Imagination gone wild! This movie doesn’t have many catch-your-breath moments. It is a roller coaster of a high speed plot which includes twins Jared and Simon Race (both played by an energetic Freddie Highmore) and their sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) bent on destroying the creatures which would take their lives. The three children move into the ancient Spiderwick mansion along with their mother and Jared discovers a book of secrets. He also discovers creatures which he never would have dreamed up on his own. He learns the family is safe as long as it doesn’t cross over the circle of protection in the front yard. When the monster-like creatures find a way to destroy the protective circle one midnight, the children will need all the resources they can use to destroy the evil creatures once and for all.

This is, without question, a very intense film with some frightening CGI creatures but it is obvious that most of these monsters are just that-CGI creations. There is very little blood in the film and most of it is green blood although there are some violent interactions between the children and creatures. The kids are written as quite believable and one boy who takes his mother for granted realizes it in the end. Though not for young children, the mystery of the book and of Spiderwick (Arthur) himself is interesting to follow and we award our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal to this picture for ages twelve plus. This movie takes you out of the ordinary into an extra-ordinary journey for 99 minutes.