'Terebithia': Is Good
Version of Great Book
© By Kevin Paquet, 2006

"Bridge to Terabithia" is probably one of the most memorable reads of my childhood, and I was rather worried when the trailers that played on TV prior to the movie’s release appeared to have virtually nothing to do with the book.

Fortunately, however, I found this adaptation to be fundamentally true to my memory of the book, although somewhat imperfect overall.

It’s the story of poor "farm boy" Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson), who befriends a girl new to his school. Her name is Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), and her parents, more often spoken of than seen, are writers. She stands out in class as being talented both physically and mentally, which manages to win the ire of the class. However, she and Jess become friends once Jess starts to admire, rather than resent, her talents.

They attend Lark Creek School, under two teachers—the stern Mrs. Myers (Jen Wolfe) and the musical Ms. Edmonds, played by Zooey Deschanel, whom Randolph movie patrons might remember as Trillian in "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" back in the summer of 2005. In addition to the jerks in their class, they must also deal with the school bully. In a form true to the sort of books and movies that parents actually want their kids looking at, they do so through trickery rather than combat.

This was about the time the movie started to win me over. The trailers made this movie out to be some kind of fantasy adventure—which it is, but only to a small extent. The fantasy land of the story, Terabithia, which is actually just some neighboring woodland, is where the children go to be away from the bothers of their real lives. What stops this from being one of those escapist fictions where the dream can’t outrun the nightmare is that the children go to Terabithia to get away from their problems—but return from it with solutions.

The bulk of the movie takes place in the "real" world of student life, with Terabithia as a sanctuary for Jess and Leslie, and the troubled world of the adults fading in and out around the edges. I felt this was done pretty well, although certain characters are underdeveloped—Leslie’s parents; Jess’s mom; Ms. Edmonds, who really doesn’t seem to do much other than sing and move boxes, even though a museum visit reveals her to be quite smart.

"Bridge to Terabithia" is the novel kids should read at the age they start phasing out stories with magic and start phasing in stories where people say "damn" occasionally. It’s a coming-of-age story that manages to use the best of the old to make the most of the new, and though I’ve long since graduated to books far longer and far darker, I still respect that.

This wasn’t the best book-to-movie adaptation I’ve ever seen, but it was in no way the train wreck I sincerely expected it to be. Bonus points for the fake love letter, Leslie in church, and getting to see Jess punch imaginary squirrel monsters. Kevin gives "Bridge to Terabithia" three and a half stars out of five.