Bridge to Terabithia
Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Robert Patrick; Directed by Gabor Csupo
When lonely Jesse Aarons meets Leslie Burke, an odd girl with a brilliant flair for imagination, both their lives suddenly take a turn for the better. Desperate to escape a world full of school bullies, family hardship, and a certain level of neglect, the friends decide to create an imaginary kingdom for themselves. Jesse is able to finally put his drawing skills to some use, and Leslie teaches him to keep an open mind. After doing battle with trolls, psychotic squirrels, and other dark creatures of the forest, the duo find themselves faring the trials of everyday life much better with their newfound self-confidence and strength. But when an unexpected and devastating turn of events shatters Jesse's world, and the magic of Terabithia threatens to fade, he must find a way to hold onto the power of his own imagination, or succumb to the despair that has been looming over him all along.
Bridge to Terabithia is based on the novel by Katherine Paterson, a classic that has long stood as one of my personal favorites. The book had a remarkable down-to-earth charm, never steering towards lofty idealism or smugness. The deep bond that gradually forms between Jesse and Leslie was one of profound mutual respect, and the reader was always swept up into the excitement of the creation of Terabithia.
What kid hasn’t longed for the adventure of a fantastic and mysterious place to explore? I, like Jesse and Leslie, was one of those kids who never quite learned to get her head out of the clouds. I was always looking for a secluded patch of trees or a clump of bushes in the backyard to disappear into, looking to read or write my own little stories without a trace of modern life in sight. I was one those kids who tried to push through the back of my closet, hoping to escape the monotony and bleakness of suburbia and find myself in a different world full of strange beings and unusual people. So this book, as you can see, really spoke to me. The movie does manage to retain some of the charm, and a lot of the magic.
The previews were deviously deceptive in that it was almost marketed as a Narnia-like fantasy, but the CGI really only dominated the film for a total of about ten or fifteen minutes. This was a pleasant surprise, because I had been steeling myself for the promise of disappointment that the CGI-overkilled preview had brought. The tone itself does dance on the cheesy-corny line (and does actually cross it a few times), and the overall mood of the second half of the film was a great deal lighter than it ought to have been. I understand that children were the main target for this Disney-produced film, but lack of enough darkness and sorrow underplayed the tragedy that occurs. That was disappointing. The performances were good enough. AnnaSophia Robb plays the part of free-wheeling independent spirit very well, and a lot of what was right about the film was really because of her performance. Robert Patrick is solid yet again in another brittle but vulnerable (deep, deep down) father role. Josh Hutcherson as Jesse Aarons was okay, but he often tended to lapse into a dead-pan blank wall stare that caused me to lose interest in his character periodically. The script itself (co-written by Katherine Paterson’s son) did occasionally suffer from stilted dialogue, mostly in the part of the stereotypical school bullies.
Overall, Bridge to Terabithia proves to be a sufficient adaptation. It is not a great work, but it is not a total waste either. Fans of the book will definitely want to check the movie out to make their own opinion. The film is very touching, and did manage to wring out a few tears from my eyes near the end. Of all the dumbed-down kiddie flicks that are being released (does the word Underdog just make you cringe?), Bridge to Terabithia definitely stands tall among its competition, and has a powerful tell to tale on top of it all. This important story, whether book or film, is definitely one to share with younger friends and relatives.
Grading:
Story = A
Originality = A-
DVD Features = N/A
Acting = B+
Enjoyability = B+
Visuals = A
Overall = B+
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