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Life & Arts

Classic tale holds its own on-screen

by CHRISTIAN PALMER
The Daily Cougar

Bridge to Terabithia has got its work cut out for it. 

The surreal story is the offspring of what is sure to be one of the most beloved children's tales in the modern canon; needless to say, it faces the same challenges that any book being made over for the silver screen would face. 

Luckily, the screenplay follows the novel practically to the title and the end result is as sobering, poignant and charming as it was in written form ? except with the spectacular visuals and not-too-grandiose score to complement the vivid storyline.

The plot of Terabithia focuses on fifth graders Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) who draws and Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) who writes. 

Both are highly creative and somewhat out of step with their scholarly peers, and are the unfortunate subjects of bullying. In the rejection of the "real" world, they find friendship and their creative juices spill out on the screen in the form of the enchanted land of Terabithia where they reign supreme and learn the value of keeping an open mind as well as hard work.

Don't let the casting of tweens in the lead roles fool you, though. They're mature enough as actors to demand the same respect as actors twice their age and deserve to be viewed as characters ? no more, no less. 

Hutcherson and Robb may be young, but the themes they explore are of adult magnitude, such as exclusion, bereavement, friendship and briefly religion, which reveals some dramatic notions about Terabithia just under the radar.

Perhaps because they jump right out of a novel they, as well as all the other characters, are able to enjoy being well developed and bypass Hollywood's more typical phony character models. They are certainly animated and lively, but they're not flat cartoons.

In keeping with the rather fantastic subject matter, special effects are employed that really bring the magical kingdom to life for the audience, but it is an appropriate amount and a lot of the action is grounded in reality, and sometimes pretty harsh reality at that. Many of them practically go unnoticed but such things as giant trolls, an army of dragonflies and the suspension of the laws of physics at points may be enough for some viewers to snap back to reality and reject playful whimsy. 

Bridge to Terabithia, the novel by Katherine Paterson, was a recipient of the prestigious Newberry Medal, so the film has a solid foundation as well as a lot to live up to. In January, the adaptation followed suit as the Heartland Film Festival bestowed it with the Truly Moving Picture Award. In order to fit the criteria, a recipient of this honor "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." 

It certainly does achieve this.

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