Bridge to Terabithia poster & wallpaper

Annasophia Robb, Bailee Madison, Josh Hutcherson

"Bridge to Terabithia" is a fantasy/adventure story of friendship, family and the power of imagination Jess Aarons is an outsider at school and even in his own family. Jess has trained all summer to b...( read more  read more... )ecome the fastest kid in his middle school class but his goal is unexpectedly thwarted by the new girl in school, Leslie Burke who competes in the "boys only" race and wins. Despite their awkward introduction, the two outsiders quickly become best friends. Leslie loves to tell stories of fantasy and magic. Jess loves to draw, but until he met Leslie, it was something he kept to himself. Leslie opens a new world of imagination for Jess. Together they create the secret kingdom of Terabithia, a magical place only accessible by swinging on an old rope over a stream in the woods near their homes. There, the friends rule the kingdom, fight the Dark Master and his creatures and plot against the school bullies. Thanks to his friendship with Leslie, Jess is changed for good. Brimming with fantastical creatures, palaces and beautiful forests, the world of Terabithia is brought to life.

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71% liked it

437,047 ratings

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85% liked it

139 critics

PG, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Gabor Csupo

Release Date: February 16, 2007

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DVD Release Date: June 19, 2007

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bridge to terabethia Bridge to Terabithia Josh<3<3<3 annasophia robb Bridge to Terabithia Bailee Madison Bridge to Terabithia Josh Hutcherson Bridge to Terabithia Anna Sophia Robb Bridge to Terabithia Bridge to Terabithia Poster Bridge To Terabithia josh and annasophia This movie was soo sad! I cried a ton during the movie in the theatre! screen shot Bridge to Terabithia
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Flixster Reviews (36,137)

  • SirPant
    October 1, 2009
    SirPant
    I guess I'm 20 years too old for this film to really appreciate it but that said, I did like elements of it. I thought the ending was bold and unexpected and the acting by the kids was good. I thought 'Terabithia' itself was a little crap but it?s nice that they kept it imaginary...( read more). The giant being the bully was awful though but made me laugh, albeit. for the wrong reasons. I'll let my kids watch it without any worries but I'd rather they watched the Muppets or something a little less serious.
  • phubbs1
    April 5, 2009
    phubbs1
    Interesting one this....I thought it was gonna be a kind of Narnia style film but it wasn't, its mainly based in reality and has two kids using their imagination to escape their boring bullied lives. Not totally original and not totally that interesting either. Its very well acte...( read more)d by the two kids and also has very good supporting actors including T2's Robert Patrick.

    Buts thats about it, really great acting but alittle dull. You get bits of the fantasy world of Terabithia but thats it, you'll be yearning for more, Terabithia looks great with orges, dark warriors, trolls, giants and all sorts of weird creatures, but you never really see them and they never really do anything, you just get the reality and problems of growing up in the sticks as kids. Thats fine but from the poster and what I read I was expecting more fantasy...shame.
  • PvtCaboose91
    November 13, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "Just close your eyes, but keep your mind wide open."


    In an era dominated by children's fantasy movies containing special effects that overwhelm instead of enhance, Bridge to Terabithia is a unique movie that celebrates the virtues of imagination, friendship a

    ...( read more)nd family. The marketing campaign for Bridge to Terabithia appeared to suggest the film would be just another juvenile fantasy film ala Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. Not that the trailers implied something particularly bad - as a fantasy flick for the children you could do worse - but there was a distinct impression that we'd seen it all before. Given that I absolutely abhor the Harry Potter series and was lukewarm towards the first Narnia movie, the concept of Bridge to Terabithia wasn't exactly agreeable. Only those familiar with Katherine Paterson's 1977 novel of the same name knew these initial impressions were false.

    As it turns out, Bridge to Terabithia doesn't deliver fantasy yarn with mythological creatures and magic. As an alternative the film offers a story of youths struggling to cope with unforgiving realities by absconding into the realm of imagination. It's infused a lot of heart, and it touches on serious issues. While being marred by numerous script banalities and occasionally preposterous clichés, it could've been far worse.

