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THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

"Beware of Deadly Consequences"

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What You Need To Know:

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is a modern-day fairy tale with goblins, ogres and magical creatures. Separated from her husband, Helen Grace moves her three children, Jared, Simon and Mallory, into the former home of their great aunt Lucinda. Jared begins to notice unusual happenings in the old house and discovers a strange book written by Lucinda’s long-missing father, Arthur Spiderwick. A note warns people to stay away, but Jared begins reading the book. His carelessness unleashes a magical world surrounding the house, including evil goblins led by the wicked ogre Mulgarath. Mulgarath wants the knowledge in the book to rule the world through evil magic. Jared has to convince his family to help him stop Mulgarath, but that’s easier said than done.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is exciting family fun for children over 10. The story moves along at a brisk pace. Though the magical worldview is somewhat mixed, the basic attitude turns out to be morally uplifting and biblical. The movie affirms family and warns about the dangers of seeking occult knowledge. That said, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teens because of the movie’s magical elements, some scary violence and brief foul language.

Content:

(C, BB, O, Pa, LL, VV, M) Light Christian worldview with strong moral elements that affirms family and takes an underdeveloped view warning about getting involved with, and getting obsessed with gaining secret knowledge about, an occult/pagan world of magical creatures; one obscenity, one incomplete obscenity, 11 light profanities, and hobgoblin spits into people’s eyes so they can see magical creatures; action violence includes some scary moments, girl kills goblins with sword, brief images of green goblin or troll blood are shown a few times, goblins chase and attack people, boy’s leg seriously scratched, chase scene with boy on roof in danger of falling and getting seriously hurt or killed, large serpent attacks people, goblins drag boy and imprison him, large troll chase children through tunnel, truck hits large troll, and hole punched in wall; no sex, but comment made that a father has moved in with his girlfriend; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking; and, kidnapping, boy ignores warning, off-screen father has abandoned family but mother tells son at one point his father loves him, another father is obsessed with his work but realizes his mistake in time to make amends, and deceitful villain lies.

More Detail:

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES follows Christian author J.R.R. Tolkein into the land of faerie in a family movie filled with lots of action. Though the movie’s worldview is somewhat mixed, it ultimately seems to take a Christian attitude to fairyland creatures such as goblins, hobgoblins, fairies, and sprites.

In the story, which is based on the first five little SPIDERWICK books written by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, Helen Grace moves her three children, Jared, Simon and Mallory, into the former home of their great aunt Lucinda. Jared begins to notice unusual happenings in the old house and discovers a strange book written by Lucinda’s long-missing father, Arthur Spiderwick. Ignoring the warnings of Thimbletack, a small enchanted creature ordered to protect the book, Jared begins reading it. This unleashes a magical world surrounding the house, including a group of evil goblins led by the wicked ogre Mulgarath. Mulgarath can transform himself into a man or a snake. He wants the knowledge contained in Arthur Spiderwick’s book to rule the world through evil magic. Jared must convince his family to help him stop Mulgarath from getting the book, but that’s only the first of the obstacles facing him.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is exciting family fun for children over 10. The story moves along at a brisk pace with plenty of thrills for younger moviegoers. Though the magical worldview is somewhat mixed, the basic attitude turns out to be morally uplifting and biblical. The movie ends up affirming family and warning people about the dangers of opening themselves up to occult forces. Thus, when Jared carelessly looks into the occult secrets of the Spiderwick book, it makes his family vulnerable to deadly consequences from the unseen occult world. By sticking together, Jared and his family ward off the evil magical forces. There is also a family reunion at the end, with, however, some bittersweet lessons about the consequences of becoming obsessed with discovering secret occult knowledge. That said, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teens because of the movie’s magical elements, some scary violence and brief foul language.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.