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DVD Features
- 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- (1.33:1 Reformatted Fullscreen sold separately)
- Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French, Spanish)
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Closed Captioned
- Release Date: June 19, 2007
- Suggested Retail Price: $29.99
Note: Some of the thematic descriptions in this review may be considered a spoiler.
The Movie
In another joint release from Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures, Bridge to Terabithia is the story of 5th graders Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) and Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), who are both outsiders in their rural town. Jess is an artist and has trouble relating to his family or classmates. Leslie takes pride in her differences and eventually forms a friendship with Jess as they create an imaginary world Leslie names Terabithia.
In their secret world, they deal with the bullies and monsters that parallel their school and family lives and always emerge victorious. Through their friendship, Jess gains self-esteem in his artistic gifts and learns there are many more possibilities in the world than the narrow life of his hometown. When tragedy strikes their friendship, Jess must find the strength to go on, honoring the world they created and learning to reach out to family in ways he never expected.
There has been a lot of discussion over the confusing marketing of Bridge to Terabithia. The trailers show all the exciting digital creatures and adventures the children find in Terabithia, with none of the sadness and serious aspects to the story. Many parents on our MousePlanet discussion boards and others expressed anger that they were misled by the marketing to expect a Chronicles of Narnia-type movie. In fact, the world of Terabithia and the creatures inhabiting it are only a very small part of the story. While I agree that the marketing of the film was very misleading, the movie itself is amazingly touching and beautiful. The young lead actors Hutcherson and Robb give emotional yet completely natural performances. They walk the fine line that 5th graders have between rivals and romance to a true, believable friendship.