Review: Bridge to Teraabithia

Adapting a beloved book can be tentative filmmaking ground. On the plus side, you guarantee yourself an audience of the book’s devotees, but on the flip side you run the risk of offending those same fans with a less than faithful adaptation or a film that falls short in their eyes. If you alienate those fans the film can be panned critically and bomb before it even hits theaters. Such was the challenge laid at the feet of the makers of Bridge to Terabithia. The story follows young Jesse (Josh Hutcherson) as he struggles through the difficulties of growing up and fitting in. Solitary and picked on, Jesse befriends the new girl Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) and in her friendship finds himself. The two create a magical kingdom, which they call Terabithia, in the woods near their house. It becomes a land of imagination where they can escape the pressures of growing up. When tragedy strikes, Jesse’s newfound strength will be put to the ultimate test. Adapted from the book written by Katherine Peterson in, Bridge to Terabithia is a children’s story that deals with issues no less weighty than, friendship, forgiveness, and acceptance of death. The cast is young and refreshing, and AnnaSophia Robb is sure to be a huge star in coming years. I saw this movie with my young cousin Abby who was a fan of the book, and who said that the film was a faithful adaptation. Score one in the positive column for director Gabor Csupo. Csupo takes his skill in producing children’s animation and live action television and film (Rugrats, The Wild Thornberry’s), and applies it to making Bridge to Terabithia a film that talks to kids and teens instead of talking down to them. It’s creative, sensitive, and still delivers the messages of friendship and loss all in one even stroke. As a tribute to the book, and as a standalone film, Bridge to Terabithia is a great movie for you and your favorite kid.