Sierra snares Spiderwick Chronicles

Children's fantasy is fertile multimedia marketing ground ever since the rise of Harry Potter, and with that series of books having recently wrapped up, book publishers, movie studios, and game makers alike are keen on recapturing the sales magic of "the boy who lived."

The latest property to have a go at the big time is The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of books being adapted for the big screen by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films. As with Potter, Lemony Snicket, and The Chronicles of Narnia, the film is also receiving a game tie-in, this time courtesy of Vivendi Games label Sierra Entertainment.

Sierra today announced that it has enlisted Stormfront Studios (developers of fantasy-book-to-film-to-game adaptations Eragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) to create the Spiderwick game for the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, DS, and PC for release alongside the film in February.

Like the film and the books, the game will follow Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace as the three siblings uncover a hidden world of fairies, goblins, and other fantasy staples when they move into the rundown Spiderwick Estate with their mother. The film will star Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Sarah Bolger (Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker), David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck, The Bourne Ultimatum), Nick Nolte (Hotel Rwanda, Blue Chips), and Martin Short (Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, Clifford). For more on the game, check out the official Web site.