An attraction between outsiders, their friendship feeds on her words and his pictures together they create an imaginary kingdom in the woods behind their homes, a world they can control and where their minds can roam free.īeautifully capturing a time when a bully in school can loom as large as a troll in a nightmare and the encouragement of a teacher can alter the course of a life, Bridge to Terabithia keeps the fantasy in the background to find magic in the everyday. An introverted kid who is regularly picked on by the school jerks, Jess forms a bond with a new student named Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb), a free spirit whose parents, both writers, are fondly neglectful. Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is a sixth grader with four sisters, financially strained parents (Robert Patrick and Kate Butler) and a talent for drawing.

The result is a movie whose emotional depth could appeal more to adults than to their offspring. Paterson's son) and Jeff Stockwell have produced a thoughtful and extremely affecting story of a transformative friendship between two unusually gifted children. Adapting Katherine Paterson's award-winning novel, the screenwriters David Paterson (Ms.

Despite an ad campaign suggesting wall-to-wall special effects, Bridge to Terabithia is grounded in reality far more than in fantasy.

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