" he is starting to manifest the same transformation that effectively killed McCaulley Caulkin's career.

Regardless, a book is discovered in the kids' new home, and it allows the monsters and goblins to come forward and threaten our heroes. In particular, the lead ogre morphs into various physical manifestations, the most scary of which is a cameo by Nick Nolte. While I wouldn't have dreamed this was remotely possible, Nolte actually looks more frightening than he did in his recently well publicized mug shot!

The movie's drama is helped immensely by small performances of the always credible Joan Plowright and David Strathairn. Along with the rather interesting special effects, the movie proceeds at a fairly rapid pace that is likely to hold the most cynical adult's attention. Lastly, look for the super-busy Seth Rogen as the voice of the character Hogsqueal, a goblin who comes to the aid of our heroes as they attempt to defeat the goblins. The role is perfect for Rogen, as it pretty much mirrors the human goblin he played in "Superbad" (2007) and "Knocked Up" (2007).

At a minimum, "Spiderwick" will serve as a bridge to the soon to be released "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" in terms of children seeing a movie that will scare them in a healthy way. Keep this movie in mind during this year's holiday season, as it will make a great gift for any kid six to fifteen.