Bridge to Terabithia Connects with Audience Posted by: Joe Tracy, Publisher

You’ve seen the trailer for Bridge to Terabithia, which shows children in a fantasyland filled with unique creatures, a castle, and beautiful wonders. You might think that, like Narnia or Lord of the Rings, this is a movie that takes place in a land of wonder. Think again. What you see in the trailer is about all you get in Bridge to Terabithia. Yet that’s what makes the film work – just the right amount of visual effects with the rest of the focus being on two children who feel out of place, but together create a world that they can rule over… a world of magic that only exists figuratively and never literally. Bridge to Terabithia is a story about imagination and how the imagination of children helps them deal with problems in a manner long discarded by adults.

Bridge to Terabithia tells the story of an 11-year old boy, Jess (Josh Hutcherson), and his newfound neighbor friend Leslie (Annasophia Robb). An older girl bullies both at school and to escape the pressures of school and home, they create an imaginary world where they rule. The movie spends little time focusing on the fantasy world, but a lot of time developing the characters and the story. Every once in awhile we get glimpses of this world, much in the same way we view the fantasy world in the movie Finding Neverland.

Every day, after school, Jess and Leslie enter the fantasy world of Terabithia by swinging on rope across a river. In “Terabithia”, their real life retreats and the realities of this new world dominate their existence, even though creatures and situations they create resemble their reality. In a way, both worlds transcend a little bit into each other.

Terabithia was created by Walden Media and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. However, the film isn’t your typical Walden Media / Walt Disney Pictures production. Bridge to Terabithia does not have a happy ending and some kids (or even adults) may struggle a bit with a death that takes place in the movie, even though that death isn’t shown on screen.

Bridge to Terabithia is based on a novel written by Katherine Paterson in 1977. It took her a year to write the novel, which was inspired by the death of her son’s best friend, Lisa Hill, who was struck by lightning and killed, creating an instant gap in her son’s life.

What makes Bridge to Terabithia a good movie is the strong focus on the story and characters. The way the movie tells its story is in the same style as Finding Neverland and that’s a compliment. Bridge to Terabithia is a movie worth viewing and you don’t even have to suspend reality to watch it. Like with children, all you have to do is “keep your mind open.”

Bridge to Terabithia is rated PG “for thematic elements including bullying, some peril and mild language.”