leplatypus Watching recent American movies, i was getting tired of those prestigious families, full of money and careers, of this stifling violence against enemies, of this outrageous promiscuity and endless nudity… So up to now, if the adult content was however cut from, families movies were pretty indigestible (Narnias, Spiderwick, …) faraway of the excellent Labyrinth, Goonies from the 80s ! This one caught me right from the start : it's about a young boy in rural America who is alone, feeling cut from his poor family (at least, a movie about one with an admirable Patrick as always) and school fellows. He takes refuge in his artistic hobby and has a crush on his musical teacher. As she is played by Deschanel, i can understand him but beyond, this is very similar to my own life… Then he befriends her new neighbor friend (not Mary Jane but the excellent girl who played with Hillary in a supernatural thriller in the bayou) and thanks to her and her wide, limitless imagination and acceptance, he is open to life again ! He feels better with himself, his family and his friend ! I just love the way their friendship is built, stone after stone, how they face together to the bad things of their real life and how they use theirs to imagine a better world ! For one time, it feels real, there is no violence, there is not an enemy to kill taking a gun…. The two acting kids are marvelous as much the mute boy than the always happy girl ! And then, every thing will change after he makes maybe a selfish choice… So it's a bit again Peter Parker and his great responsibility but also the same pain of the very moving novel (and also movie) Walk to remember… This is as sudden, unexpected, and senseless as the real life and what happens is really done with tact, emotion, compassion… The only regret i could say is that for me, the link between reality – fantasy seems to not have been used to its maximum potential ! So it's a wonderful movie for kids and adult as well with values and tools very useful to live… I thought i concluded with a personal remembrance but i noticed that i have already done it when reviewing french Facts of life, a title that that would be also very accurate for this beautiful movie !

DreadfulA Bridge to Terabithia is one of my personal favourite movies. In my opinion it's a children's story made for adults, since it might be too tragic and dark for a small child. Lot of the movie takes place at school, which is familiar to all of us. At home we see Jess' family, who, excluding the father, do stay in the background of the story. We don't ever really learn to know the older sisters and mother too well, which is my only complaint. Okay, they don't really bring anything to the actual story, but still they seem rushed. Even the father, Robert Patrick, comes out one dimensional, probably to enhance his strict attitude against Jess. He is always more demanding towards Jess, but May Belle, the younger sister, get's more wanted attention from him. Understandable because Jess is the only boy in the family.Jess and Leslie's friendship at first seem quite unlikely. Jess is an introverted boy and Leslie a new comer in school. But they quickly learn to share same visions, imagination and justice and soon become inseparable. It happens so fast, what is only possible in children's world. They don't yet have learned to be careful, because in adult world you possibly couldn't trust someone so wholeheartedly. Tragic is, that this friendship ends even quicker than it started, and it destroys the viewers heart. Watching Jess struggle his way out of disbelief and fight his all too sensible parents, and when he calls for Leslie in the woods just to wait for her to pop up from the background like she never went away, is heart wrenching. Soon Jess will learn how unfair life is, reality of it I mean. For a while he sinks in despair, grieves and loses belief in the magic world they created together. Then he finds May Belle's drawing and sees the potential in his little sister and gives her a chance. He takes May Belle with him, finally, since the little girl has wanted to join her brother's and Leslie's play from the beginning. May Belle witnesses the imaginary world together with her brother. World is saved. Terabithia again has a king, and a new princess.AnnaSophia Robb and Bailee Madison were brilliant in this movie. When Janice steals May Belle's twinkie and Leslie raises a campaign to "free the pee" during recess is fun to watch. I love children's stories and Bridge to Terabithia has inspired me a lot during the years. Its beautiful scenery and subtle use of CGI creates a perfect balance between fantasy and reality.

Leofwine_draca Watching BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, I'm reminded once again why I avoid American kid's films as a whole: they're far too twee and sentimental, heavy-handed when it comes to the moralising, and most American child actors are intensely annoying. At least the '80s wave of 'kid gang' films like STAND BY ME, THE GOONIES, and THE MONSTER SQUAD avoided all that and featured endearing and realistic children.Sadly, BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is a rather dull effort about a couple of self-centred children who enter a world of imagination populated by giant creatures and woodland spirits. Of course, all of this is an aid to escape the confines of everyday life, populated by the usual uncaring parents and school bullies.The film is saddled with the sullen-looking Josh Hutcherson (THE HUNGER GAMES) as the lead, and he's one of those people with a face you'd like to slap. Still, Anna Sophia Robb is better, although the film is saddled with an oh-so-kooky turn from the irritating Zooey Deschanel in support. Watch out for Robert Patrick, playing Hutcherson's father. The CGI effects in this film are weird and quite poor, and for large sections I was uninterested in what was taking place on screen, although there is an unexpected and rather good plot twist that stops it from being one of the worst.

martyaxwar Well... what is the movies focus? Imagination, friendship, originality, emotion and loss... and Juicy Fruit chewing gum.Since that's the thematic focus, let us analyze this on it's own terms.Imagination: Everything in this film is generic. Generic fantasy treated with pathos, stolen from pretty much everything that's been done before. No original features or interactions. Just the big shining letters IMAAAAAGINAAAAATION, branded on every scene.Friendship: Everything in this movie is over-dramatized. The character's aren't very believable (and they are terribly acted) most of the time, so you don't really get to connect with them. The movie is very unfocused, which can be a good thing, but in this case it just means that the friendship aspect is kind of not fully realized. Which is a bummer, since this is a movie about two friends. I just didn't buy into the emotions.Originality: IMAAAAAAAAGINAAAAAAATION! No.Emotion: Hutcherson's performance is very flat and emotionless, with the exception of the last part of the movie. Robb's performance is artificial and over-enthusiastic. Everything just tries too hard to ENCHAAAAANT you with IMAAAAAGINAAAAATION. The emotion doesn't really work until...Loss: The theme of loss is treated quite well. That and...Juicy Fruit chewing gum.All in all, it's a terrible movie, but you can make worse, when it comes to kids movies.Very forgettable.