Bridge To Terabithia DVD Review
Posted by Scotty Flamingo on 06.29.2007
One time that I’m glad to be wrong…
Bridge To Terabithia is one of the most beloved children’s books of all time. I read it in elementary school and loved it. The film version seemed to come out with very little buzz. Being on the 411 Movies staff, I keep up with what is in development, but I hadn’t heard anything about a film adaptation until I saw the trailer. It was awful, I didn’t even know what the trailer was for, and it just looked like a Narnia rip-off. Then the girl in the trailer announced the magical kingdom as Terabithia and my heart sank. I remembered the book as being a character driven story of friendship and apparently Disney had stripped it down to a generic fantasy story.
Here’s what I said during a 411 Movie Roundtable:
“Scotty Flamingo: This is horsecrap. The book is a great coming of age tale of coming to terms with childhood troubles. Terabithia the magical kingdom is a very small part of the book. It mainly focuses on the kid's struggles at school and home. But of course, since Narnia made money, they just decided to go for the quick cash grab.”
Whew! As Rick James would say, that was coooooold blooded. But that should illustrate just how aggravated I was from the first impression. Well, I am pleased to say that I was completely off. Well, almost. I believe that the marketing of this movie deserves the venom I spewed back in February. I think the advertising campaign is one of the most misguided in recent memory and I believe a lot of people missed out on a great family movie because of it.
The Plot
Jess is a boy in a small town who is a little too smart and creative for his humble struggling farming family. He loves to draw, but he keeps mostly to himself. He has no friends and his feeble attempt to fit in is to become the fastest runner in his class. Unfortunately, his plan is thwarted on the first day of school when he is beaten by the new girl in his class, Leslie that also happens to live next door.
What starts out as resentment eventually turns to friendship as Jess discovers that he has a lot more in common with Leslie than anyone else at school. They are both outsiders. They are both creative. Yet they are different, Leslie’s parents are writers who are well off while Jess’s family can’t even afford to get him a decent pair of running shoes.
Leslie and Jess go exploring in the forest and find a rope swing over a creek. Once they cross the river, Leslie introduces Jess to a whole new world of using your imagination and opening your mind. Their imaginary land, Terabithia, is their escape from the daily rigors of bullies, teachers, and money problems.
All of this is woven in perfectly with several rich, well rounded characters and storylines. This film is simplistic, yet detailed. Jess deals with his sisters, teachers, and a crush on his music teacher and begins to blossom as his friendship with Leslie brings him out of his shell. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but let’s just say if you haven’t read the book, it will be something you definitely don’t expect and will bring the film a higher level of poignancy.
The Rest
I can’t stress how great this movie is. My concerns about the overuse of Terabithia were vanished quickly. It takes over half an hour to get to the first scrap of CGI. Terabithia is used properly here, as an escape for the two children, but it doesn’t overshadow the true story. In the brief scenes that are fueled by special effects, they are top notch. WETA does its usual great work in creating creatures that reflect what the kids are imagining. The monsters that Jess and Leslie battle are representative of the bullies they have to deal with in reality. In fact, the creatures are modeled after the actors that play them.
All of the acting is top notch. Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb are great as the leads and don’t fall into the trappings of being overly precocious or cute. Robert Patrick plays Jess’s father and does a good job of playing a father who has failings, but ultimately is a good father. He’s certainly much warmer than he was in Walk The Line.
What I also have to point out is how well rounded the characters are. Most of the characters have sides that you wouldn’t expect. The stern teacher turns out to be an understanding friend. The bully Janice has a different side to her. The only weakness I can see in this department are the two boys that bully Jess. They are pretty stereotypical bullies, but then there are people in real life that are just jerks too.
The Specs
The film is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and is in Widescreen (1:85:1) ratio.
The Extras
I usually rag on Disney for their poor extras on what they claim are Special Editions, but this one has a good set of bonus material
Music Video “Keep Your Mind Wide Open” by AnnaSophia Robb – This is the weakest extra. The song isn’t anything special, but the kid is actually a really good singer. Of course, all I could think of was how Disney is trying to create its next Lindsey Lohan. Let’s hope AnnaSophia has a better head on her shoulders and isn’t piling up DUI’s in a few years.
Digital Imagination: Bringing Terabithia to Life – This was a good little featurrete explaining the special effects in the movie. It was surprisingly informative as I didn’t catch the fact that the creatures actually shared the features of the bullies they represented.
Behind The Book: The Themes of Bridge To Terabithia – Another featurrete with teachers and the author discussing the story. Actually pretty interesting and you learn why the film is such a perfect adaptation of the book, the script was written by the author’s son.
On top of this, you get not one but TWO commentaries! One is with the director, writer, and producer and the second is with the stars of the film and producer Lauren Levine. Just to show you how much I enjoyed this film, I plan on eventually rewatching it with each commentary.
The 411: What else can I say? This is a great adaptation of a great book. It is a shame that Disney didn't have enough faith in the product and tried to sell it as a fantasy movie. If you have children, or loved the book, check it out. Highly recommended.
