Bridge To Terabithia

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Movie

Starring

Jeff Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zoeey Deschanel, and more.

Plot

Jesse Aarons lives on a farm and is always being ridiculed by classmates because his family is so poor—in fact, his family is so poor that he’s had to wear hand-me downs from his older sisters! Because of this, he often escapes reality by drawing—and he’s quite a little artist, to boot and doesn’t have any friends.

Then along comes Leslie Burke and changes his entire world—forever. Leslie’s parents are writers and when they’re writing, they don’t have much time for “fun” but when their projects are done, they have a blast with their daughter. They moved to Jesse’s hometown in hopes of helping their creative, imaginative daughter fit in and what they got was both blessings and heartache.

Jesse and Leslie become best friends and feed off each other’s creativity. They learn to stand up to bullies, they discover what it feels like to be accepted for who they really are, and they discover the true meaning of friendship.

Review

I’ve had a little difficulty writing this review, not because the film was poorly made, but because it took me quite by surprise. I’ll admit that when it first came to theatres, I avoided it like the plague. There was no way I was watching a film about imaginary creatures that simply didn’t exist for the eye to see. And I just couldn’t fathom how the world of reality could intertwine with the world of fantasy and come out “not sounding or appearing nutty”. But then we got the DVD and let me just tell you that it was absolutely nothing like I had expected. In fact, it’s a wonderful film with just the right mix.

Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media did an excellent job of blending reality with fantasy. The children seem to understand that their afternoon playtime is just that—playtime, a way to escape the stresses of their world without losing who they are or who they want to one day become. And luckily for us the creators understand the importance of visually entertaining their audience—I couldn’t imagine watching the children swing at things that simply weren’t there. It would have made for a rather boring and somewhat unstable film.

What I appreciated most, however, about this film was the fact that the fantasy world didn’t overshadow the true story—the friendship between Leslie and Jesse. And what a wonderful friendship it was—even down to the very end when Leslie dies in a water accident. The scenes dealing with Leslie’s death were top notch and truly heart-wrenching so if you don’t handle “sad” or “death” well, this may not be a film for you. But if you feel it’s time to teach your children about death, this is a good film to do it with because the end offers “hope after death”.

And if you really pay attention to what’s going on in the film, you can actually find a few life lessons to share with your children, like:

Never let money problems rob you of your happiness. Even when financial problems try to rob you of your peace and happiness, look around you and find happiness in life’s simple pleasures: family, friends, good health, imagination, and that roof over your head.
When you work, work hard. But when quitting time comes, put work out of your mind and encapsulate your “off time” with fun, laughter, and good friends.
There will always be bullies in this world, you can let them make you miserable or you can find away to ignore them.
Good friends come in many shapes and sizes, and those you think are unlikely candidates could one day become your best friend—so don’t judge a book by its cover.
Never play alone—you just never know when tragedy might occur. (There are so many examples that can be given here: don’t swim alone, don’t walk after dark alone, never go hiking on a two mile stretch or in the mountains alone, and so on.)
Death happens and when it does, we can allow it to swallow us whole or we can give honor to the one that passed away by remembering the good times, and passing on the lessons we’ve learned from that person—so that her (or his) memory lives on forever.

Bridge to Terabithia is a wonderful film for children 10 years and older, and something I would definitely recommend owning. Heck, even my 74 year old mother-in-law loved this film!

Order Bridge to Terabithia today!