In these days of advanced special effects, literary fantasies are particularly ripe for screen adaptations. Disney certainly likes the trend (see "The Chronicles of Narnia") and now those good ol' folks who blessed our childhoods with the likes of "Aladdin" bring us "Bridge to Terabithia," the theatrical trailer for which is littered with CGI monsters, flying children and enchanted landscapes.
One problem: "Bridge to Terabithia" isn't a fantasy film. The film adaptation of Katherine Paterson's 1978 Newberry-winning novel is more about the precious friendship forged by two preteens than any animated fairies or haunted forests. The few digital effects that are actually employed are maddeningly distracting and second-rate. Talk about false advertising.
A bigger special effect of "Terabithia" is the performance of soon-to-be-star AnnaSophia Robb. With the recent release of "Little Miss Sunshine," a few critics called Abigail Breslin the anti-Dakota Fanning of child stars, but I would nominate Robb for the title. With a bright-eyed zeal that's anything but cloying, Robb plays Leslie Burke, the new girl in town who attacks bullies, school and life in general with a beyond-her-years sensibility and verve. Not the kind of girl who makes friends easily, her dad says. But when she beats all the boys in a race at recess, Leslie strikes up a conversation with the second-place finisher, who seems lonelier and quieter than the rest. Turns out he's her neighbor Jess (Josh Hutcherson), a misfit with a passion for art that his demanding, hard-luck parents can't understand. Leslie and Jess's friendship blossoms naturally, and soon they envelop themselves in an imagined fantasy realm in the woods behind their homes. Terabithia, as Leslie dubs it, helps them escape the pressures of life back in the real world.
The real world is the stage for most of the movie's action (and thankfully so, as it's more interesting than the Terabithia scenes). Bullies make it hard for students -- especially outcasts like Jess and Leslie -- to navigate the junior high hallways and the perils of the school bus. Jess's hardscrabble dad (an effective Robert Patrick) constantly chides his only son. Jess and Leslie learn to overcome the pain of such events with the help of each other's company. It's a companionship that's genuine without being too cutesy -- when Leslie tells Jess to always look around with his "mind wide open," you really believe she means it.
Meanwhile, a boho-chic music teacher (Zooey Deschanel, great in a mostly wasted role) draws the affection of Jess, which becomes integral later on in the film. (Oddly, her music class, featuring smiling kids shaking tambourines and singing "Ooh Child" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?" seems to be all these kids do at school. I wish my middle school ran like that.)
"Terabithia" isn't any ordinary dose of Disney schmaltz. For all its fantastical elements and uncomplicated messages geared towards tweens and younger, "Terabithia" ultimately has a tragic, weighty story to tell. Those of us who read the book way back when might remember the finale fleshed out a little better, but its translation to the screen is passable.
In the end, it's a shame that "Terabithia" decided to digitize parts of its alternate universe. In doing so, it draws inevitable comparisons to the Oscar-winning "Pan's Labyrinth," a film strikingly similar in plot (a young girl imagines a beautiful and frightful world that enables her to escape the turmoil of her own life) but tremendously superior in every other way. But since it's primarily a kiddie flick, "Terabithia" ought not be taken that seriously. If you're fed up with Oscar season self-importance, here is a refreshing return to innocent entertainment.
