"Chronicles" best enjoyed with a childlike imagination

"That scared me to death!" said my 8-year-old companion, on the way home from "The Spiderwick Chronicles." Parents, note: She said it with a big smile.

Based on the series of books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (reminiscent of the Lemony Snicket series, but more supernatural and less witty), Mark Waters' "The Spiderwick Chronicles" depicts the adventures of a trio of siblings who move with their mother (Mary-Louise Parker, nicely exasperated) into a crumbling Victorian house owned by their great-aunt Lucinda. Identical 9-year-old twins Jared and Simon Grace (both played by Freddie Highmore) and their 13-year-old sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) discover there a dusty volume titled "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You," written by their great-great-uncle.

It turns out to be a portal to the many mysterious creatures lurking in and around their new home — many of whom are up to no good. Soon, the kids are getting rhymed warnings from the house brownie, Thimbletack (a computer-generated creature who's voiced by Martin Short and looks like a cranky Keebler Elf), which leads to threats and torture from a team of chunky goblins. (The goblins can be seen only through a magic stone or, in a touch of grossness much enjoyed by the kids at the screening, by having a hobgoblin spit in one's eye). And then there's a truly evil ogre, played by Nick Nolte, who's scary in the deranged way that only Nick Nolte can be.

Kids who loved the books might well have some issues with the screenplay adaptation (credited to three writers), which trims the series' five volumes down to 97 minutes and makes some significant changes to the action. Much of this seems to stem from the decision to have Highmore play both twins, thus necessitating a minimum of scenes in which the boys are seen together. A British child actor previously seen (and quite moving) in "Finding Neverland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Highmore struggles a bit with the challenges of the double role; he can't quite find the right American accent, nor can he make the two boys distinct. Bolger ("In America") is more at ease; Mallory, a fencing enthusiast, has a charming swagger and a nicely maternal protectiveness for her brothers that overcomes her perpetual big-sister irritation.

The special effects are elegantly done (those goblins, swarming around the house like giant flies, are genuinely creepy), with the occasional touch of real beauty. Great-Aunt Lucinda (Joan Plowright) has a scene in which she's attended by a wealth of flower fairies, delicate little sprites floating in the air, rendered in delicious spring colors. As kids' movies go, this is no "Harry Potter," but it's an enjoyable enough adventure — with just enough scariness.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com