X
- The Roku Channel
- Apr 19, 2024
- The Roku Channel
- Apr 19, 2024
Summary The Grace family move to their ancestral home, where they discover a secret world full of magical creatures they must protect from an Ogre (Christian Slater) in this adaptation of the children's book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.
- The Roku Channel
- Apr 19, 2024
- The Roku Channel
- Apr 19, 2024
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Season 1
Season Premiere: Apr 19, 2024
48
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Summary The Grace family move to their ancestral home, where they discover a secret world full of magical creatures they must protect from an Ogre (Christian Slater) in this adaptation of the children's book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.
Season Episodes
View All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
48
14% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
48
14% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Though it does stumble in places, the series is overall satisfying and self-contained — with space for another season, should it get renewed — and is an adventure worth watching, either for younger viewers looking for a slightly more grown-up tale or older audiences who enjoy their adventures with a nostalgic feel.
Instead of featuring a menagerie of fey beings, it focuses on self-aware Internet humor and teen angst from an aged-up cast and darker tone. That may set the show apart from its source material in ways that are sometimes interesting, but it only rarely feels like magic.
Coleite’s series tries to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer for tweens. In practice, however, that’s a high-water mark the show can only occasionally reach. Unquestionably, the best thing about the series is Christian Slater as the central villain Mulgarath.
Though the show stretches across eight 45-minute episodes, diving into countless details and fantastical beings, its pacing often stalls, leading to a humdrum tone instead of a display frenzied with action. Additionally, despite aging the characters up for this adaptation, the setting and special effects aren’t creepy or dazzling enough to keep a teen audience engaged.
The Spiderwick Chronicles isn’t scary enough or wonderous enough to hold our interest, and we get the feeling that kids who watch the show will seek out other shows that are either scarier or more whimsical.
Hands-down the single best reason to watch The Spiderwick Chronicles is Christian Slater‘s turn as Dr. Brauer, a psychiatrist with some ugly secrets up his sleeve. .... Alas, The Spiderwick Chronicles is shakiest precisely where it needs to be strongest: with the Graces themselves.
Between its distractingly bad dialogue and the tedious story, there is no magic to be seen here.
User Reviews
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.