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Based on the Newbery Medal-winning children's novel of the same name (is anything not based on a novel these days?), Bridge To Terabithia
follows Jess Aarons, a talented youngster who is at the end of his
rope trying to deal with tensions at home and being bullied at
school. As fate has it, a new girl moves in next door who opens Jess'
mind to the amazing kingdom of
Terabithia (an imaginary kingdom the two create in their minds after
exploring the nearby woods). It's a secret land of
giants, hairy vultures, trolls and other fantastical creatures of their
own creation.
Their
imaginations soar and their friendship deepens, they discover how to
rule their own kingdom - which soon translate into the real world - and change their
lives forever.
Terabithia
is somewhat of a weird beast. It seems to struggle at times to maintain
a clear vision - often unsure of whether it's trying to stay true to
the heart of the original text, be another Narnia or pander to the cheesy Disney TV movie audience.
There are far to many moments where the flick seems to change gear from the story at hand, and force Lizzy McGuire
type pop song montages (they are just so out of place in the context of
this movie, obviously the Disney big wigs wanted to push a CD
soundtrack) or cheesy dialouge where they simply don't belong. After
all, this isn't one of your
usual Disney 'happy ending' movies (which is one of the best elements
of the flick), so why try to put a square peg in a round hole with such
poppy nonsense?
When it does find a rhythm (and follows the story as intended) Terabithia is a fantastic kids adventure, which possesses all the imagination and fun of the classic 80s fantasy epics like The Neverending Story and Return to Oz. Director Gabor Csupo (in case that name seems familiar, he's one of the brains behind the monster animated hit Rugrats)
does a superb job of exploring Jess and Leslie's imaginations - really
capturing the essence of what it is like being a playful kid with a
playful mind (it certainly reminded me of my childhood, climbing trees
and playing make believe).
The graphics work well (not surprisingly, the producers used the same CGI team that made LOTR), and the young cast really shine (although AnnaSophia Robb can get a little to High School Musical at times - again, the drastic tone & style changes seem to work against the movie on occasions).
The ending comes as somewhat of a shock (not since My Girl has a children's film had such an unforeseen impact), but is one of the films strengths, enabling the film to address numerous important issues that kids often need help with.
Well worth a look, and a flick that is likely to hold up quite well for many more years to come.
EXTRAS
Interestingly
enough, there's not a great amount of extras on offer here. Normally
Disney are pretty generous with their extra features - but perhaps the
varied age demographics for Terabithia mean there is little need for games and fancy menus.
There
are some interesting featurettes (normally, these are quite fluffy, but
both included are well worth a look) which take a look at the varied
themes of the original Terabithia
text (an interview with the books author and son - who inspired the
book - is fascinating) as well as a look at the CGI process of the
movie.
The commentaries on offer, one with the directors and
one with the younger cast members, work quite well - however, the music
clip for "Keep Your Mind Wide Open" (as sung by the films star
youngster, AnnaSophia Robb) is a rather lame attempt at launching yet
another Hillary Duff type career.
The young girls might enjoy
it - but much like the cheesy Disney inclusions in movie itself - it
seems way to forced and out of place for this particular film. Conclusion:
Movie 75% Extras: 50%
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