I too my 7 and 10 yr olds to see this as they'd read the books and really enjoyed them. They both thought the movie really strayed from the book and wasn't all that great. Before we went and I saw who was directing it, I wasn't impressed. He did several of the Harry Potter movies; showing the constant cheesy close up smiles and no depth in the characters. I wasn't disappointed in my thoughts. It was exactly the same as the Harry Potter movies he did. I'm hoping with the next few books (if they make movies of them) they change directors.