Bridge to Terabithia is About Much More Than Special Effects

When I first learned that Walden Media, the Disney-owned production company behind The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Charlotte's Web and several other big-screen adaptations of classic children's books, was taking on Bridge to Terabithia, one of my all-time favorite novels, I was excited. And then I was nervous, especially when I saw the trailers. They were fantastical, full of highly imaginative CGI creatures and the promise of an epic battle. They were pulse-poundingly exciting. And they seemed to be an indication that the movie was not going to be very much like the book.

That's not to say, of course, that the book isn't exciting. But it's not another Chronicles of Narnia - much as author Katherine Paterson may have been influenced by C. S. Lewis in her writing. Leslie Burke, the lively, warm-hearted, creative girl who moves in next door to sullen, friendless, secretly artistic Jess Aarons, teaches him how to open his mind to the farthest reaches of imagination. She helps him find a place where the two of them are safe from the drudgery and travails of the everyday world, yet it is ultimately to his everyday, ordinary life that Jesse must apply those gently drawn-out skills. Bridge to Terabithia is about friendship and family and finding your place in the world. It's not about knocking down giants with acorn grenades.

So I was much relieved when I discovered the special effects-drenched trailer was grossly misleading. There is CGI, but in small doses, and done in such a way as to show us that Jesse is growing into an ability to witness such visions. Over the course of several Terabithian sojourns, we observe fierce fights with monsters derived from squirrels, birds and even trees. The latter, an enormous giant, becomes representative of a threat that looms large back in the real world: Janice Avery (Lauren Clinton), an aggressive eighth-grader who delights in throwing other students' sandwiches at unsuspecting victims, eating other students' Twinkies and charging even the kindergarteners a dollar to use the bathroom. Interestingly, while Leslie mentions Narnia several times in the book, all references are excised here despite the convenient opportunity for self-promotion. The visual similarities are striking, however; one can't help but think of Narnia as Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) and Jesse (Josh Hutcherson) gaze out over the treetops to overlook their kingdom with its majestic mountains and shimmering rivers, or when its subjects gather from all corners of that magical land for a culminating regal scene.

Across the creek from Terabithia, just a rope swing away, is harsh reality, where everything seems to be stacked against Jesse. The kids at school, especially Janice and equally ill-tempered Scott Hoager (Cameron Wakefield), shove him around; his rigid fifth-grade teacher, "Monster" Myers (Jen Wolfe), barks at him in class; his quarrelsome teenage sisters Brenda (Devon Wood) and Ellie (Emma Fenton) yap endlessly about inane topics; and worst of all, his gruff, no-nonsense father (Robert Patrick) rarely has a kind word for him. Leslie, too, faces the derision of classmates, and although her parents work at home, she doesn't get to spend much time with them. Still, she keeps a positive outlook, and it's her cheerful persistence, coupled with Jesse's blooming empathy, that brings the two of them together after a false start when she outruns him in a race he's been training for all summer.

The novel is set in the 1970s, and although the film is transported to modern times, the setting changes little. The cars are newer-looking, Ellie and Brenda watch VH-1 all day (which is odd, considering how dirt-poor the Aaronses are), Mrs. Myers issues a grave warning against downloading essays from the Internet. Oh, and in the wake of all the recent scandals, Ms Edmunds (Zooey Deschanel), the luminous music teacher with whom Jesse is smitten, offering to take Jesse on a trip to a Washington, D.C. art museum could raise an eyebrow among more jaded audience members. Actually, though, she brings a definite 70s vibe to the film with her offbeat style and the mellow songs she has the class sing. Moreover, aside from those offhand references to modern technology, the town feels like it's much the same as it has been for decades, and certainly the year matters little once Jesse and Leslie are in Terabithia.

The acting is good all around, if not remarkable. Hutcherson's performance is understated, while Robb's role calls for a touch of the overdramatic. Leslie is perky and fun, smiling throughout most of the film, as opposed to Jesse, who is mostly stony-faced, though we are sometimes privileged to see the thought processes behind his eyes. As much as his time with Leslie awakens his imagination, I thought his best and most revealing scenes were those he shared with his father and his little sister May Belle (Bailee Madison). Having just seen Patrick in a small but effective role in We Are Marshall, I paid extra attention to his part in this film, and I found his portrayal of Jesse's father to be quite moving. He doesn't seem to know how to interact with his son and snaps at him out of frustration that he always seems to have his head in the clouds. This contrasts with his tender, affectionate treatment of May Belle, to whom the adorable Madison brings an irresistible charm. May Belle worships the ground her brother walks on, and she tags along after him all the time, often to his annoyance. Shortly before the film ends, Jesse enjoys reparative scenes with each of them that I found to be the most touching in the movie. Also of great impact is a brief scene in which he gets an unexpected glimpse at Mrs. Myers' softer side.

The cinematography is well done, especially in Terabithia, and the opening and closing credits, which feature animated drawings of Jesse's, are clever. The film does delve into the darkness of life, but in such a way as to show that light is never out of grasp. It grapples delicately with difficult topics, opening the door for such discussions amongst families. Bridge to Terabithia marks yet another successful chapter in Walden Media's history. If they take as much care with all their adaptations as they have with this, Charlotte's Web and Narnia, I'd say the children's literature canon is in pretty good hands.