FAQ

Jared Grace (Freddie Highmore), recently moved with his family—mother Helen (Mary-Louise Parker), sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), and twin brother Simon (also Freddie Highmore)—to an estate recently willed to Helen by her elderly Aunt Lucinda "Lucy" Spiderwick (Joan Plowright). Jared finds an old, handwritten, leatherbound book titled Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, written by his great-great uncle Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn). The guide describes fantastical creatures, such as fairies and goblins, living all around them. The worst of the creatures is the ogre Mulgarath (Nick Nolte), who will stop at nothing to get the Field Guide. With the help of honey-loving elf Thimbletack (voice of Martin Short), bird-loving Hogsqueal (voice of Seth Rogen), and a half-eagle half-lion griffin, the three Grace children attempt to return the Field Guide to its creator so that it can be destroyed before Mulgarath destroys the world.

Actually, it's based on the five books of The Spiderwick Chronicles, all by author Holly Black and illustrator Tony DeTerlizzi. Book one is The Field Guide (2003), book two is The Seeing Stone (2003), book three is Lucinda's Secret (2003), book four is The Ironwood Tree (2004), and book five is The Wrath of Mulgareth (2004). The novels were adapted for the film by American screenwriters Karey Kirkpatrick, David Berenbaum, and John Sayles.