Film: Bridge to Terabithia

Directed by: Gabor Csupo

Year: 2007

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb

Reviewed by: The Zombieslayer

Based off the children's book by the same name, Bridge to Terabithia is a kids' movie about a boy and a girl who are social outcasts, so they end up being friends with each other. A kids' movie? Then why am I reviewing it here? Because it's a watchable movie, even for an adult.

Supposedly, the movie follows the book closely, so I'll have to give credit to Katherine Paterson, the author, along the director Csupo. Csupo creates characters that adults can relate to, and his adult characters are well-done, especially two of his teachers and his father.

The boy's father isn't a saint. He's hard-working but barely making it, and sometimes he loses his temper. The girl's parents are too perfect to exist in real life, and that's one drawback to the film. However, they didn't make it a priority to develop their characters, so I'll cut them some slack.

Being social outcasts, the girl, Leslie, teachers Jesse, the boy, how to escape into a fantasy world. She has the active imagination, but Jesse has the artistic talent to enter Leslie's magical world of Terabithia.

There are other kids in the real world that bully Jesse and Leslie, but in Terabithia, they take other forms. As Jessie and Leslie battle them physically in Terabithia, they use their brains to battle them in the real world.

Overall, the film works for several reasons. Many of the characters are believable. The story flows. The kid actors are good enough that you can root for them. The music teacher's a babe. The family dynamics in Jesse's family are well-done. And you can sympathize with Jesse's parents, who are squeaking by financially, a place where many of us adults have been.

Leslie and her family on the other hand were underdeveloped. As I said earlier, they were too perfect, as was Leslie. She's almost too mature for her age as well.

Despite what the film looks like, it's not a fantasy. Most of the action takes place in the real world and only small parts occur in Terabithia.

Hutcherson and Robb, the actors who play the kids, both do a fine job. I'm usually bored with kids' movies because so many child actors can't pull it off. These kids can. The way they handle alienation and their imaginations can make you think like a kid again. 8 dead zombies.

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