    Jesse Aarons (Hutcherson) resides in a semi-rural community with his poor family. He's the only boy in a family of girls, and the children at school frequently bully him. Suffering from the merciless torment of bullying at school and an irritating family, Jess retreats into the world of his drawings to find solace. During his summer break Jess trains to be the fastest runner at his school. Upon the commencement of school he loses a "boys only" race to a new girl named Leslie (Robb). Despite their awkward introduction, the two begin bonding and realise they have much in common. Leslie opens a new world of imagination for Jess. Together they conceive the secret magical kingdom of Terabithia in the woods behind their homes. This imaginary kingdom (in which Leslie and Jess dub themselves king and queen) functions as a haven to escape the troubles of their mundane school lives. As life begins to look up for the two kindred spirits, reality intrudes.

    Authors like C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling may write their novels about youngsters, but they also intend for their work to reach an adult audience. Katherine Paterson wrote Bridge to Terabithia aimed at children mainly as a coping mechanism for her son David (who wrote the first draft of the screenplay for this filmic adaptation in addition to acting as a producer). Keep this in mind, and Bridge to Terabithia works on its own terms for the first three quarters. It offers valuable lessons about the power of friendship and handling problems without resorting to violence. It also teaches lessons about growing up, about coming of age, the significance of family and the need for dreams. It's a kiddie flick more reliant on realism as opposed to pure fantasy.

    But the film faithfully follows the novel, meaning it ends with a tragedy. Said tragedy is a shocking and powerful reminder of life's unfortunate ironies. Nevertheless, both the book and novel spend their first three quarters establishing a sweet story told in a delightful juvenile tone. The ending seems like a cheap, manipulative gimmick designed primarily to wrench a quick, emotional response from its audience and avoid the clichés. The film could have been fun for the whole family, but it touches on countless issues aimed more at adults. Financial trouble at home, not living up to one's father's expectations, and so on. Children won't even want to think about this...they'll want special effects and mythical creatures of which there is precious little.

    Adult issues aside, Bridge to Terabithia may work for children. For aging teenagers and adults, however, the overuse of clichés is painfully obvious. All characters are stereotyped, leading to a series of predictable and childish events. Jess is constantly bullied at school. Yet he seems like a normal, handsome young kid of regular intelligence and athleticism. Why is there any reason for him to be bullied? It doesn't make sense for the school kids on the bus to ridicule Jess as being a farm boy when the bus is picking them all up from the countryside. Everything at Jesse's school is also preposterously clichéd. The school is shown as a pristine place of higher learning, full of horrible little cretins that appear to bully for the sake of bullying. The English teacher (Wolfe) is a tyrant. The music teacher (Deschanel) is attractive and fun, doing nothing but allowing the kids to join in joyful songs without much learning happening. The school bus driver is a freakish idiot. The school yard isn't even supervised! It isn't possible for bullies to charge admission to students trying to use the toilet without the school personnel realising or being informed. Pranks are played by the main characters, which frankly seems to defeat the message the film tries to convey so frequently. 50% of the film's middle section is based around these absurd conventions. It also continues to bog with repetitive conversations and sub-plots leading no-where that fill up space (such as the animal in the greenhouse and Jesse's crush on his music teacher).

    Beautiful New Zealand locations are utilised for the film to gestate within. Director Gabor Csupo is perhaps largely recognised for his Rugrats empire. He handles the material competently. The atmosphere is particularly masterful. There's wonderful music courtesy of composer Aaron Zigman. The film is also extraordinarily shot by Michael Chapman who has twice been nominated for an Oscar (he worked on Raging Bull, for example). Peter Jackson's WETA Digital was responsible for the effects. The special effects wizardry is quite incredible to behold.

    In terms of visuals, the film is very appealing. However, the mythical creatures too often mix into the real world too unbelievably. The results are baffling and disjointed. Case in point: how can an imaginary flying creature pick up Leslie? Another example: as Jess falls from the top of a tree, he's saved by a troll who catches him before he hits the ground. Erm...how can something in your imagination stop you from hitting the ground and succumbing to injury? Yes, they are just playing and imagining, but the line between reality and imaginary is too blurred and ambiguous. In addition, actually showing us what the kids are imagining detracts from the imagination of the novel. It'd be fine if the creatures made no contact with the kids, but how are we supposed to believe the intimate interaction? The film sits on the uncomfortable line between all-out fantasy and all-out drama. This mishmash of the two is fairly original, but the management of the material is incredibly poor.

    Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb both turn in fabulous performances. As the film descends into tediousness and cheesiness, both Hutcherson and Robb manage to keep the film afloat. Robb is particularly stunning. After her irritating performance in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory one would never expect her to exude such charm and credibility. It's a pleasure to watch this young actress. Robb seems poised to become one of Hollywood's next great child stars. Knowing how to portray Leslie's shrewdness and exclusivity as inadvertent, incidental, or even unwitting, Robb is perfect as the kind of girl who can always beat the boys at sport...and they would still love her for it.
    The underused supporting cast are also excellent. Robert Patrick is a particular stand-out. He's a realistic father figure and a focused performer. Also being featured is the beautiful Zooey Deschanel as the fun music teacher. Her character is stereotyped, but she handles her role with great skill. Young Bailee Madison also provides an admirable performance.

    Overall, I enjoyed Bridge to Terabithia: aesthetically pleasing imagery, fine performances and only a slight dependence on computer effects. It doesn't rely on primitive humour (i.e. fart gags) to entertain, nor does it turn into an all-out fantasy spectacle. It's a simple story illustrating that the best escape from a less-than-ideal reality is through imagination and dreams. In broad strokes, the film recalls elements of Heavenly Creatures, Pan's Labyrinth and My Girl whilst being distinctively different at the same time. There are severe script troubles, but the first three quarters of the movie are destined to please the entire family. The final quarter is disappointing; nevertheless it'll at least please enthusiasts of the book who are seeking faithfulness to the source material.


    "We rule Terabithia, and nothing crushes us!"
  • LauralyBeautiful
    October 1, 2008
    LauralyBeautiful
    (Is Robert Patrick in everything?! lol!)

    Yes, everyone, Leslie dies in the end. It's horribly sad but the reason she dies is because this is based on a book and IN THE BOOK she dies. The whole movie follows the book extremely closely, even going so far as to name the dvd chapter...( read more)s after the chapters IN the book.

    I cannot stress how amazingly well this was handled. I love everything about it and it became one of my favorite movies right away.

    My little boy who is currently almost 17 months old hasn't shown much interest in movies, but he watches this in rapt attention.

    Actors were perfect, special effects were perfect, everything flowed just as it should.

    I'm very happy with this movie despite it is SO sad.
  • SilentScreamer
    September 19, 2008
    SilentScreamer
    I surprisingly liked this movie, it was very good, childish...maybe, but still had a possitive feel too it.
  • booksrme7
    November 21, 2009
    booksrme7
    It made me cry, as did the book.
  • SpunkyJamez
    November 21, 2009
    SpunkyJamez
    I was expecting a fantasy movie like The Chronicles of Narnia, but the film wasn't like that at all. Sure, there were some mythical creatures here and it did seem like a fantsay movie, but the thing is this was just being imagined by two kids.

    The plot is terrific. It's based ...( read more)on a book, but I haven't read it. It's about a young boy called Jessie (Josh Hutcherson) who is the fastest boy in his class until Lesley (Anna Sophia Robb) shows up. She beats him when all the boys of the class have a race. Jessie finds out that Lesley is his new neighbour. As time goes by, they soon become friends. One day when they come home from school, they explore the surroundings of their homes. They find a rope hanging off a tree branch above a creek. They swing on it, and eventually decide to swing across to the other side of the creek. There, they find all sorts of things, such as a rusty, old car and the remains of a treehouse. This becomes their sanctuary, and they can see all sorts of mythical creatures and fantastical landscapes (obviously they are imagining this). They call this place Terabithia. As the plot goes on, it's really good. There's a touch of tragedy, which made me cry, and some young love. To tell you the rest, I would be spoiling it for you.

    The special effects are a bit off. They look really fake. What bothered me was how these kids imagine this stuff. They even believe that it's real. This can be a problem because at times, it really gets corny and lame. You're seeing these two chuck pine cones at imaginary evil squirels and they think that it's a grenade. Everytime the film would go to all the scenes with the fantasy and mythical stuff kinda ruined some of the sweet tone that we got from the drama.

    The drama was really good. Some of the storylines of the characters was great. The acting was terrific. Josh Hutcherson's performance was so good because it felt so real. Anna Sophia Robb wasn't so bad either. The young performers were sensational. Robert Patrick was also excellent in this as Jessie's dad. Everyone did a heck of a job.

    This can start to get lame at times and it's really laughable. But, everything with the friendship and life of the two main characters is beautiful. They make you cry so easily in this. It's so sad for a kids film. This is a great film to see. it's not perfect, but it's definitely worth a watch.
  • ReincarnatedRockstarVamp
    November 19, 2009
    ReincarnatedRockstarVamp
    A story about two young kids trying to escape their real lives by creating their own world; Terabithia.

