bwsmom

Just got back from a sneak preview showing of Bridge to Terabithia.... folks, you know that old saying about "if you see one movie this year..."? Well, it certainly applies here!

I've never read the book, but both my 12-year-old DD and her best friend had and liked it, so when I had the opportunity to get passes for the preview, I figured what the heck... nice way to spend a grey Saturday morning. I'm so glad I did.

It's put out by Walden Media (the folks who did Because of Winn-Dixie) through Disney, and it is WONDERFUL!! Even though it's rated PG, I'd consider it appropriate for all ages (and we had just about every age represented in our theatre!). The story was great (and the girls tell me it follows the book very closely), the acting was first-rate, and it is perfect for families!

I don't know what more I could say other than GO SEE IT!!!

GreenVulture

They also released that one movie...you know, it had a lion, a witch, and a closet or something.

I haven't read the book, but from what I was told by people who had read it, it's rather bleak for a children's book. Good to hear they didn't soften it up for audiences.

Brent L

I'm happy to hear such positive things about this movie. When I first saw the trailer, I thought it would either be horrible, or very good. No middle ground at all.

mdc3000

I tried to get passes for this morning, but they ran out. I've heard great things and will definitely check it out next weekend...glad to hear it delivers.

Joe Molotov

Is the ending the same as in the book?

bwsmom

Hysterical! No, really! I purposely mentioned only Winn-Dixie because the story/movie is much more in line with Terabithia (not to mention the fact that they starred the same young actress, AnnaSophia Robb).

Joe Molotov: Yes, that part of the story is the same, though it's not quite the end of the movie and, from what my daughter tells me, it's given more detail in the movie than in the book. (She said she wondered what had happened to bring about that event when she read the book and was glad they did more with it in the movie).

harrydoyle

It holds true to the book with the ending. I remember being proud of myself for being in the "boys that didn't cry" portion of my elementary school class when we read it. I liked the book though back then, and I think the movie did it justice.

The Bus

Glad to hear this isn't some sad cash-in on the popularity of Narnia. Mind you, I thought Narnia was a sad cash-in on the popularity of the Lord of the Rings movies, so I'm going to be wary about movies like this.

bwsmom

You know, so far, I'm duly impressed with Walden Media. They've managed to put out good, quality films that are appropriate for the whole family, without kowtowing to the garbage-o-meter that seems to be determining much of what Hollywood puts forth as "cinema" these days. I'm no prude, but it sure does seem like a lot of what's making its way to the big screen these days is .

Kudos to Walden Media for giving us the good stuff!

Patman

This was a really nicely done film about childhood friendships, and the power of children's imaginations to ward off the inherent brunt of childhood bullies and find a place to explore their own creativity and self-expression.

Annasophia Robb (Leslie) is really endearing in this film, and Josh Hutcherson (Jess) also pulls his own weight, unexpectedly because I haven't thought much of his performances in previous films, but I know Annasophia would be great from her earlier role in "Because of Winn-Dixie).

The direction is restrained, but in a good way as it never calls attention to itself, and just lets the characters drive the story. The script is tight and never lags. There's this sense of wonder and innocence embedded in the story's foundation, it's a worthwhile re-visit to such a time in one's life.

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.

mdc3000

A very moving and emotional movie. Great performances, neat effects and just extremely well done. I think they are mismarketing the movie pretty badly...Disney isn't giving this movie enough credit to market it on it's own merits instead of milking the Narnia angle (even over at ew.com in an interview with the author's son, he dodges questions about the actual plot line....and the reviewer at EW seems to have been watching an entirely different movie...i'm writing them a letter....)

Probably one of the better family films in a while and certainly one that will get a lot of family discussion going IMO...might be too heavy for real youngsters, but children and parents alike are going to be glad they saw this one.

MATT

onebyone

It was one of my favorite books when I was a youngster, so I was looking forward to the movie. I feared it would disappoint me or that the basic, simple emotional elements of the movie would be dropped, but alas, I think they did a fantastic job with it. I am so grateful to see the characters and the story come to life in such a great and true fashion. I can't wait to see it again.

