Aug 20, 2007

[Movies] Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to TerabithiaI missed the original run of this movie in the theaters due to many other things going on at the time and was happy to finally pick up a copy of this movie on DVD.

Bridge to Terabithia is the live-action adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Katherine Paterson. This is not the first time an attempt has been made to bring this darling story to life - there was a TV movie done back in 1985 as well.

Compared to recent films, Bridge to Terabithia feels like a lighter, happier version of the international classic Pan's Labyrinth given the interplay of imagination in terms of creating a fantasy world to escape the real world although without such extremist characters.

While I never read the book myself, it seems the film did a fairly good job of sticking to the original story, as best as I can determine. Either way, it was a very solid portrayal with great acting and tasteful special effects that don't overly distract you from the main story.

My kudos to the main actors Josh Hutcherson (of Zathura fame) and AnnaSophia Robb (who you might remember from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) given their stunning performance despite how young they are. While it is a children's movie, the base story behind it is pretty complex and certainly pushes the limits of what can be termed as something fit for children and they did an amazing job of bringing the characters of Jesse and Leslie to life. Special mention also goes to Zooey Deschanel for her portrayal of Jesse's schoolboy crush and for the strange fact that I keep seeing her in the movies I've been watching over this past weekend. Odd coincidence.

Bridge to Terabithia is the kind of feel good movie that anyone can enjoy watching on a dark and gloomy day, something best for staying in because of cold, wet weather over cups of coffee and hot cocoa. It's simple yet not plain in terms of story and certainly not so in terms of acting and performance.

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