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 Rating: PG
Starring: AnnaSophia Robb, Josh Hutcherson, Zooey Deschanel
Director: Gabor Csupo
It's not often that movie producers make a point of keeping their production true to the book, which is why the producers of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Hal Leiberman, Lauren Levine and David Paterson, should be congratulated for their movie adaptation of Bridge to Terabithia.
Unlike some producers who might have been tempted to dress their movie up with fancy computer-generated frills and literary liberties, this trio of producers decided to play it smart and let the author's tale of wonder and imagination carry the burden of entertaining the audience.
Anyone who has read the book will agree, to over-indulge the movie with highly colored fantasy images and special effects would only take away from the story's true beauty. Bridge to Terabithia embodies many themes within its story. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade--even if it's all inside your head.
One of the lead characters, Leslie Burke, urges us "keep your eyes closed and your mind wide open". When life throws a curve at you, something horrible and unexpected, don't build a wall and seal yourself up; build a bridge so that others may share.
In the story we learn how an unlikely friendship is forged between two ten-year-old children, Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) and Leslie Burke (Annasophia Robb). Jess is an outcast both at home and at school. Leslie is the product of her two bohemian-lifestyle parents.
Jess' family is lower middle class. His parents struggle to make ends meet. Their financial situation is precarious, so much so, that Jess must wear hand-me-downs from his two older sisters, ergo the source behind all the teasing and ridicule that he must endure at school. In spite of such socially unacceptable obstacles, Jess is determined to be the fastest runner in his fifth grade class. The only problem is, he and the rest of the fifth grade boys weren't counting on Leslie Burke.
She's not only the new weird kid at school, but she does even less to ingratiate herself by winning the "all boys" competition. Leslie's victory is a blow to Jess' ego and his initial reaction to her is to lash out and alienate himself from her. Leslie, on the other hand, isn't the least bit shaken by Jess' poor sportsman-like behavior and continues to offer her friendship to him, successfully breaking the ice by offering him a piece of gum and complimenting him on his drawings.
As time goes by, Jess warms up to Leslie's friendship, mostly by noticing that she too is a victim of the school bullies. Leslie manages to get past Jess' tough exterior and see the softer side of him. It's this side that leaves room for the imagination. In this reaching, Leslie discovers Jess' talent for drawing and Jess discovers Leslie's talent for writing and creative thinking.
Together they find an old rope hanging from a tree, and when they swing on it to cross over the stream, they discover the land known as Terabithia. This strange and wondrous land comes complete with a kingdom and an army composed of Dragon Flies sporting the latest fashion in battle armory.
Along with the kingdom and its army, out beyond the mysterious marshes, dwell the Dark Master and his evil monstrous squirrels. Other than some modernization in the dialog, such as honorable mentions of the Internet and cable television, and replacing Jacque Cousteau with Bob Ballard—the original story, written way back in the seventies, was well preserved.
Whatever special effects were used, they were there to help the audience see what Jess and Leslie saw in their minds. This left plenty of room for the rest of us to use our own imagination. No over-the-top computer-generation threatened to steal the show or the point of the story for that matter.
With as poignant a meaning that this story expresses, larger-than-life special effects would have diminished the movie's representation of it. After all, one of the major purposes of this story is to encourage one to use their imagination, simply by closing one's eyes and opening one's mind.
I loved this movie thank u so much for producing this movie. i saw this movie 5 times  this movie ws the best that i have ever seen  thanks for producing this movie i am going to see it this weekend - i can't wait! Looks like a wonderful story! Looks as good a Narnia! I can;t wait to go see this tomorrow! |
