When Spiderwick Chronicles first came out in movie theaters it barely made a blimp on my radar as I had been one of those crazy Harry Potter kids in 2001, and who only vaguely remembered there being other books about magic coming out around the same time. I knew there was something about faeries, possibly Ogres, and that there were the three obligatory kids who had to deal with all the nonsense. I was intrigued but not enough to fork out 10 dollars for a seat in a movie theater, the lure of overpriced Bunch-A-Crunch be damned.

So when it came out on DVD I though, hell, why not, I’ve pretty much already disgraced myself through going to see all the Harry Potter movies to date on opening night, might as well give it a go.

The movie itself seems to be pretty run of the mill, if a little startling at first to see Freddie Highmore playing two characters at once with what can only be called a very, very disappointing American accent (I am not kidding, between sounding like he’s whispering, over stressed syllables, and Shatneresque pauses, I wasn’t sure what to feel about it other then the over-powering sensation of wanting to sigh). The story is tried and true, easy enough to follow that I wouldn’t mind showing it to an eight-year-old, but it never really gets boring or the plot so obvious that it becomes un-enjoyable. Mostly it just feels like a fun kids movie; it has enough blood and things getting stabbed to be able to hold it’s PG rating with pride, but still is tame enough that it remains securely in that happy action adventure spot that things like Goonies paved the way for in the past. The kids are interesting in their dynamics with each other, the special effects are extremely nice, and the fantastical world and the real world clash in a way that seems feasible. One downfall at least for parents watching along side their overly exuberant children is that this movie is 100% for kids. Unlike movies such as Shrek, Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and anything Pixar has ever made there is not much in the way for an adult to pick up on or enjoy, no hidden jokes or asides that wink in the direction of anyone above the age of 15 or so. Otherwise, it’s an enjoyable watch if you have 2 hours to spare and don’t mind the fast paced dash through book one of the series.

The Special Features are fun in the way most interactive features are. There are the obligatory Deleted Scenes (which I demand from nearly every DVD I buy these days), and the Making Of footage and interviews are both interesting and enlightening about the history of the books as well as both the excitement and pratfalls of making this sort of children’s movie. What the Special Features do suffer from is a kind of confusion as to who will be watching them. Some of them feel as though they are talking to children, going over information that was in the movie and not really presenting anything new, all in a voice that is just shy of condescending, while other parts of the Making Of footage feels more like it’s being directed towards any parents or adults watching the film. The whole thing creates a kid of yo-yo back and forth effect in tone that grates on the nerves a bit, but makes up for it by being genuinely interesting. The Field Guide section is fabulous and has an interactive add on that lets you see examples of the different magical creatures in the movie itself, and also supplies beautiful illustrations of all the magical creatures. It actually reminds me a little of the Brian Froud books on Faeries, which the Field Guide in the movie very closely resembles.

Perhaps the only thing the DVD is really missing is a feature on the art in the Field Guide, as some of that work is down right beautiful, and a in movie commentary on the film which is something I always enjoy. There is also a distinct lack of Easter Eggs which is surprising given the nature of the film and it’s subject, you’d think they’d add in special hidden things, but alas, after skipping through every menu page on both disks I found nothing (perhaps I am just very bad at finding them . . .)

If you like the books and enjoyed the movie, then the DVD is definitely a must buy, but if you were like me and only partially interested at first, you’ll probably be surprised at how enjoyable it is.