Anyone who puts this film down has forgotten the feelings and emotions they had as a kid and doesn’t have kids of their own or do but have never paid attention to their feelings and emotions. Ah, it’s a sweeping statement, but why anyone wouldn’t be taken by this film is otherwise beyond me: at 101 minutes, it’s a startlingly faithful adaptation of a book that, adapted literally, would likely run shorter than the ad breaks during an episode of The Simpsons.

People who say it’s boring have probably watched too much Jackass for their own good, as the film is paced perfectly for each scene’s mood and there’s not a scene that could be cut without detriment to the story. Anyone who says it’s scary for kids listens to too much negative Hollywood hype. (My five-year-old loved it.)

If you watch it with an open heart, you cannot fail to be enchanted. Genius.

—Chris Noble, 07 November 2009