Bridge to Terabithia is a fantasy/adventure story of friendship, family and the power of imagination. Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is an outsider at school and even in his own family. Jess has trained all summer to become the fastest kid in his middle school class but his goal is unexpectedly thwarted by the new girl in school, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) 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.
Very rarely will a movie be so completely misadvertised and still be so incredibly good that you end up loving the movie anyway. The bottom line is that I thought I was walking in to a Chronicles Of Narnia type movie and ended up getting My Girl in return. However, like I said, it was so incredibly well done that I didn't care that much and totally loved the movie. The filmmakers did such an amazing job at catching the awkwardness of childhood. The movie is a perfect one to take your kids to so that they can see the power of imaginiation instead of the power of a wireless controller for their new video gaming system. Just a heads up for all parents who don't want to be blindsided by the incredibly depressing conversations that may ensue with your child on the way home - a major character dies. I couldn't imagine anything worse that thinking you'll be talking about the cool effects on the way home and end up having to try to explain death. Even with that stomach punch of a character killing, I absolutely loved this movie.
I fully recommend this movie to children and adults alike. Just be forewarned that its nothing like the Narnia-ish commercial. It's has some occasional fantasy elements, but is honestly an amazing character drama about growing up and the power of your imagination.
