Once your age hits double digits, life can be a tough and lonely time. Almost as if by magic, once nine becomes ten, things change. The superficial but real concepts of 'cool' and 'cliques' emerge. That means that if you don't wear a certain logo and you don't do certain things, you run the risk of becoming something of an outcast. Bridge to Terabithia, which is based on the novel by Katherine Paterson, is a refreshingly honest portrayal of isolation, particularly at the preteen level.

Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is one such outcast. He's the only boy among five children. He's also the middle child to boot. And rather than jumping for joy at doing the 'manly' chores around the house, he tends to draw instead. Needless to say, his father only seems to notice what he doesn't do rather than the good that he does. And if it weren't for that attention, Jess would probably get none at all.

At school it's even worse. He's mocked for being a farm boy, bullied from all corners of the room and the adults around him won't listen to him. Jess' world is turned upside down when Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) arrives in town. She's a free-spirited tomboy with a tremendous imagination. Think a modern Punky Brewster. The pair quickly form a tight bond over a forested hideout they come to call Terabithia.

For Jess and Leslie, Terabithia is a magical kingdom that they rule over. There's flying beasts, giant trolls and trees with mossy toejam. It's also the one place where they are in control and they can balance the growing responsibilities they are encountering in the real world with the inner desire to stay a child.

Bridge to Terabithia tackles a lot of heavy issues one might not expect from a family film. Most of the time, the script simply brings the issue up and leaves it at that with the rest of the work and questioning to come from a healthy family discussion afterwards.

Running a little over 90 minutes, there were some areas I felt were rushed, especially with the addition of the fantasy sequences I don't recall being in the book. The greatest strength of the film comes from the relationships between the characters. Some, such as the bond between Jess and Leslie as well as that between Jess and his music teacher Ms. Edmonds (Zooey Deschanel) are fleshed out appropriately. However, the strained relationship between Jess and his father (Robert Patrick) is largely covered on the surface only. A scene or two would have gone a long way to make this relationship more personable and believable. There's other instances where this would have helped as well.

Even still, Bridge to Terabithia has a lot going for it. The fantasy is there, but largely restrained. I found that more of the magic in these scenes was built by Aaron Zigman's score than it was by the restrained special effects. I appreciated this because the focus of the story is on the human emotions, not the trolls and castles. It's this balance that brings Bridge to Terabithia its power as a film that both entertains and speaks to those watching it. It's a rare film that gives children an honest voice that doesn't talk down to them. Yet at the same time, there's also a solid film inside for adults to enjoy as well.

DVD Features

Bridge to Terabithia is shown in a sharp and crisp widescreen format. Audio comes in a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with optional dubs in French and Spanish. There's also a host of special features to round out this strong DVD release. To start with, there's not one but two audio commentary tracks. The first is with director Gabor Csupo, writer Jeff Stockwell and producer Hal Lieberman. The second is with stars Josh Hutchinson and AnnaSophia Robb and producer Lauren Levine. Both center largely around the making of the film and are sometimes rather quiet. "Digital Imagination: Bringing Terabithia to Life" is a six-minute behind-the scenes featurette that tackles the history of the novel and the evolution of the special effects. "Behind the Book: The Themes of Bridge to Terabithia" pays tribute to the classic novel through interviews with various cast and crew as well as educators. There's also a music video for "Keep Your Mind Wide Open" performed by AnnaSophia Robb. Finally there's previews for several Disney theatrical and DVD releases.

Buy the DVD.

©Movie Views; July 18, 2007

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