Bridge to Terabithia (Widescreen)

 

 

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I remember reading Katherine Paterson's book to my youngest - her brother was way too old and sophisticated for "that sort of thing" (but I suspect he listened in!) Years later, I reread it just for me, and have since passed it along to my grandchildren. There are so many really good messages in there - without being preachy or talking down to children (of any age!)

When I heard that the story was being made into a movie, I wondered what they would do with it and was a bit concerned that the heart of this tender tale would not be well served by Hollywood. Well, I needn't have worried - director Gabor Csupo did a skillful job of driving this one and keeping it faithfully on the road from start to finish. I confess I had not heard of most of the young actors but that turned out to be a definite advantage - for me, they really did become the characters they were portraying. Here is a kid who doesn't fit in at school and, as the only son (with four sisters) at home, doesn't seem to feel any real connection with his father either. Not a happy time of this little guy's life! Then he meets and makes a new friend (Lesley) - and it's magic. I won't ruin the story for anyone here - I really hate that! However, I will say that, together, they find Terabithia and, at the same time, learn to live in and understand more about their real world. (That bullies have often been bullied.....)

There's no getting around this - there is a very sad part of the story and some people may worry about their children being upset. The movie deals with the "bad stuff" realistically but doesn't dwell on it. When reading the book and it came to "that part", my daughter (who has the tenderest heart in the world) was less upset by it than I was!

Some young neighbours have told me that this is their favourite movie EVER - even beating Harry Potter (high praise indeed!). I have to say that it is one of my favourites too - for children or otherwise.

When I was a kid, I wanted the world to work that way. I wanted the trees to talk back, war with imaginary villains, and fly with the birds. I really felt it and so did the main characters of the story.

Josh Hutcherson, who is no stranger to acting already, starring in 15 plus films plays quiet and artistic Jesse Aarons who usually finds himself the [...] of jokes by the loud and obnoxious fellow students at his public school. Hutcherson is terrific and such an amazing lead actor in this film. I think kids will love watching him and really relate to his situation and really respect him and follow him. I hope he continued to get some really great roles. Also really terrific is AnnaSophia Robb who plays unique dreamer Leslie Burke who befriends Jesse and together they have incredible adventures together and form a lasting friendship. AnnaSophia is such a sweetheart and really does bring Leslie to life as this carefree, deep thinking, happy, spirited little girl. She really is the perfect Disney girl and probably has a promising career as such ahead of her. Also terrific is 8 year old Bailee Madison who plays the irrepressible and adorable May Belle Aarons who is really heading towards the same fate that Jesse finds himself in, in the real world. Jesse takes her under his wing and shows her the magic world that him and Leslie have created. Robert Patrick is also just terrific as the Aarons' father, Jesse Sr. Patrick's character is not a bad guy at all!! In fact he is desperately trying to provide for his family, and has simply been worn by the world around him. He wants his children to be raised to be strong providers especially his only son. The supporting cast is also terrific with key performances by Zooey Deschanel, Lauren Clinton, and Cameron Wakefield.

The movie bounced back and fourth between the friend's school life and their imaginary world. The two loved each other more than anyone could love and didn't even show it with a kiss. This movie should of been longer. 90 minutes seems to be the typical time for a movie but this one probably needed 15 minutes more. I wanted to see more of their world as it showed just a fair amount in my opinion (kind of like how Pan's Labyrith was - great film by the way). Movies are marketed different now a days and some viewers may be disappointed. I saw this movie more as drama than an adventure.

I never read the book but I'm hearing Disney kept it very similar to it. I like that a lot as I hear "Eragon" wasn't even close. This isn't a better fantasy film I've seen in years, I just wish they had more but still a movie to see with the kids.

I never had the opportunity to read Katherine Paterson's Newberry Award winning children's book "Bridge to Terabithia" because I was in college by the time it was published, and for some reason that is completely lost in the mists of the past I actually had in my mind that it was a story about the Holocaust, or at least set in Eastern Europe. But if I have had the wrong idea about the story for the past several decades the trailers that were put out for this film version only served to supplant my original erronous idea with a different ones. The trailers made me think that I was going to watch something akin to "The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," but of course now that I have seen this 2007 film the obvious point of reference is "Pan's Labyrinth". Obviously I am not the only one to notice the quantum gap between what we saw in the trailer and what we got in the film, but I have seen my fair share of stupid ad campaigns for pretty good movies and in the final analysis that is what this film is, so forget the stupid trailers.

"Bridge to Terabithia" is not a special effects movie but a movie about a special friendship. Jesse Arons (Josh Hutcherson, "Zathura") is taunted, teased, and bullied at school and takes refuge in his drawing, but his family is oblivious to his artistic talents. Then Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb, "Because of Winn-Dixie") walks into his life as the new girl in class. As extroverted as Jess is introverted, Leslie turns out to be a kindred spirit whose talent is for writing. At first Jess treats her as horribly as everybody else as the new girl assumes the spot at the bottom of the school's pecking order. But they have too much in common and they become friends, doing everything together, including exploring the woods and finding the special place she named Terabithia where parents and chores, bullies and kid sisters, can be left behind.

There is no need to say more because you deserve to discover how this one plays out for yourself. The cast features Robert Patrick as Jesse's overworked father and Zooey Deschanel as the kid's music teacher, Ms. Edmonds, but this film favors the kids over the adults while making it clear they live in the real world, even with the wonders of Terabithia. I especially like the way the plotline regarding the schoolyard bully, Janice Avery (Lauren Clinton), plays out, even more than what Josh and Leslie come up with for Gary Fulcher (Elliot Lawless) and Scott Hoager (Cameron Wakefield) in Terabithia. My understanding is that the screenplay by David L. Paterson and Jeff Stockwell is quite faithful to the book, although obviously those who have read it would know far better than me. But at least now I know what the book is about and why it is one of the most beloved children's books of the last thirty years.

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5.0 out of 5 stars It all depends.......on you.
I've been reading the reviews posted here & I can agree with pretty much all of them. There isn't much fantasy in the movie like it portrays on the cover & maybe the actors aren't... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Cherry

1.0 out of 5 stars Warning!!! Not for children!
I was extremly disapointed by this movie. Does Disney really need to kill off a child main caracter? It was pointless. Read more

Published on Dec 2 2009 by Marie-CLaude Piguet

3.0 out of 5 stars Movie does not know what it wants to be
Basic story of outcast sixth graders bonding, learning and teaching what life is about. The Disney's and Director: Gabor Csupo's version is trying to be more than the book and... Read more

Published on April 19 2008 by bernie

3.0 out of 5 stars less of the fantasy element than i'd hoped for(and not really a movie for young kids ) 2.5/5
i was disappointed in this movie.it thought there would be more of a
fantasy element to it,but that was just a very small part of the
movie. Read more

Published on Nov 25 2007 by falcon

3.0 out of 5 stars Tepid tale of childhood friends
Ten-year old Jess, bullied at school and ignored at home, meets new girl Leslie, who's also looked upon as a weirdo and outsider. Read more

Published on Sep 6 2007 by Kona

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Like the previews
Definately not like the previews. Not much in the way of fantasy characters. More of a story with a moral than a fantasy movie.

Published on Aug 26 2007 by T. Ridler

3.0 out of 5 stars Well....... Its ok but...... the trailers! They looked cooler
Ok. I know it's a touching story about death and bullying. It was a good movie on that part. BUT... the previews made it look soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much... Read more

Published on Aug 18 2007 by Luke Dickey

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't judge a DVD by it's cover!
If you haven't read the book, this review is intended for you.

Good story in it's own right. Read more

Published on Aug 12 2007 by erayna

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