Those crossing the Bridge to Terabithia (Disney) may find themselves underwhelmed, though the journey is not without its delights.
Based on Katherine Paterson's Newbery Medal-winning children's novel, the coming-of-age fantasy centers on Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson), a young boy whose hardworking parents, Jack and Nancy (Robert Patrick and Kate Butler), struggle to provide for him and his sisters, who include tag-along May Belle (Bailey Madison).
Bullied by classmates, the artistic Jess keeps to himself, drawing in his sketchbook and preparing for a big school race, in which he's forced to wear girly, hand-me-down sneakers because his mother doesn't have money to buy him a new pair.
Victory goes to a fleet-footed girl, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), a new kid in town. A misfit herself, she and Jess become friends. At the imaginative Leslie's prompting, they create a make-believe world — Terabithia — that can only be accessed by swinging across a creek on a "magic" rope they find while walking through the woods.
From the heights of their treehouse fortress, the pair rule their realm, which serves as an escape from real-life troubles and a playground for working out their problems through creativity, as many of the strange creatures they encounter, including vicious Squogres — half-wolf, half-squirrel — are manifestations of their fears.
The young leads are charming and the sweet story imparts worthy messages about friendship and the power of imagination. Also, there is a strong affirmation of family and the depictions of authority figures are consistently positive.
But narratively, the movie, faithfully adapted by the author's son, David Paterson, is a bit of a letdown, as the anticipated fantastical elements are marginal. The closing five minutes deliver a sense of wonder and enchantment that director Gabor Csupo spreads too thinly throughout the rest of the film. Those expecting The Chronicles of Narnia will be disappointed. (The visual effects are considerably less impressive by comparison.) Parents unfamiliar with the book should be aware that there is a plot twist that may be upsetting for sensitive small children, though the incident happens off-screen.
In a key scene, taken from the novel, Leslie, whose parents are not religious, attends church with Jess' family, who are practicing Christians. On the ride back Leslie, Jess and May Belle talk about God and the Bible. Jess argues a fundamentalist criteria for salvation, while Leslie holds that God doesn't go around arbitrarily "damning people to hell," adding that she finds the story of Jesus "beautiful." Her remarks seem to show how, despite her parents' agnosticism, her imaginative acuity to perceive beauty beyond mundane reality also primes her to the beauty of faith.
The film contains mature thematic elements, including the death of a child, some minor peril, and a few mildly crude expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
