Bridge to Terabithia

Reviewed by Alicia Glass
March 28, 2007

Director: Gabor Csupo Studio: Walt Disney Pictures MPAA: PG Website: Click Here Review Rating: 8 out of 10

The difficult life of Jesse Aarons is changed forever when he forms a friendship with the spirited new girl, Leslie Burke, and together they have grand adventures in their invented magical land of Terabithia.

The way Disney advertised this movie, with trailers in a very similar style to “The Chronicles of Narnia”, is unfortunately rather misleading. There are indeed many vast and grand scenes with fabulous creatures and stunning CG effects, but that is not the whole of the movie by far. Bridge to Terabithia is rather a touching story of adolescent loneliness, freedom in a child’s imagination, and how a single person can change your life forever.

Jesse Aarons’ family is poor, there’s just no way around it. And Jesse himself, as the only son, is supposed to be helping his father with house chores and remaining upright and firm in the face of adversity, not with his head in the clouds about childish fantasies. But his flights of fancy, both real and imagined, are something we all can appreciate, adults and children alike. Then along comes the new girl, Leslie, who seems to exist only in those forbidden clouds to Jesse. They form something of a strange friendship after Leslie beats Jesse in the footrace that Jesse had spent some time training for, much to the disapproval of Jesse’s father. And out in the back woods of Jesse’s farmland home, the magical and dangerous land of Terabithia is born, with Jesse and Leslie as King and Queen.

Rather than spoiling how the movie ends, I’ll simply say this is a wonderful movie and can be enjoyed by everyone everywhere. Big budgets, special effects, and all that kind of mummery are never necessary in a child’s imagination, and Bridge to Terabithia soundly proves that.

Let your imagination run free!