There are some childhood loves that you outgrow, and then there are the ones that you carry with you forever. In my case, one of those latter loves is for melodramatic young-adult novels. Ever since my boyhood days, when I was (probably) the only boy in the world to devour Judy Blume novels, I've loved YA novels that revolve around young tweens and/or teenagers dealing with huge emotional events. Given that background, it shouldn't be a surprise that Katherine Paterson's 1977 novel Bridge To Terabithia is one of my favorite books. At first glance, the book tells a simple story: that of a friendship between a young boy (Jess Aarons) and a young girl (Leslie Burke), how said friendship grew as they created the imaginary world of Terabithia together, and how the friendship came to a tragic end. However, through that simple story, Katherine Paterson discusses many themes, including friendship, relationships with parents, the power of the imagination, and mortality. On top of that, the whole book is pervaded with a melancholy atmosphere that is distinctly '70s, something that all good YA fiction of the decade boasts. I have no idea why it took Disney so long to make a film adaptation of Bridge To Terabithia. Reading the book, one can see it fitting into the mold of the '70s-era live-action Disney flicks. At any rate, Disney eventually made a film version of the book in 2007, starring Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, and Zooey Deschanel. The film version of Bridge To Terabithia is a rarity among film adaptations: it's just as good as the book. The film captures the same melancholy atmosphere that characterizes the book. The book never specifies the setting, but the filmmakers provided us with a lush farmland-and-forest backdrop, the only sort of setting that the story could play out against. Every actor delivers a stellar performance, and the screenplay does a fine job of adapting the book; the script stays true to the essence of the story, while making the changes needed to make the story cinematic. While Bridge To Terabithia does have a strong cult following, it hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. If you like a good, afterschool- special-esque story ("afterschool-special-esque" is meant as a compliment), this flick is for you.
Alan Howell is a native of Southern California. He loves movies of any and all kinds, Hollywood, indie, and everywhere in between. He loves pizza, sitcoms, rock and pop music, surfing, baseball, reading, and girls (not necessarily in that order).
