Bridge to Terabithia – Review

Reviews

Credit: www.impawards.com

Director:

Gabor Csupo

Cast:

Josh Hutcherson .Jesse Aarons
AnnaSophia Robb .Leslie Burke
Bailee Madison .May Belle Aarons
Robert Patrick .Jack Aarons
Zooey Deschanel .Ms. Edmonds

Walt Disney Pictures presents Bridge to Terabithia. Written by Jeff Stockwell and David Patterson. Based on the book by Katherine Paterson. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated PG (for thematic elements including bullying, some peril and mild language).

They say the mind is too important a tool to waste. So is creativity. Imagination makes the unbelievable believable. Imagination gives us a world full of color, of sights and sounds. Even greater is how books can fuel our imaginations. Find a good one and you will be immersed in the story. Whether it is taking a journey to the center of the Earth or unraveling a mystery alongside your favorite detective or P.I., the possibilities are endless of what you might discover.

Bridge to Terabithia is such a story. Written by Katherine Paterson, and published in 1977, the story is about the imaginary worlds we create in our minds. More precisely, the world envisioned by two children. Jesse (Josh Hutcherson) is a 10-year-old boy, living in a household where his parents strive to make ends meet. A house where the women outnumber the men. If that weren’t bad enough, he has to contend with bullies at school and on the bus. Jesse’s only way of escaping the doldrums of real life is through drawing. Drawing frees his mind, giving him the outlet to conjure up mythical creatures.

Whereas Jesse’s strength is drawing, Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) has a knack for the written word. She’s the new girl in school. The two meet inauspiciously. Jesse considers himself to be pretty fast. But on the day of the school race, his favorite pair of sneakers is thrown out and he has to wear a pair of pink hand-me-downs from an older sister. Besides being chastised, he loses the race. To a girl. The only girl in the race. Hello Jesse, meet Leslie.

Upset at having lost the race to a tomboy, he gives her the cold shoulder. It isn’t until he hears her short story on scuba diving a story that is head-and-shoulders above the rest of the English class that Jesse begins to warm up to her. He enjoyed it immensely. So much so, after class he asks her about her adventures scuba diving, because he’s never been.

Neither has she.

From then on, they were inseparable. As an only child, the daughter of successful fiction writers, Leslie has a lot of free time. Living in the house next to Jesse, the two would run from the school bus after school, into the woods where their indistinguishable imaginations could run rampant. It is in these woods, past the rippling creek, that they enter the imaginary world known as Terabithia. Who needs Playstation when a dilapidated tree house can act as your castle, and you yourself can rule over the land?

As king and queen, they live out their fantasies. Like battling squirrels so monstrous you’d think they found Barry Bonds’ secret stash. Trees uproot themselves and come to life, much to the chagrin of dragonfly warriors.

With such imagination you’d think this film would be a fantasy to rival The Chronicles of Narnia. The only commonality is that both are co-productions of Walt Disney and Walden Media. Deceptive advertising on the part of the studio that Mickey Mouse built has categorized this film as nothing more than a Narnia knock-off. The ads overplay the enchanted word of Terabithia, emphasizing the extravagant special effects. Yet, the make-believe creation is not fully realized until the last few minutes of the third act.

Notwithstanding this trickery, Terabithia makes for a good matinee attraction. The child stars are the heart and soul of the picture. Josh Hutcherson is no stranger when it comes to make-believe, having had an out of this world experience in Zathura. As Jesse, he’s at that awkward stage where your father expects you to man up. Put the drawings away and do chores. Be a workingman. Then there’s AnnaSophia Robb (best remembered as Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie) and her Leslie character. This outsider with the crystal blue gaze and tomboyish appearance is not one to hang out with the cool girls. Nah, she’d much rather hang out with Jesse, a boy without cooties, while her Barbies collect dust.

Because with pure imagination, everything else is child’s play.

FINAL RATING (ON A SCALE OF 1-5 BUCKETS):

Travis Leamons is one of the Inside Pulse Originals and currently holds the position of Managing Editor at Inside Pulse Movies. He's told that the position is his until he's dead or if "The Boss" can find somebody better. I expect the best and I give the best. Here's the beer. Here's the entertainment. Now have fun. That's an order!