Jun 23, 2008 9:07 am US/Pacific
Blu-Ray Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles
By Erik Candiani
The Film:
Truth be told, this movie was my introduction to the fantastical world of Arthur Spiderwick and the secret battles of good versus evil. (It's based on a popular series of books.) What an incredibly fun adventure this film turned out to be! From the production design, acting, and top-notch special effects work… to this well-crafted Blu-Ray produced by Paramount, The Spiderwick Chronicles is pure quality through and through. With the recent glut of children's book inspired fantasy films, it would be easy to lump The Spiderwick Chronicles in with the rest. Don't! You'd be doing yourself a cinematic disservice.
(For parents of young children, I think the PG rating is a bit too kind. There are some definite scary moments -- and a few disturbing images. I was a little surprised it wasn't PG-13, but that's my ONLY reservation when discussing The Spiderwick Chronicles.)
Packaging:
Standard Blu-Ray keep case
Disc Load:
Perfect. Quick Paramount Blu-Ray logo followed by the Spiderwick menu.
Menu:
Nicely designed -- while still maintaining the simplicity a menu needs. Starts off on a shot of the Spiderwick house… quickly zooming through the walls and into the aged laboratory-filled attic. Four options are offered:
Play
Settings
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French & Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese
Scenes
- 12 Chapters
Extras –
(All presented in HD except for the Nickelodeon spots)
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Spiderwick: It's All True!
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It's a Spiderwick World!
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Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide
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In-Movie Mode Field Guide
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Spiderwick: Meet the Clan!
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Making Spiderwick!
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The Magic of Spiderwick!
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A Final Word of Advice
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Deleted Scenes
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Nickelodeon TV Spots
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Theatrical Trailers
Video:
A couple words quickly come to mind. Stunning & Incredible. This is hands-down the best transfer of a live-action film I have reviewed. Easily demo-worthy material for a well-equipped home theater. The 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode (2.35:1) is a well-balanced combination of rich blacks and vibrant colors. I've heard mumbling over black crushing… but don't blame this on the encode. I believe this was a production decision, and remember it from the theater screening I attended. The Spiderwick Chronicles looks gorgeous and is a welcomed addition to my Blu-Ray library.
Audio & Languages:
Not as much action in the rear channels as I would expect from this type of film, but all in all a decent semi-aggressive soundfield. Dialogue never fought for attention and was crisp – bass was dramatic when needed, and sound design worked well. A very good presentation with excellent clarity.
Extra Features: (All in gorgeous HD)
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Spiderwick: It's All True!
(7:04) – Director Mark Waters introduces the Spiderwick Chronicles universe. (Does he ever blink???) He displays some of the actual props from the film and gives us a peak at a few clips.
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It's a Spiderwick World!
(8:44) – Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi (Co-creators) walk through the creation process and history of the story… and provide us our first glance behind the scenes.
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Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide
(Animated walkthrough of Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.) Separated into 10 chapters. Each chapter covers a set of pages from the guide and contains drawings from the film along with a detailed description of the selected character type. Under each creature / character / object page, there is an option to view it in the actual film. Nice addition for the newly initiated -- and well executed.
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Field Guide In-Movie Mode –
This is the field guide in reverse. When given the option during the film, you can refer to the pages from Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.
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Spiderwick: Meet the Clan!
(13:54) – Not quite pure backslapping in regards to actors/crew talking about each other… but close! Some interesting back-story on the characters and actors. Nothing ground breaking – and could probably have been rolled into one of the other features rather than as a stand alone extra.
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Making Spiderwick!
(20:53) – Great behind-the-scenes footage… and meaty enough to go into detail and provide more than just production fluff.
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The Magic of Spiderwick!
(14:23) – Covers the special effects utilized in Spiderwick – "the pixels and data behind the magic". Phil Tippet Studios and ILM joined forces to bring the magical imagery to life… and some of their work is just plain beautiful.
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A Final Word of Advice!
(1:51) – Director Mark Waters pops back on to remind us that everything we just witnessed was real. (even though they just showed you how they created it digitally) It's nice to see his obvious passion for this project.
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Deleted Scenes
(8:14 Total)
- Mom & Jared (:59) – Short dialog between Jared and his mother. Nothing too important that hasn't already been covered elsewhere.
- Boys in Bedroom (2:13) – Jared tells Simon about the field guide for the first time. Nice tension building between siblings, and would have been a nice addition to the movie.
- Messy Kitchen (3:01) – Jared is blamed for a huge mess in the kitchen. Mention of his mother's first day at work is relatively important for later scenes left in the film.
- Meet Lucinda (2:01) – Adds a little more magic to the introduction to Lucinda scene.
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Nickelodeon TV Spots
(5:04 Total) – SD - 9 spots total – Well-produced collection of commercial spots that aired leading up to the release of the film. Nicely done and in theme with the movie. An unnecessary… but welcomed addition for us fanatical completionists out here.
Final Thoughts:
Paramount has assembled an impressive package for The Spiderwick Chronicles, making it almost impossible not to buy into the entire mythology of Spiderwick. It's one of those rare movie experiences that both parents and children will enjoy. With excellent demo-worthy video and a literal treasure trove of extra features… The Spiderwick Chronicles is an easy recommend.
Blu-Ray Details
Running time: 101mins
Rating: PG
Release Date: 6/24/2008
Review Date: 6/13/2008
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