History YMMV / TheSpiderwickChronicles

* WTHCastingAgency: It seems odd to cast Dame Joan Plowright as the older Lucinda Spiderwick. While she gives a fine performance, she inexplicably keeps her English accent when her child self clearly had an American one. It's entirely possible for her accent to change since she's only six in the flashbacks, but she lived in the house alone for most of her subsequent life (surrounded by American accented fantasy creatures as well).

* AllAnimationIsDisney: Related, even though the film isn't animation. As it was following the lead of ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', and director Mark Waters had done Disney films such as ''Film/FreakyFriday2003'', several viewers thought it was released by Disney. It was produced by Nickelodeon actually.

* SoOkayItsAverage: The general consensus of the movie. It is a heavily CompressedAdaptation that goes through the story way too quickly and discards multiple characters and plot points, but still manages to accurately portray the characters and nail key scenes. It does however have a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes (81%), presumably from viewers who hadn't read the books.

* CompleteMonster: [[OurOgresAreHungrier Mulgarath]] is an arrogant, cunning Ogre who was [[BigBad directly or indirectly responsible]] for nearly all problems that befell the Spiderwick and Grace families. Desiring Arthur Spiderwick's field guide to conquer mankind and the other fairies, Mulgarath had Arthur's daughter, Lucinda Spiderwick, kidnapped, then tortured and later crippled when she couldn't give it to him. In preparation for his plans, Mulgarath built himself an army held together by intimidation, including press-ganged goblins; acquired several dragons; and [[ManipulativeBastard played on the dwarves' love of metal and craftsmanship]] to convince them to build weapons for his army and to swear their eternal allegiance to him. Mulgarath [[UngratefulBastard rewarded this service]] by massacring all the dwarves [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the moment they gave him the weapons]]. Upon learning that Jared Grace had found the guide, Mulgarath turned his attention upon the Grace siblings, happy to kidnap and kill the children to gain the guide, his plots climaxing in him destroying their family home and kidnapping their mother. Ambitious and vain as he was, Mulgarath was also a sadistic beast, as inside his palace the Grace siblings found multiple fairies he had [[CruelAndUnusualDeath imprisoned in honey and left to struggle futilely as they slowly drowned]].

** Then Mallory breaking the truth to Jared. Notably she'd been dismissive of him for most of the film, and treated him like an AnnoyingYoungerSibling. But this time she says it gently, and it's the only time we see her cry. Even if she knows this, Sarah Bolger says it like she still can't believe [[spoiler: her father doesn't want to be in their lives anymore]].

--> '''Jared:''' I hate you and I don't want to live with you!

--> "[[PartingWordsRegret The last thing I said to my mom was 'I hate you']]..."

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Downplayed, since it's clearly a PG fantasy adventure. But it subverts GoshDangItToHeck by having Jared say "hell" and "damn" a couple of times, and has some sequences that might be a bit too intense for younger children. There's also a lot of PG {{Gorn}}, and a scene where [[spoiler: Jared stabs his father to prove he's an impostor]]. It also deals with divorce in a frank and honest way.

* HilariousInHindsight: This is about a pair of preteen twins who discover an old journal, [[spoiler:which was written by a relative who disappeared years ago]], that doubles as a guide to the secret mystical world around them? [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls That sounds awfully familiar...]]