Caffeinated Clint
If you’re looking for a fun vacation for the whole family, you’d do well to take them to Terabithia one evening.
Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel, Robert Patrick
“Bridge to Terabithia”, based on Katherine Paterson’s classic book of the same title, is a coming of age story that deals with many of the issues that face young people. Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is a poor country boy who has been training all summer to be the fastest kid in school. And he would have been too, if not for the new kid that beat him in the first race. The problem is, the new kid is a girl.
Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) is the rich and eccentric new student in Jesse’s school. Her vivid imagination and her uninhibited nature makes it hard for her to make friends in a place where conservative close-minded thinking is the norm. She and her family just moved in next door to Jesse, so by virtue of their proximity and a good natured competitive spirit, they become fast friends. Together they pool their creative imaginations to invent a new world in the woods behind their homes that Leslie names Terabithia. This new world is a haven where they learn to cope with some common and extraordinary challenges that face young people stretching to become adults. An elegant tale that deals with such difficult issues as acceptance, infatuation, bullies, and untimely death.
Though director Gabor Csupo did an excellent job of staying true to the book, the film fall short of the cinematic grandeur we often associate to such fantasy adventure tales. Born to parents Disney and Walden Media, “Terabithia” is shadowed by the legacy of its older brother “Narnia”, which was lavished with about $150 million more in budgetary favouritism.
The DVD is packed with fun and informative bonus material. Director Csupo leads us through the digital imaginings of Terabithia and its inhabitants. There are also interviews with the actors, the writer, and the artists behind the scenes.
If you’re looking for a fun vacation for the whole family, you’d do well to take them to Terabithia one evening.
Rating : 
Reviewer : Clare Bath
