The fantasy journey of the film is entertaining for both adults and children but the story tends to drag on with only sporadic moments of action and adventure, mixed with special effects that are few and far between. Regardless, the premise of the film, bringing books to life and the consequences of such, is enough to keep one happy for the duration if their expectations are kept relatively low.

Throughout the entire film a varying amount of special effects are employed and have been done very well. From the stories there are a variety of animals, and creatures alike, that have been created. From flying monkeys to unicorns all of the animals are lifelike and wholly believable. When they are put into action the reality of their existence is never questioned by the viewer as they appear as real as the actors on screen. The only low point in the special effects is the rendering of the shadow. It appears very recognizable to what has been seen in a variety of other films and has a cartoon-like atmosphere which is unfortunate do to the realness of the other book creations and the great importance of the shadow in the storyline.

A vast majority of the characters in the film are only half written out of the books they are from, a key plot point. This leads to the creation of tattoos on their persons of the books actual words. These tattoos have been created with great care and precision and appear flawless, even when printed on their faces.