Bridge to Terabithia

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The best surprise of the year so far, this entrancing, heartbreaking family film is a rare movie I would recommend without reservation to almost anyone. (Well, okay, anyone over the age of 8 or 9).

Sure, the target audience is probably that tricky 10-to-12-year-old demographic who think they want to see Spider-Man. But let's assume you're over that, but not so grown up you've forgotten what childhood is like. You owe it to yourself to drag them to Bridge to Terabithia instead. Tell 'em the other thing's sold out!

Josh Hutcherson (Zathura) is Jesse, the only boy among five siblings in a not-so-well-off family out in the country someplace. Jesse is a good kid but he hasn't really emerged from his shell yet. He likes to draw and he likes to run - which makes it a bitter pill when the new girl in his class sprints past him in the big race. Leslie (The Reaping's AnnaSophia Robb) is quick on her feet, smart, independent, and an instant target for the school bully. She also turns out to be Jesse's next-door neighbour.

They become fast friends, intrepid explorers of the distant lands in the woodlands over the creek - a magical place they christen 'Terabithia', and over which they assume sovereignty.

In most children's movies this would be the cue for an escapist adventure in CGI-land (Narnia is an obvious example). In this one, director Gabor Csupo pulls off a neat balancing act, indicating clearly how Terabithia comes to life for these imaginative kids, but also keeping us grounded in the reality that surrounds them.

Csupo has spent most of his career writing and producing Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys at Nickelodeon, but it turns out he's a first-rate director, eliciting sensitive performances across the board and digging out the emotional cross-currents that gives this story a real complexity. We may not warm to Robert Patrick as Jesse's strict dad, for instance, but we can absolutely understand why he reacts as he does and know that he loves his son very deeply in his way.

Zooey Deschanel - an actress who seems incapable of being boring - is good casting for the music teacher, Ms Edmonds, who recognises Jesse's artistic talent.

Unexpectedly (at least it's unexpected if, like me, you haven't read Katherine Paterson's 1977 novel) the movie detours to take a potshot at joyless religiosity - a brave touch for any American movie these days, even if it does come out of leftfield. But without giving away too much, the film dares venture much farther than that, traversing challenging emotional realms with assurance and even wisdom. (Comparisons with Pan's Labyrinth are inevitable, and not necessarily to the American film's disadvantage.)

The screenplay, incidentally, is co-written by Jeff Stockwell and one David Paterson, Katherine Paterson's son, and the role model for Jesse in the book.

Tom Charity
tom.charity@lovefilm.com

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Critics' Reviews

Rating of 4
stars out of 5 Derek Adams, Time Out

Stateside rural fifth-formers Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) and Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) look a little too old to... read more on www.timeout.com

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Suspend your disbelief

Billy from Edinburgh, Scotland , 17/05/2007

Hands Up Please for all those of you who think that Bridge to Terabithia is a fantasy graphic adventure set in a fairy-tale land stumbled upon by two children with vivid imaginations.

Almost all of you, I thought so. That’s what Disney wanted you to think, you see; that’s the way they marketed it. Don’t worry, I fell for it too. I was ready for interesting fantasy characters and great world-changing battles. Didn’t happen though, did it?

But that’s just Disney playing at being multinational conglomerates and trying to rip the money from people’s pockets any which way they can, we can’t blame them for that, can we? Luckily their hoodwink tactics have no bearing on the writing and the production of this movie; and even those of us who have been duped into the big comfy armchairs with our large salted popcorn and large sugar water get to enjoy a good two hours of old-fashioned family entertainment, complete with a message from the heart and an overwhelming sense of spirit.

This entire film gives you the feel of an eighties Disney movie: family relationships, fantastical happenings, emotional awakenings - you know the stuff, the same feeling you used to get from watching the Littlest Hobo or for some, Highway to Heaven. This is no big surprise as the story comes from a 1977 book of the same name. A lot of people knew this before they entered the theatre and therefore knew what to expect. Silly me.

The book follows the same plot as our film, which takes place in the real world and concerns the newborn friendship between Jess and Leslie. Jess is an artist and Leslie is a story-teller, so when they start to get along it blossoms into a flurry of imaginative activity very quickly and they are soon off fighting the Dark Lord in their magic kingdom. This kingdom is not like Oz or Narnia however, but consists merely of some scary looking trees, a few rogue squirrels, some evil crows and a tree house. The use of imagination is strongly suggested by our characters and the computer visuals are kept limited by the production team, making it firmly understood that what we are dealing with here are real people and real situations. This is vital to the plot as Jess and Leslie use their time and experience in their fantasy world to good effect when they are faced with similarly difficult situations at school and at home. Through the confidence and trust they are building with each other they start to overcome all of their other demons.

You may by now be thinking to yourself, ‘Well, that’s a bit tame isn’t it?’ and sure enough this is not your frills, spills, superfluous sells, kind of affair; but just wait for the kicker at the end of the story. Watch the children’s burgeoning relationship flourish with unexpected enthusiasm and joy; marvel at the wonder and contentment of a partnership that knows freedom and expression which gives birth to happiness; then watch what happens next and tell me that you’re not more affected than all of the other Harry wizards, Spider heroes garbage. Tell me then what kind of stories we should be giving our children.

After the initial disappointment of Bridge to Terabithia not being what I thought it was going to be, it showed itself to be a very thoughtful, intelligent, incisive movie which used it’s best talents to best effect to realise the vision appropriate for the style of plot and themes. The acting was excellent by both young leads, helping you to believe in the magic of the imagination. The situations were realistically drawn in the real world and wonderfully realised in Terabithia. The feeling of the themes hit home bang on target, affecting me in the cinema and staying with me afterwards. Beside Lady in the Water this stands out as the best story-telling fantasy in recent years.

Take your kids to see it and then talk to them about it afterwards.

74 out of 81 people found this review helpful

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This film is not what it appears to be.

A customer from UK , 06/06/2007

When I took my children to see this movie I expected it to be a fantasy film similar to that of Narnia or Harry Potter. However as the movie progressed I discovered that it was something altogether different. The movie was more of a testament to the trials and tribulations of childhood and broached such topics as bullying, bereavement and the relationships between parent and child. There were some fantasy elements to the movie but these were presented as an audience eye view into the imagination of the two main characters. In some respects this was a very clever movie because it was able to present the subject matter in such a way as to be accessible to a younger audeince, even my four year old sat still throughout the film. I highly recommend this movie but I also recommend that you veiw it without expectation to gain full appreciation.

26 out of 26 people found this review helpful

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Highly recommended

A customer from Solihull, West Midlands , 08/05/2007

I took my 11 year old daughter to see this film thinking it would be the usual half term family fayre but was more than pleasantly surprised. It was much better than anticipated and grabbed my attention right from the start. Thankfully the film was not taken over too much by computer wizardry but left to the excellent performances of the 2 lead characters played by Josh Hutcherson (RV) and Anna Sophia Robb (Because of Winn Dixie) making it a more believable and convincing story. It was a story of imagination and friendship and dealt with the sensitive issue of bullying with a humorous touch. There was a jaw dropping twist towards the end which literally made me gasp. It was a film that left me and my daughter thinking about it long after we had gone home.

Bridge to Terabithia

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