Bridge To Terabithia

Studio: Disney

Director: Gabor Csupo

Principle Actors: Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel, Robert Patrick, Bailee Madison

DVD Release Date: June 19^th, 2007

Film Length: 95 minutes

Rating: PG

Website: http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/liveaction/bridgetoterabithia/

4 ½ Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

I must admit being somewhat crest-fallen by Disney over the years as many of the films seem overly pre-manufactured and predictable, but Bridge To Terabithia seems to have broken that mundane image etched into my brain. BOT (Bridge To Terabithia) is a well-evolved, character-driven, mature film for a young audience; it has an inspiring depth to it. Possibly, I am the only person on the earth who has not read the novel and has no reference point in that regard; which can both be an asset and a drawback (I’ll be speaking to my former elementary teachers about this disturbing development!). The film had no baggage as I was unaware of what I was adventuring into, and on that level BOT was exciting and captivating enough to make a jaded Disney watcher interested in the next plot twist.

Bridge To Terabithia is the story of young, and introverted Jesse Aarons (Hutcherson); known as ‘farm boy’ in school, he has a hard working poverty-line family riddled with four sisters. His father wants Jesse to be a ‘man’s man’ and all the boy seems interested in is drawing and running school races. Jesse has an uninspired life until the ‘new girl’ starts school. Leslie Burke (Robb) is a charming, uber-cool but loner type youth who is instantly drawn to Jesse. They are neighbours he discovers after school, and although Leslie seems to be an uncanny annoyance to Jesse wherever he turns, he can’t help but be drawn to her as well. He eventually decides to give the budding friendship a chance and the two of them find a secluded area over a creek where a swinging rope hangs that they reinvent into their own world known as Terabithia. An unparalled style of storytelling, takes this journey into typical childhood imagination and transcends into a palatable conversation about judgments, life and death, community, have and have nots, family bonds and above all, childhood friendship. Katherine Paterson, author of the thirty year classic BOT passed the torch of her novel over to David Paterson, her son to make the novel into a script. With so much understanding of the stories core, David managed to tell the story of BOT the way it was intended – fabulous CGI aside, it is a film with heart.

Gabor Csupo known more of an animation director (Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys) has shown he has impeccable skills directing flesh and bone, as the young actors (particularly Hutcherson) revealed an extensive profundity and layering to their roles. Even though Josh Hutcherson has an extensive resume for a young actor, no role previously stands out as a memorable mention, however SophiaAnna Robb is well known as the gum chewing Violet Beauregarde in Tim Burton’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Other recognizable faces would be Jesse Aarons father played by T-1000 alumni, Robert Patrick, whose career has come a long way since being the bad guy in T2. Robert Patrick reminds me of Chris Cooper, a great raw talent who will build a resume of quality performances that will eventually culminate one day in a little golden statuette; for BOT he has simply added another consistent performance.

The special effects were a delight and in the special features section Csupo expressed his desire to not create ‘cutsie Sesame Street’ fantasy world characters, too which the audience responded well. The special effects were from the same team as Lord Of The Rings and Chronicles of Narnia, so the otherworldly creatures were equally as impressive and realistic. The DVD has a few special features; you are informed at the end of the film that if you stay tuned passed the credits a few special features will be shown, which repeat from the special features section at times, but also do have one or two additional items not in the special features section. The special features does consist of commentaries by the director, writer, producer and actors. Included are two mini docs on the making of the film and a great section about the themes in BOT.One other addition is a music video for the song ‘Keep Your Eyes Wide Open,’ which is your typical Disney tie-in of film theme, lead actress singing the song and film montage – very Mickey Mouse club!

On the whole Bridge To Terabithia is a beautifully wrote, delightfully filmed and two hankie type film; your senses will be enlivened as will your imagination. Make this next weekends’ rental!