A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Bridge to Terabithia

Date Viewed: 2/25/07

Details:

Josh Hutcherson

AnnaSophia Robb

Zooey Deschanel

Robert Patrick

Bailee Madison

Director: Gabor Csupo

Score: 1/4

The Review: What does it take to become a "beloved children's book"? I think it matters who's making the attribution: the kids themselves, adolescents vaguely remembering their pre-teens, or adults trying to resurrect more bucolic times. Perhaps the purveyors of the next such film should indicate who did the voting. In the recent past, to become a "beloved children's book", it would seem sufficient to be a book I'd never heard of (e.g., Polar Express), or had heard of but never bothered to read (e.g., Charlotte's Web), or had perhaps only read as an adult (e.g., The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe).

Although an avid youthful reader, my taste in children's books ran more to Dr. Seuss and to science fiction. And while there are numerous versions of Dr Seuss stories available on TV or film (Horton Hears a Who, or the superior 1966 TV version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas), they never seemed to gain sufficient significance to be beloved; I guess I preferred my moral rectitude tempered with a substantial dollop of whimsy -- and clever, fantastic artwork.

The alternative cynic in me might also propose that a "beloved children's book" is simply an excuse to introduce death and the dark side of the world to a younger audience -- witness the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, along with Charlotte and Wardrobe, cited above. But my other half has reminded me that this is not always the case -- she cites the novels of Madeline L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, et al.), little say Polar Express. But at least it's not "Fingerling at the Zoo" (see 23).

My opinion about Terabithia is strongly conflicted. Some of the fantasy is well done, but the movie is not dominantly a fantasy. It's the characters and the plot turns that both attract and twist your sensibilities.

Face it, within 10 seconds of her appearing on-screen, the entire male movie audience above the age of 10 has already fallen in love with Leslie (a fabulous AnnaSophia Robb). And for good reason: she is elfin, imaginative, active, fun, wise, adventurous, a bit of a tomboy and incredibly vital. In no time at all, the entire movie focuses down onto one character, and as one of these smitten males, I wanted to pay attention only to her. This is not the response we had when she played Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so this gut-response seems character-based, not just another pretty face. The young male lead Jessie (Hutcherson) is not immune to Leslie's charms -- indeed they spend much of the film together -- but he has focused his infatuation instead on his art & music teacher (Deschanel).

It's important to realize that this is not Leslie's movie -- Jessie is the protagonist, and as written, the rest are just supporting cast. I had a hard time with this -- it's not inobvious, but I was clearly focused elsewhere -- and as a consequence, as the plot evolved, I got really pissed off with the author's character development. From all that I can determine from a quick bookstore read, the movie appears quite faithful to the book, but the book is not at all what I would have written. Perhaps this response is different for the kids in the audience versus the adults; I've read some critiques that indicate just this. But this movie jolted me, even though I essentially guessed what was coming.

As so often happens, the movie trailers for Terabithia are deceptive and disorienting. It's not dominantly a fantasy, and it's not all fun and games.

(11-Mar-07)

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