Spiderwick Chronicles, The

Aroview: Enchanting fantasia in the Gothic tradition, centred around three children (including Freddie Highmore as twins!) who move into a dilapidated mansion and, via an ancient book, uncover a mystical world full of mischievous fairies and unforgiving ogres.

Based on the mega-selling book series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, this cleverly condenses all five books into a simplified narrative that won't disappoint young fans and will spare the rest of us from padded-out sequels. If this suffers from anything, it's the over-familiarity of the format, seemingly exhausted by Harry Potter and many other incarnates, making one wonder where the CGI-fuelled fantasy genre will next find fresh inspiration.

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