Bridge to Terabithia (2007 film)

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Bridge to Terabithia
Promotional poster
Directed byGabor Csupo
Written byKatherine Paterson
David Paterson
Jeff Stockwell
Produced byDavid Paterson
Lauren Levine
Hal Lieberman
StarringJosh Hutcherson
AnnaSophia Robb
Robert Patrick
and
Zooey Deschanel
CinematographyMichael Chapman
Edited byJohn Gilbert
Music byAaron Zigman
Distributed byWalt Disney Pictures
Walden Media
Release dates
February 16, 2007
CountriesUSA
New Zealand
LanguageEnglish

Bridge to Terabithia is a 2007 film directed by Gabor Csupo for Disney/Walden Media. It is based on the Katherine Paterson novel Bridge to Terabithia. The film was released on February 16, 2007 and was number two at the box office in the U.S. and Canada over its opening weekend. It was rated PG by the MPAA.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is an elementary school boy living in a family that is just getting by financially; he has to wear the hand-me downs of his siblings. Considering that all his siblings are girls, hand-me downs mean girl things. When first introduced, he's practicing hard to win a race at school in duct taped sneakers. He wants to be first at something. Being the fastest kid in his grade would be great except he has to run the race in pink girl sneakers. Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) is the new girl, just arriving on the day of the race; which - despite it being a "boys only race" in the words of her classmates- she wins with ease. Jesse is, at first, quite sour and feels grim about this and wants nothing to do with Leslie. But, she's persistent, and with a stick of gum kindly offered, the two start hanging out more and more eventually becoming best friends. Jess shares his secret love of drawing with Leslie; Leslie shares with Jess her love of fantasy stories. Together they venture into the woods, where they swing across a rope and find a tree house on the other side. Together the two friends make a whole new world - Terabithia- and it comes to life before their very eyes - or in their wide-open minds.

Back in "the real world", they both plot against bullies at their school, Jesse deals with his family going through financial problems. Leslie gives Jesse a wonderful and unexpected birthday present (an art kit). And in return, Jesse gives Leslie a dog (Prince Therrien) she previously mentioned she wanted. They hug.

Jesse's music teacher, Ms. Edmunds (Zooey Deschanel), has noticed how good of an artist Jesse is and decides to take him on a field trip to an art museum. Jesse has an un-spoken crush on the teacher and does not want to share the trip with Leslie. So only Jesse goes to the museum.

When Jesse returns home his dad (Robert Patrick) tells him some horrible news. He says that his friend is dead. That when Jesse was away, it seems Leslie tried to cross over the rain swollen river herself. However it happened, the rope broke. Jesse's dad says that Leslie must have hit her head on a rock and drowned.

Jesse is beyond grief. At first, he is in denial.

When Jesse and his parents go to see Leslie's parents to give their respects, Leslie's dad says to Jesse, " She loved you, you know that?". Jesse talks as if Leslie is still there saying to Ms. Edmunds,"Next time we'll invite Leslie Burke. She'll like that".

Then Jesse feels overwhelming guilt and blames himself for selfishly -in his mind -not inviting Leslie along for the trip. He also is deeply worried about the fate of Leslie's soul. His dad is more than supportive; he consoles his stricken son and re-assures him about Leslie and telling him that what they had between them - their intense friendship - was deeply special and to keep it alive in honor of Leslie.

So, Jesse re-imagines Terabithia and builds a bridge across the river to welcome a new ruler. He invites his sister, May Belle Aarons (Bailee Madison) to be that new ruler. She's been long wanting to be a part of Leslie and Jesse's adventures and every time past he's denied her access. Now together they bring back Terabithia; Jesse the king, his sister the princess[1][2].

