The Spiderwick Chronicles

You don't see us, now you do, but only if we want you to

From the beloved best-selling series of books comes "The Spiderwick Chronicles," a fantasy adventure for the child in all of us. Peculiar things start to happen the moment the Grace family (Jared, his twin brother Simon, sister Mallory and their mom) leave New York and move into the secluded old house owned by their great, great uncle Arthur Spiderwick. Unable to explain the strange disappearances and accidents that seem to be happening on a daily basis, the family blames Jared. When he, Simon and Mallory investigate what's really going on, they uncover the fantastic truth of the Spiderwick estate and the creatures that inhabit it.

The Grace kids—twin brothers Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore in a dual role) and their sister, Mallory (Sarah Bolger)—move into the old family mansion when their dad leaves their mom (Mary-Louise Parker, who doesn't look as if she had a sandwich recently, let alone three kids). The crumbling house belonged to their great-great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick (David Straitharn), an eccentric who disappeared 80 years before.

But it turns out Uncle Arthur wasn't crazy after all! Jared finds his life's work—a book that catalogs an entire unseen world inhabiting this one with us. Faeries, goblins and pixies are all real, it turns out, and Arthur learned all their secrets.

Unfortunately, the book also contains the secret of how to rule the world (exactly how is never explained, but nobody pauses to ask). That means the evil ogre, Mulgarath (Nick Nolte), only slightly scarier than he was in his DUI mug shot—wants it. Which makes Jared and his siblings the only line of defense—and the target of all kinds of nasty things.