Roku’s Spiderwick Chronicles Series Has Potential, But Is Missing That Magical Spark
After what might have felt like an eternity, fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles are finally getting to see the TV show hit their screens. In 2023, Disney+ initially passed on the series, but it was soon picked up by Roku. From its origins as a book series to a Nickelodeon movie and now a Roku series, The Spiderwick Chronicles continues to be a staple adventure. The newest adaptation presents a modern take on the story, offering audiences a horror adventure that resonates with contemporary times.
The new eight episode series follows the Grace family as they start a new life in the Spiderwick estate. They need a fresh start after one of the Grace twins Jared (Lyon Daniels) is kicked out of school for outbursts and impulsive behavior caused by his Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Mother of the family Helen (Joy Bryant) seeks help from Dr. Brauer (Christian Slater), a specialist in their new town, in hopes that he can help Jared find a safe space.
As the Grace family finds a way to settle into the new town, the truth begins to unfold about the magic in the Spiderwick house. Almost everyone one in the Grace family chooses to ignore the magic within the walls but Jared quickly accepts this reality with little support. Even encountering a fairy doesn’t convince his twin brother Simon (Noah Cottrell) about the possibility of magic. A lot of their mistrust and lack of faith stems from their anger with Jared, as his mental health has continuously taken precedence over their wants and needs. It’s clear this family has a lot of love for one another, but it’s all tied up in resentment that they have been bottling up. Simon has been nothing but selfless and feels like his sacrifices have gone unnoticed and unappreciated, while their sister Mallory (Mychala Lee) has felt invisible, which is why she is constantly working hard to make her family notice her greatness. The relationship between the siblings is one of the richer elements of the show. It doesn’t showcase a cheesy forced family love story but rather starts a conversation about sacrifice and touches on the impact of mental illness in a family. As the lines between reality and fantasy start to blur for Jared, his family has a heavy pushback, unwilling to accept that this isn’t just another way for him to gain attention. It’s emotionally tortuous for audiences to watch as Jared pleads for their support and sees them constantly denying it but also shares some insight into the complexities of balancing love and mistrust.
The acting of Cottrell as Simon was a particular standout for me. He was easy to get emotionally invested in. His love for Jared felt powerful but, throughout the series, we watch as he constantly shifts from love to hate, always trying to let love win. Lee starts out perfectly cold and distant as Mallory, only to begin a more honest journey with herself. Though the story heavily centered around Jared’s story, I struggled to connect with him emotionally. He felt more like a source everyone’s pulling power from and less like the center of everything. All in all, these actors’ on screen relationships worked great for the storyline and remained one of the highlights.
Bryant is strong, powerful, and one of the most polished performances as Helen Grace. She plays her role as their mother spectacularly and left me wanting to see more of her. I found myself constantly screaming at the scene for her to open her eyes to what was going on. I was frustrated with her character in all the right ways. However, I didn’t like her developing relationship withSlater’s Dr. Dorian Brauer who has no chemistry with Bryant. Their relationship felt awkward and random and out of character for Helen. I was highly disappointed with this subplot as it offered nothing substantial to the series. I also wasn’t sold on Slater’s villain storyline. If the series was intending to dip into the horror aspects, the audience has to feel that, and his character sold more as Riverdale's Hal Cooper than a scary powerful ogre.
Speaking of missing elements… where was the magic? Hear me out, the Spiderwick estate is beautiful and enchanting. It’s the perfect set location and the creatures were so realistic, but there was no wow factor. There was a lack of balance between the fantastical world and the real world. I found myself hoping to be thrown into a more enchanting world that delivered in magic and terror, which I never found. The story somehow moves too fast and too slow at the same time making it hard to immerse yourself completely in the world before just having to accept it as is.
While The Spiderwick Chronicles has the potential to revive a respected story gracefully and make it appeal to the new generation, it could use some help in its more fantastical elements. Though it wasn’t perfect, the ending of season one does set us up for a season two that could create a monster of a show.
The Spiderwick Chronicles can be found on Roku TV.