Template:Endspoiler

Trivia

  • The filmmakers have disavowed the advertisement campaign for the movie saying that the advertising is deliberately misleading; making the movie seem like it was about or occurring in a fantasy world like that of Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia[3]. David L. Paterson in the SCI FI Wire article was surprised by the trailer but understood the marketing reasoning behind it saying:

"Although there is a generation that is very familiar with book, if you are over 40, then you probably haven't, and we need to reach them. ... Everyone who read the book and sees the trailer says, 'What is this? This is nothing like the book. What are you doing, Dave?' And I say, 'You know what you're seeing is 15 seconds of a 90-minute film. Give me a little leeway and respect. Go see it, and then tell me what you think.'"[3].

  • David Lord Paterson is one of the producers and screenwriters [4] for Bridge to Terabithia. His name appears on the dedication page in his mother's novel Bridge to Terabithia. The story was based on his real life friend, Lisa Hill, who was struck by lightning and killed when he was 8 years old[5][6][7].
  • Paterson, an alumnus[8]. of the The Catholic University of America, held a special advance screening of the movie for members of the CUA community at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland on February 1, 2007.
  • Brenda and Ellie Aarons were watching Hannah Montana, when Jess came home. It shows them twice, looking at Jess. If you watch the TV screen, you can see that the same Hannah Montana clip is played.
  • This movie received a Heartland's Truly Moving Picture Award.[9][10]

Differences between the film and the book

  • In the book there is only one bully who is a girl named Janet, in the film there are two boy bullies named Gary and Scott
  • In the book, Jesse first meets Leslie in the field behind their houses. In the movie, Jesse first meets Leslie at school even though they are next door neighbors.
  • In the book, Jesse's family seems to have more of a farm - they have a milk cow. In the movie, Jesse's family grows vegetables to supplement their food.
  • In the book, Jesse has blond hair and Leslie has brown hair. In the film it's reversed.
  • At the end of the book, Jesse makes his sister, May Belle, the new Queen of Terabithia whereas in the film, he makes her the Princess.
  • In the book, Leslie calls her dad Bill, but in the movie, she calls him Dad.

Time differences between the film and the book

The book was clearly set in 1977. The film was updated 30 years to 2007. For example, in the film:

  • there are references to electronic games and downloading from the Internet. However, Jesse's family doesn't seem to have a computer though.
  • during Jesse's talk with his teacher, Mrs Myers, the copyright shown on a map of the historical USA reads "1990."
  • in the book, Leslie could not watch a documentary film on TV about Jacques Cousteau. In the film, the documentary was about the underwater explorer Bob Ballard.
  • Ms. Edmonds' music class sings "Someday" by Steve Earle which came out in 1986.

Soundtrack

  • In the theatrical trailer, the song, "The Poseidon" by Klaus Badelt is used. This song is from the 2006 movie, Poseidon.

The soundtrack to Bridge to Terabithia has three elements

Orchestral music. The orchestral music was composed by Aaron Zigman.

  • Seeing Terabithia
  • Into the Forest
  • The Battle
  • Jesse's Bridge

Pop songs. The pop songs are sung by a variety of artists.

  • I Learned From You. performed by Miley Cyrus. Written by Matthew Gerrard and Steve Diamond.
The song I Learned From You, which is on the Hannah Montana season 1 soundtrack, is featured during the credits. The song is performed by Miley Cyrus and her father and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.
The song Keep Your Mind Wide Open from the movie soundtrack, sung by AnnaSophia Robb, is heard on the television early in the film.
Another Layer is the music played when Jesse and Leslie's family paint the room.


Ms. Edmonds' music class sing a number of songs. There is at least three songs the kids sing.

Reception

Released on February 16, 2007, reviews so far for Bridge to Terabithia have been mostly positive. As of 28 Feb 2007, the film holds a 'certified fresh' rating of 84% on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes; Metacritic.com says it has generally favourable reviews and rates it at 74/100. The users at IMDB.com rate it at 7.2/10 (1833 votes). Some have praised it for mixing a blunt examination of real-life with the imaginative fantasies of Terabithia in a well-rounded way, as brought out by Gary Thompson from the Philadelphia Daily News, who stated, "[Director Gabor] Csupo understands that what's really important to this story isn't the fantasy, but the reality -- he's especially shrewd at showing us how keenly Jess feels his family's money troubles", while Kathy Cano Murillo of Arizona Republic states that the film was "One of the most grounded, realistic kid films to come along in a while." Also praised was the film's faithfulness to the book. Ty Burr at the Boston Globe says "Very Sad Things prompt Very Big Questions, and this movie is smart enough to avoid Very Easy Answers."

