Shopping Bag: The Spiderwick Chronicles

By: Robert T. Trate
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

When The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring andHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out in 2001 they were considered a big gamble by the studios. As we know they obviously paid off. The studios, seeing what worked, bought up a lot of fantasy book anthologies in the hopes to have their own Potter or LOTR series of movies.

The results of this gamble have been mixed. For example, Eragon failed to connect with movie audiences. The tales of Eragon probably won’t be flying in the theater any time soon. Fear not there is plenty more Eragon at the book store.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and its sequel The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian are mixed bag for Disney. The first Chronicles of Narnia film went over huge. The continuation of the series was a no brainer. Since Prince Caspian was released between Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull it did not have the box office clout Disney was hoping for. Disney already has The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader slated for 2010 but the outcome looks bleak if they cannot salvage their losses in United States from European releases. Fear not, Disney actually prints their own money so I am sure they will be able to bring us that last film.

The Spiderwick Chronicles had all the flash and bang of being the great start to a new saga in its trailers. I wanted to see first hand if this was the start of something new or another Golden Compass. The Spiderwick Chronicles is a great adventure fantasy for the whole family. Sure, that sounds like one of those ads but it really was. Quick with the back story and plenty of action, it had this great family element that made it shine brighter than the The Chronicles of Narnia. The bad guys were scary, the kids were great and the special effects delivered. A great lesson was learned about the responsibility of knowledge and caring for family.

The Spiderwick Chronicles pays off with no hint to a sequel or final moments that lead you to think that the family is still in danger. Where was the final moment where the bad guy jumps out onto the final frame of film, the one that leaves the audience hanging for the inevitable sequel? There are numerous Spiderwick Chronicles books out there so not having the final moment was a bit shocking. Has Hollywood learned its lesson, one film and then wait to see if the audience wants more? I guess I’ll just have go pick up a book.

ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS

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