James Horner

James Horner's score for The Spiderwick Chronicles is suitably dramatic, if not particularly inspired. It seems odd that the composer who also provided the evocative score for Titanic wouldn't use the opportunity of a children's fantasy film to create at least one memorable theme, but that seems to be the case here -- unlike similar scores (John Williams' iconic music for the Harry Potter series comes to mind), there are no recurring movements on The Spiderwick Chronicles that signal or symbolize characters and plot twists. Despite its resemblance to some of Williams' more whimsical works, the score ends up feeling restrained and unable to keep up with the adventurous plot it's meant to accompany. The Spiderwick Chronicles sounds fine, but there isn't much heart in it. ~ Katherine Fulton, All Music Guide