Negative criticisms include the indecisiveness or slow pace of the plot, lack of imagination, and not enough "glimpses" into the world of Terabithia. Many critics also shared the filmmakers' disgust for the film's misleading advertisement campaign.

Box office performance

In an analysis by Boxofficeprophets.com, Bridge To Terabithia had a strong second place opening over the President's Day weekend grossing "a higher-than-expected $28,536,717 from only 2,284 screens: $9,885 per screen average [11]. The opening Friday box office was $6.3 million which compares well with the 2006 President's Day weekend winner and Disney release, Eight Below which made $5.1 million over the same Friday and earned just under $25 million over the four days [12].

Budget:N/A [13].

Opening Week: $22,564,612

Domestic Total (As of Feb. 27):$48,174,889 [13]

Overseas total:$3,368,809

Worldwide Total:$51,543,698 [13]

Cast

Actor Role
Josh Hutcherson Jesse Aarons
AnnaSophia Robb Leslie Burke
Lauren Clinton Janice Avery
Zooey Deschanel Miss Edmunds
Jen Wolfe Mrs. Myers
Robert Patrick Jack Aarons
Katrina Cerio (as Kate Butler) Nancy Aarons
Devon Wood Brenda Aarons
Emma Fenton Ellie Aarons
Bailee Madison May Belle Aarons
Grace Brannigan Joyce Aarons
Elliot Lawless Gary Fulcher
Cameron Wakefield Scott Hoager
Latham Gaines Bill Burke
Judy McIntosh Judy Burke
Matt Gibbons Dark Master

Filming Locations

  • Auckland, New Zealand
  • Hobsonville Aerodrome, Hobsonville, Auckland, New Zealand
  • Woodhill Forest, Woodhill, Auckland, New Zealand
A user review on IMDb.com reports that the school bus scene was shot on Lyons Rd in Mangatawhiri in February 2006 [14].

†Source: IMDb.com[15]

  • The Walden Media website reports that Bridge to Terabithia "was filmed for 10 weeks on location in West Auckland, New Zealand, including the rural forest areas of Riverhead and Puhoi. Principal photography wrapped in early April, 2006."[16].

External links

References

  1. ^ The official web site for the film. The plot synopsis is listed in the "About the Movie" section, under the heading "Story."
  2. ^ Bridge to Terabithia movie stays true says author Retrieved February 15, 2007
  3. ^ a b Terabithia Ads Mislead?, SCI FI Wire, February 7, 2007
  4. ^ David Paterson at IMDb Retrieved February 12, 2007.
  5. ^ Question & Answer from Katherine Paterson's official website Retrieved 08 feb 2007
  6. ^ Our History: Takoma Archive June 2005 story Link does not work 14 Feb 2007
  7. ^ Internet Archive version of June 2005 story Lisa Hill and the Bridge to Terabithia Retrieved 14 Feb 2007
  8. ^ Catholic University of America Alumni magazine profile Spring '06 Retrieved 15 Feb 2007
  9. ^ [1] Retrieved 08 feb 2007
  10. ^ [2] Retrieved 08 feb 2007
  11. ^ Weekend Box Office Wrap-Up for February 16-18 2007 by John Hamann Retrieved 19 Feb 2007
  12. ^ Friday Box Office Analysis by Tim Briody February 17 2007 Retrieved 19 Feb 2007
  13. ^ a b c Box Office Mojo analysis of Bridge to Terabithia Reftrieved 19 Feb 2007 Cite error: The named reference "mojo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ IMdb user review Retrieved 24 Feb 2007
  15. ^ ""Bridge to Terabithia (2007)"". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  16. ^ Walden Media Retrieved 24 Feb 2007
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