    I didn't really expect anything from this movie and it was surprisingly good. The story is touching and really well done.
    Terabithia itself could have been greater...well ...( read more)okay I expected it to be Narnia-like so maybe that's why I thought that it wasn't so great. Considering the fact that two young kids though the land up...it was pretty good. Nevermind...
    Really bold and unexpected ending, that alone gave it a star.

    For being so young the actors did really well. Really convincing performances.

    Fantasy mixed with issues of the real world. Better than expected, worth seeing.
  • debk112055
    November 18, 2009
    debk112055
    Sleepless in Seattle
    Twilight








    I enjoyed this movie very much.
  • Snacksta
    November 15, 2009
    Snacksta
    i liked this a little

View All Bridge to Terabithia Reviews

Critic Reviews

February 16, 2007
Claudia Puig, USA Today

The story is a pleasant enough diversion with a positive message about seeing the troubled person behind the bully and the importance of keeping an open mind. full review

February 16, 2007
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Bridge to Terabithia the movie, like the book, is buckets-of-tears sad. Director Csupo and company manage to get that -- the simple power of a story about kindred souls, about loss, about the limitles... full review

February 16, 2007
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Terabithia has buckets of gentle sincerity. Since there aren't any dumb jokes or hip visuals, it's easy to get caught up in the simple messages: Be good to your sister, don't be a bully, use your imag... full review

February 16, 2007
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Very Sad Things prompt Very Big Questions, and this movie is smart enough to avoid Very Easy Answers. full review

February 16, 2007
Pete Hammond, Maxim

Although this family flick is being sold as the second coming of The Chronicles Of Narnia or Lord Of The Ringsbe warned that advertising can be deceptive. full review

February 15, 2007
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

There are trolls and magical creatures, but they are the parsley on the plate. The film is a real human story about love and imagination and loss, infinitely superior to most of Hollywood's machine-st... full review

View more Bridge to Terabithia reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • oerigjerogjoierjg
    April 5, 2009
    oerigjerogjoierjg
    This movie would have been a great kid's movie if Leslie didn't die. Because I don't think kids would like to watch a movie, seeing the friend of the protagonist (Jess) dead all of sudden. It just destroys the aim of having friends.
  • fob68
    February 28, 2009
    fob68
    love this movie though it's ending is so sad that made cried
  • shudanimob
    December 24, 2008
    shudanimob
    hate d sad ending..!
  • timi2647
    August 25, 2008
    timi2647
    i didn't expect the movie would be sad in the end. i loved the song someday by steve earle. its so inspiring.
  • snoooopys
    June 7, 2008
    snoooopys
    It keep moving you every single moment you watch
    well done
  • sarness
    May 31, 2008
    sarness
    This movie made me believe the beauty in things and that, if you look deeper...there's a terabithia everywhere you go...:]
  • CristopherOC
    February 9, 2008
    CristopherOC
    Umm, to all those who find it terribly sad...that's kinda the point. The movie is a great lesson on opening your mind to the full spectrum of human emotion, rather than just the "happy" stuff, because only in that way could Jess learn to see the bully Janice as anything but a mean-spirited soul, and only in that way can people learn to understand each other in the totallity of feeling and thought. It is the most important thing in the world to see both heartwrenching and euphoria as beautiful.
  • iangalang10
    January 14, 2008
    iangalang10
    I like this movie :D
  • arwenbloom
    November 15, 2007
    arwenbloom

    Wonderful movie, When I rent the movie I did not believe that I would like to much, but i love this movie it's beautiful.

    I cry and cry and cry since Leslie dies until the rest of the movie, its a beautiful film. This girl AnnaSophia is excellent.
  • Newmoonwalker300
    November 7, 2007
    Newmoonwalker300
    Hey people ya i cry too when Leslie dies heck she's so cool it's hard not too cry lol =)
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Bridge to Terabithia Trivia

  • Who was Opal in "Because of Winn-Dixie", Violet in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and will be Leslie Burke in "Bridge to Terabithia" ?  Answer »
  • there where a boy and a girl that lived next to eachother they always ran to the end of thier road and swinged across a river with an old rope to go to..... where there where a treehouse and squirles turned into mean dogs  Answer »
  • In what movie did Josh Hutcherson give a dog to a girl  Answer »
  • In the movie Bridge to Terabithia, who played Leslie?  Answer »
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