Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

I thought that a nice family, Disney movie would be a good way to start my Sunday morning while I waited for Andrew to get out of bed, so I selected Bridge to Terabithia from the DVD recorder and settled back to be entranced with what I thought would be a Narnia-style fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie was actually much better than I expected, but shocked to discover just how sad it got about 2/3rds in! Although there was a happy ending, events took a depressing turn, for a supposed kid's fantasy film.

For a start, the posters/DVD box misrepresent what the film is about. Far from being set in a magical world like Narnia, Wonderland or Middle Earth, it is entirely set on planet Earth, in the US (though filmed in New Zealand), and there's only a few minutes with any CGI creatures, and these exist in the imaginations of the lead characters. The 'bridge' of the title is an imaginary, metaphorical bridge between the real world and imagination, and Terabithia is a fantasy place made up Jesse and Leslie, a couple of outsiders who come together and learn how powerful imagination can be. 

The undoubted star of the movie is the 11-year old lead, Jesse, played by 15-year old Josh Hutcherson. He just shines in every scene, and I found myself really carried along by his performance - he was even better than a rather flat Robert Patrick as his on-screen father. I think he'll be an actor to watch in future. His co-star, AnnaSophia Robb, is also great as Leslie, Jesse's new friend and route into Terabithia's fantasy world. There's no explicit romance for these two, they're just friends, and that's as it should be considering the age of the characters, but there is a real bond between them, so when that shocker comes it really hits you in the gut. Well it did me anyway. 

Zooey Deschanel is as watchable as ever in a small role as Jesse's music teacher, on whom he has a school-boy crush. The rest of the cast are mostly kids and all are great, though a little clichéd in the school bullies they represent - but even then the story toys with the bullies and shows their (well one of them's) human side in a revelation that is a little shocking for a Disney movie. I think you forget what kids can deal with in films - something that's shocking for an adult a kid may take in their stride. 

By the end I'd laughed and I'd had tears welling up in my eyes, and I had thoroughly and utterly enjoyed every minute of this charming and unexpectedly touching movie.