At some point during your childhood you probably wished for different parents. Usually because your immediate genetic ancestors have Draconian ideas about bedtime and snobbish views on ice cream as a breakfast cereal, you would stare wistfully out of the window dreaming of packing a bag and fleeing to caregivers who understood that you were different.
In a weird kind of way The House with a Clock in its Walls is the story of what happens when the universe decides to give you a crack at living with those quirky parents you've always wanted.
Based on the eponymous children's book, it revolves around the adventures of Lewis Barnavelt (Oscar Vaccaro), a 10-year-old orphan sent to live with his eccentric uncle and his house-mate in 1950s America. Lewis is keen on fitting in but his uncle is allergic to the concept and so is his house.
This is where the acting comes in. As witnesses to the final product, audiences often forget to think how odd it must be for actors to stand in front of a green screen and feign horror at invisible flying books that are hell bent on blinding you.
As someone who cringes at the idea of even dancing in front of others, the thought of violently swatting your hands at air in front of an entire film crew is a horror movie in and of itself. Not so for one of the film's leads Jack Black, who plays Lewis's eccentric uncle.
"To be afraid of invisible books you have to be willing to be an idiot. You can't be afraid of humiliation," says Black.
Not long after he moves in, Lewis learns a few startling things. First off his uncle and his uncle's roommate Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) are a warlock and a witch.
Lewis also notices that the house is alive - or rather, its contents are.
As is to be expected, things go wrong when Lewis falls in with the wrong sort at school and breaks the only rule he was required to obey in order to impress a new friend.
Evil is unleashed, the fate of the world is threatened and malevolent pumpkins rise up against the good guys.
"As a parent I subscribe more to the Grimm Family tales than the more saccharine stuff. All of the best kids' stories have the scariest villains," says Blanchett.
WATCH | The movie trailer for The House with a Clock in Its Walls..