CaptainMarvel

Same here. I was afraid they were making this into a light-fantasy action movie, but they did a very good job.

bwsmom

Glad to hear you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I knew absolutely nothing about the story going in, so I had no idea of what to expect. I thought it was just marvelous and have recommended it to everyone I know.

CaptainMarvel: Re your spoiler - ditto, including myself, twice.

The Bus

You mean cimena, right?

bwsmom

Uhhh.... no? Not sure what you mean by that.

harrydoyle

Yeah I think the children in that movie really deserve praise. They really pulled off their roles believably. I think the Robb girl who played Leslie is an up-and-comer.

matome

We're checking this out tomorrow. Kinda looking forward to it.

Corvin

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=293381

misterchimpy

I saw this last night and thought it was great, although I preferred Pan's Labyrinth a little more, which is just a little darker, and is similar in subject matter(i.e. kids creating a fantasy world). I had never read the book

I also thought it was funny that Robert Patrick plays essentially the same cold and distant father that he played in Walk the Line. Maybe the T-1000 is getting typecast!

treszoks

I saw this today and was expecting Narnia but got something much better and totally different. The girl playing Leslie was great and the story was tight. It definitely pulled on the heart-strings.

DoubleDownAgain

I took my six year old to see it, and she seemed to like it.

dcprules

I just got back from this film and really enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't know much about it and the marketing was horrible, but the positive reviews really made me want to see it and I'm glad I did. Great performances around (from the actress who plays Leslie to Robert Patrick) and extremely emotional. Very glad I saw it.

Wow, usually February/March are pretty bad movie months but we've gotten some great films early in the year (Bridge, Breach, Zodiac...).

Drop

Guess someone has to come in here with a dissenting opinion. Not that I hated it (my girlfriend kind of did though), but thought it was really uneven. I can't really compare it to the book, because I don't remember it all that well, so any problems I have I can only fault the film for. My girlfriend never read the book. Also, for reference, we loved Pan's Labyrinth, it was my second favorite film of last year and my girlfriend's favorite.

I thought the film was great when it was just Leslie and Jesse, but was mediocre to terrible when other characters were on screen. Josh and AnnaSophia were a great pair, they felt natural together and one could feel for them easily. But I felt it was really out of touch with what children are like today. The two lead children were fine, but almost all the supporting children made me roll my eyes. Although the wardrobe for the children was perfect, atleast they got that right.

Anytime there were music class scenes my girlfriend and I were laughing quietly to ourselves because of how fake and silly they were. My girlfriend especially because she is currently student teaching music class in middle school. Middle school children can be nightmares to teach, and incredibly resistant to learning anything, especially music. Yet they were pitch perfect and well behaved. We were taken out of the film in everyone of these scenes.

Then there was Zooey Deschanel (who we both love as an actress), who creeped us out. Teachers are not supposed to take there students out ever, that is a rule, and a teacher is told this first thing. I understand Jesse needed to be taken somewhere but there are infinite different ways to handle that. She could have called the house and given the tickets to the family, maybe Jesse and his mother could have gone. This would have avoided the awkward and still very creepy goodbye when the teacher dropped him off.

I thought the acting was pretty poor outside of Josh, AnnaSophia, Bailee Madison, and Jesse's parents. Leslie's parents were quite terrible, and I'm not sure how they were even cast. Maybe the writing was just poor in their scenes. I thought the dialogue was at it's worst in the

There was one especially laughable scene, and that was the

With all that said, I still enjoyed the film. It was just disappointing, especially when it did quite a few things right. The fantasy scenes were perfect and there were a few scenes that emotionally hit the mark (paint in the river, especially). I just felt with a rewrite of the script it might have turned out a lot better, and maybe a few more takes for some of the actors.

onebyone

I've seen this like 3 times now at the cinema, and I love it more each time. I can't wait for the (still unannounced) DVD. Like the book, I have a feeling this movie is going to be one I can revist again and again.