Movie Review: Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia

I'm going to tell you up front that I've not read the book upon which this movie is based, so I can't vouch for any resemblance either good or bad to the original source. What I can tell you is that I thought the trailers looked interesting, and the involvement of those who put the wonderful Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe together was a real bonus. The fact that the film stars Josh Hutcherson who was so good in the underrated Zathura was only icing on the cake as far as I was concerned.

The story begins with a running boy. Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is one of five children and the only boy in a struggling farm family. It's early morning, and he escapes both his sisters and his chores by running in preparation for a school race. When he finally trots back to his ramshackle house, we see just how poor the family is when Jesse stops outside the door to take off his shoes and remove the duct tape holding them together.

Jesse's mother Nancy (Kate Butler) is consumed with money worries; his father Jack (Robert Patrick) works at the town hardware store in addition to his never-ending responsibilities on the farm. Despite the hardship, it's clear that the children are loved. None of that helps, however, when Jesse has to wear a pair of his sister's hand-me-down shoes to school. Even pink striped tennis shoes, though, can't make Jesse lose focus on the race. With his little sister May Belle (Bailee Madison) nearby to cheer him on, Jesse gets ready to run.

Jesse steps up to the starting line and ignores the harassment he gets from a couple of bullies in his class. What none of the boys can ignore, though, is the fact that a single girl has joined the group. Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) has just moved to the rural community, and she's trying desperately to fit in. Why she thinks racing with the boys will do her any good makes no sense whatsoever, though, until the boys actually see her run.

Jesse's none too pleased to be beaten by a girl, but he keeps it to himself since the bullies are left in Leslie's dust as well. But it's almost more than he can bear when Leslie keeps trying to talk with him, and then actually has the nerve to get off the school bus at his driveway. It turns out that Leslie's family lives in a house just to the other side of the travel road.

Over time, Jesse and Leslie discover they have some things besides proximity in common. They're both creative —— she writes, and he draws —— and they're both regularly put down by bullies for being different. Jesse's nemesis is a particularly vicious boy called Hoager (Cameron Wakefield); Leslie's greatest fears are focused on a big eighth grade girl named Janice (Lauren Clinton) who, among other things, refuses to let other girls use the bathroom unless they pay her a toll.

Gradually, Jesse and Leslie become friendly enough to spend some time together after school. And slowly, their friendship builds right alongside their fantasy of a world in which they're in charge. Together, they name this place Terabithia, a land which becomes more real with every passing day. But however wonderful or terrifying Terabithia may be, the real world all too often intrudes with wonders and terrors all its own.

Josh Hutcherson is quite good and perfectly believable as a boy who is really just trying to survive to adulthood. His efforts to restrain his emotions and behave responsibly at various times in the movie are evident on his face and in his mannerisms, something that many adult actors haven't mastered to such a degree. AnnaSophia Robb is a revelation. She's simply a delight to watch as she displays such joy in life, from the meanest of things or creatures to the most awesome. I was also much struck by the chemistry between the two actors, and wasn't the least surprised to learn that they're best friends in real life.

The supporting cast is quite good. Robert Patrick manages to radiate a weariness at the same time he tries to give his children what attention he can; Zooey Deschanel (who plays the school music teacher, Ms. Edwards) is a natural. Particular kudos go to the youngest cast member, Bailee Madison. She's almost perky enough to be annoying, but she's got just enough of the devil in her to mitigate that quite nicely. And whether she's crying or being smart, she's utterly real. Good for her!

The special effects are just fine, and the rural setting perfect. The sets and the costumes were also excellent and lent complete reality to the scenes of hardscrabble farming or forest playtime. The direction is good, and the edits even better. In fact, the edits play a role all their own when Terabithia flashes into and out of existence. If it were timed badly, it wouldn't work. They're not, and it does.

Bridge to Terabithia is, of course, aimed at younger audiences. But I'll tell you now that I smiled and yes, even got teary-eyed on a couple of occasions. The moral lessons are a little too overt at times for most adults, but they're not so preachy that you can't tolerate them. And the rest of the movie is worth that small sacrifice and then some. I wasn't sure I'd like this movie, but took a gamble based on the idea I'd at least see some cool effects. I did, but you know what? The movie was pretty cool all by itself.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Bridge to Terabithia is rated PG for "thematic elements including bullying, some peril, and mild language." I don't believe this movie is suited to very young children. It's more complex than you might think it is at the outset, and there are, indeed, some themes I wouldn't recommend for the average kindergartner. For those kids from about 8 to 12, though, Bridge to Terabithia is a good bet. And if you're an adult who remembers what it was like to be 12 and unpopular or afraid —— and who doesn't? —— there's much that will prove meaningful to you as well.