Bridge to Terabithia

'Bridge the gap between child and adulthood'

Where the Red Fern Grows, I Hear the Owl Call My Name, and even The Indian in the Cupboard were all required reading for me as a kid. I was lucky enough to have an avid reading apetite so as to pick up Bridge to Terabithia on my own dime. As my wife puts it, in a world so full of adaptations of classic literature from every genre, some books should simply remain books. This, of course, was her premise as to why she didn't want to see Bridge to Terabithia, a movie based on a book about how important imagination is to people and how it can satiate and satisfy someone who would otherwise possibly be another casualty to the system of bullying. A fairly common theme among children literature, but what is most forgotten about the book is in how the imagination can be used to join families and siblings and bond tightly together even after something as tragic as death. I remember being a little kid and bawling while reading the book in the park. I know, it sounds ideal right? Fake? But it wasn't, I had a park near my house growing up as a child and sometimes I had to get out of my yard, so hah!

Anyhow, the novel held a special place in my heart as a young middle schooler, until I got older and forgot all about the book until this movie was released. Although my wife fought tooth and nail from having to see it, democracy is a wonderful thing in that it forces you to do things sometimes that you don't want to do. Needless to say, after the film I can attest that it is a remarkable and wonderful film, but it still can't outdo the book.

The most amazing thing about this movie is perhaps the astounding performances given by the young cast. Josh Hutcherson does an excellent job as the poor farmer boy artist who lives in a house full of girls and a dad who doesn't pay him any attention. Josh earns the audience over to the point where when he believes in the world created by him and Leslie, the audience believes and begins to see the creatures as well. Also, the actress who plays Leslie, AnnaSophia Robb, is very talented and pretty cute for a young actress. Together they play off of each other and the fact that they look like middle-schoolers and they deal with lots of the same middle school B.S. makes them all the more likable. Normally child actors are notoriously hard for getting good workable performances. This film seems to be shilling them out, perhaps due to director Gabor Csupo's past experience in working with children. Don't get me wrong, the children are no young De Niros, but they will break and mend your heart.

Director Gabor Csupo has an interesting history. He has worked primarily in animation on things like the Simpsons as a writer. But perhaps his most notable and helpful preparation for this film is his work as the creator and writer of the incredibly popular Nickelodeon kid's show, Rugrats. Rugrats has always been a show about children's interactions with each other and how they use their imagination in the everyday. This plays directly into what Bridge to Terabithia needed, and Csupo delivers. He shows in great detail how a dumpy old forest with a torn down club house is turned into a magical kingdom of the imagination with diving vulture and shadowy figures. Then, he shows how this new world stems from the real world interactions of the children and the inspiration of the characters. Csupo does it so brilliantly that it reminds me of when I was a kid fighting hordes of rattlesnakes in my front yard with a sword made from the shiniest bone of an eagle, aka a stick and a pack of noodles.

Conclusion:
Director Gabor Csupo treats the source material reverently and uses everything he has learned from the past to bring out some great performances from two unknown child actors and to open the world of Terabithia up for everyone, adults and children alike. The movie is no slouch and pulls no punches on death or any of the other mature topics caught up in this coming of age story and in the part imagination plays. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the novel, no movie will ever be better than it, even if this is an excellent attempt. IF you have a child entering those awkward years of middle school, I highly recommend the book followd by the movie. It helps to straighten out some of the harder parts of the story. I would have also liked it if the movie had been longer and let us get to know the main characters and their relationship to each other better, or at least have delved more deeply into the world of Terabithia, but alas, the movie does not. However, it is still a gem for even the hardest of heart to watch and weep over.

3.95 out of 5

Wannabe