The Spiderwick Chronicles - On DVD and Blu-ray

Sunday June 22, 2008

Available in stores on Tuesday, June 24, The Spiderwick Chronicles is a fantasy adventure about the Grace family and the mysterious things that happen when they move into a secluded old house owned by their great, great uncle Arthur Spiderwick. The movie is based on a book series written by Holly Black and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi. The books are targeted at children approximately ages 6-12, and the movie is rated PG, for scary creature action and violence, peril and some thematic elements.

The Spiderwick Chronicles, I am happy to announce, is the first Blu-ray review on my site. Our family made the switch to Blu-ray as soon as the Blu-ray/HD DVD war ended. At the time, I wondered whether or not the added benefits were worth the added money. On the whole, I LOVE the look of Blu-ray discs on our HD TV. The value of the enhanced special features available with Blu-ray remains to be seen. The Spiderwick Chronicles Blu-ray disc in particular has very little content that is Blu-ray specific - basically, it allows the viewer to access the Field Guide during the movie and that's about it.

As for the standard special features, just don't watch them with your young children if you are trying to explain to them that the things in the movie are not real. The director makes a point in several of the features of looking into the camera and insisting that the creatures are real - not good if you want little kids to sleep at night!