In fourth grade I had to read "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Patterson. After reading the book, I felt completely changed.
This work that introduced anonymity, bullying, and above all death, flooded my nine-year-old mind. Of course, I had been exposed to such obstacles from birth, but never through literature.
I reread the novel over winter break once I heard that Disney was making a movie adaptation. I was pleased with the outcome.
Many people are intimidated by the idea of translating books to movies (which they should be) but with a children's novel as simplistic as "Bridge," there is no huge amount of literary meat to lose.
The story revolves around Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson), portrayed as an impoverished member of a large family that ignores and picks on him. A young girl, Leslie Burke (Anna Sophie Robb), moves in next door to Jesse and the two form an extremely strong friendship.
Much of the conflict of the film exists within the middle school that the protagonists attend. Minor characters as well play "major" roles as catalysts. There's the eighth-grade bitch, who in the end is just as tortured as everyone else, and the snotty, bullying boys, who never change, but get their dues in the end.
To escape all the prepubescent pain (and their family troubles), Jesse and Leslie discover a magical kingdom in the forest near their houses. In order for them to get to this land, named Terabithia, they must swing on a rope across a creek. (Can I scream foreshadowing any louder?) In Terabithia, Jesse and Leslie reign as king and queen, and fight the evil forces of darkness.
The major difference between the novel and the movie is that the movie goes into greater detail over the creatures' creation. One cannot bash Disney for such a change. Their imaginative methods are just as interesting as the unwritten descriptions that Patterson uses, as seen through the eyes of Leslie. The daughter of novelists, she is more imaginative than anyone else in the movie and thus sees Terabithia from its discovery. Jesse slowly starts to see the kingdom and at the end of the movie introduces the kingdom's wonders to the new princess.
The one fault I found in the movie was its horrible use of stereotyping. Leslie, described in the novel as tom-boyish and wearing faded t-shirts, is a punk-rock-wearing American Eagle model in the making. The first problem I found is that the girl who is supposed to be an outcast because of her boyishness is wearing more makeup than one of the teachers. What kind of message is Disney sending when it thinks makeup on nine-year-olds is OK?
The bullies of the school are grunge/punk/emo-dressers and the "coolest eighth-graders" are skateboarders, cloned with skateboard in hand. Also, Jesse's parents, who are too poor to supply new shoes for him, are all dressed in nice clothing -- I'm not expecting rags, but I didn't want to see that their outfits belonged in a store window.
Again, what image is Disney sending the hundreds of youngsters in the audience but to be even more judgmental to physical appearance?
Overall an enjoyable movie, but be warned. During one part of the movie, kids in the theatre erupted in a chorus of "OH NO!!!" I was wondering if their parents had looked into the actual plot of the movie or just thought that since it is rated PG it's okay for any age. I'm against censorship but the intensity of the friendship created and then destroyed in less than two minutes will draw some emotion from everyone. Just because the movie is rated "appropriate for all ages" doesn't necessarily mean that it might be for you. It will take a strong emotional grounding on such topics as death and the truthfulness of Christianity (be warned, Straight-Laced Suzy).
With that in mind, cross the bridge and realize the importance of imagination, regardless of trolls, ogres and monsters that lurk everywhere. Rediscover imagination.
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