Along came a Spiderwick

DVD Features

Along came a Spiderwick
Keeping it real was the secret to successfully translating the fantastic world and creatures of THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES to the screen, according to director Mark Waters.

Based on the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, The Spiderwick Chronicles is the story of the Grace family, who move into the isolated estate of their great great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick. The discovery of Spiderwick’s life’s work, a ‘Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You’, soon puts them in danger from the magical creatures it documents.

   A dark fantasy inspired by classics like Grimm’s Fairy Tales, DiTerlizzi and Black had always hoped that their tales would one day be developed as a feature film.

“I was stunned and thrilled when [director] Mark Waters and [producer] Mark Canton got involved,” says Black. “When I saw the sets, it was like walking into the book. The whole thing was incredible.”

   DiTerlizzi adds, “What we really loved about the filmmakers’ approach was that they seemed to love and respect the characters, creatures and world that define The Spiderwick Chronicles. Our heroes don’t have any special powers and don’t live in a land far, far away. They have to rely on their wits, and each other, to get out of the extraordinary, and often dangerous, situations they find themselves in when they enter the world of the fey.”

   In taking on the Spiderwick project, director Mark Waters explains that he was inspired by the fact that the events, while fantastic, are anchored within a very real sense of time and place.

   “I’ve always loved movies in the fantasy genre and when I read these I saw the opportunity to do something that hadn’t been done before – a movie that dealt with adventure, fantasy and incredibly interesting creatures, but wasn’t set in a far off land with British wizards or Gothic orphans...”

The Spiderwick Chronicles also features characters with whom audiences can easily identify, and confronts everyday problems shared by many families.

   “Here was an opportunity to make a movie that everybody could relate to immediately,” Waters continues, “and relate to just the fact that these kind of crazy, strange creatures could be around us at any time. The enchanted and often perilous journey they embark upon allows them to discover and draw on strengths they never knew they had – as individuals, and, more importantly, as a family.”