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Bridge to Terabithia (2007 film)

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For the novel, see Bridge to Terabithia (novel).
For the movie adaptation of 1985, see Bridge to Terabithia (1985 film).
Bridge to Terabithia
Theatrical poster
Directed byGábor Csupó
Written byKatherine Paterson (book)
David L. Paterson
Jeff Stockwell
Produced byDavid Paterson
Lauren Levine
Hal Lieberman
StarringJosh Hutcherson
AnnaSophia Robb
Robert Patrick
Bailee Madison
Zooey Deschanel
CinematographyMichael Chapman
Edited byJohn Gilbert
Music byAaron Zigman
Distributed byWalt Disney Pictures (USA)
Walden Media (non-USA through Summit Entertainment)
Paramount Pictures (Latin America)
Release date
February 16, 2007
Running time
96 min.
CountriesUnited States
New Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60,000,000
Box office$133,887,109

Bridge to Terabithia is a 2007 film directed by Gábor Csupó (co-founder of Klasky-Csupo) for Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, based on the Katherine Paterson novel of the same name. The film was released on February 16, 2007 in the U.S. and Canada, and June 16, 2007 in New Zealand 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 for thematic elements including bullying, some peril and mildly offensive language.

Plot

12-year-old Jesse "Jess" Aarons is an aspiring artist living in a financially struggling family. 11-year-old Leslie Burke has just moved to Lark Creek and is the new girl at Jess's school who has had trouble making friends at school and yet is full of joy and wonder with a vast imagination. She enters a running event which she wins, despite her classmates calling it a "boys-only" race. At first, Jess is quite sour about this and wants nothing to do with Leslie, but Leslie's persistence in meeting him soon pays off, and the two become very close friends. Their friendship starts when Leslie offers Jess a piece of Juicy Fruit gum on the bus, and he accepts. Jess shares his secret love of drawing with Leslie. Together they venture into the woods, where they swing across a creek on a rope and find an abandoned tree house on the other side. Here, the two friends invent a new world they call Terabithia, and it comes to life through their eyes as they explore together. Reflections of their world abound in Terabithia: in particular, the gigantic ogre bears a face that mysteriously resembles that of feared bully Janice, who even charges younger children "admission" to the ladies' room. Leslie gives Jess an unexpected birthday present, an art kit, and he gives Leslie a dog (Prince Terrien) in return, much to both of the children's happiness. Leslie thanks Jess by hugging him, revealing her secret affections towards him. Jess is a bright but not too verbal youngster, and his new-found friendship is a critical step in helping him blossom as a young man, also improving his strained relationship with his overworked mother and aloof, nuts-and-bolts father.

On the next trip to Terabithia later that day, it is noted that the river beneath the rope has begun to swell and there is increasing tension as Leslie and Jess swing across the creek, their feet brushing the water. Indistinct images of foreboding begin to occur to the viewer.

At the end of a particular visit to Terabithia, Jess watches Leslie run back to her house (the same way he would watch his music teacher, Ms. Edmunds) realizing he has fallen in love with her. Early the next morning, Ms. Edmunds, who has noticed Jess's artistic interests, calls to invite him on a field trip to an art museum. He makes an effort to ask his mother's permission; she is half-asleep and doesn't actually say anything, but he is so eager to go that he assumes she has agreed. He has a crush on the beautiful and personable teacher and does not want to share the trip with Leslie; he merely looks at her home as they drive by.

When he returns, his father and mother are worried sick, not knowing where he has been all day. He hears the horrifying news that Leslie has died trying to swing across the rain-swollen creek. He learns that the rope broke and Leslie fell in, hit her head on something - possibly a rock - which knocked her unconscious, and drowned. Jess is deeply grieved. He and his parents visit the Burke family home to "pay their respects." There Bill Burke tells him of her being in love with him as well as thanking him for being a very good friend to her since she had trouble making friends at her own school. At school Gary and Scott insult Leslie's death with Jess beating them up as a result from fighting their monster selves at Terabithia.

Jess feels overwhelming guilt for Leslie's death, but his father consoles him to keep their intense friendship alive for her sake.—even considering giving him the dog, Prince Terrien, which Jess refuses to accept. So Jess re-imagines Terabithia and builds a bridge across the river to welcome a new ruler. He invites his sister, Maybelle Aarons to enter Terabithia; she is delighted because she was previously denied any opportunity to enter. She and Jess bring back Terabithia in even greater splendor, Jess as king and his sister as princess.

Background and production

The filmmakers have distanced themselves from the advertising campaign for the film, saying that the advertising is deliberately misleading and makes the film seem to be about or occur in a fantasy world like that of Harry Potter, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Keys to the Kingdom or His Dark Materials.[1] 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 the 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.[1]

David Lord Paterson is one of the producers and screenwriters[2] 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 they were eight years old.[3][4] Paterson, an alumnus of The Catholic University of America,[5] held a special advance screening of the film for members of the CUA community at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland on February 1, 2007.

The film has also been a recipient of the F.I.L.M. award (Finding Inspiration in Literature and Movies). It was cinematographer Michael Chapman's final film before his self-imposed retirement.

Filming locations

The main filming locations were around Auckland, New Zealand with soundstage work at the Hobsonville Aerodrome, Hobsonville and outside work at Woodhill Forest, Woodhill. 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. The Puhoi church was used in the church scene. Principal photography wrapped in early April, 2006."[6]

Cast

Distribution

Release dates

  • USA and Canada: February 16, 2007
  • India: February 16, 2007
  • Philippines: February 21, 2007
  • Hungary: February 22, 2007
  • Russia: February 22, 2007
  • Iceland: February 23, 2007
  • Germany: March 1, 2007
  • Poland: March 2, 2007
  • Spain: March 2, 2007
  • Malaysia: March 8, 2007
  • Thailand: March 15, 2007
  • Brazil: March 16, 2007
  • Turkey: March 16, 2007
  • Belgium: March 28, 2007
  • France: March 28, 2007
  • Italy: March 30, 2007
  • Taiwan: April 4, 2007
  • Netherlands: April 26, 2007
  • Serbia: April 26, 2007
  • UK: May 4, 2007
  • Singapore: May 10, 2007
  • Estonia: May 11, 2007
  • Latvia: May 11, 2007
  • Hong Kong: May 31, 2007
  • Greece: June 7, 2007
  • New Zealand: June 7, 2007
  • Denmark: June 8, 2007
  • Norway: June 8, 2007
  • Australia: June 14, 2007
  • Bulgaria: June 22, 2007
  • Finland: August 3, 2007
  • Sweden: September 21, 2007
  • Israel: September 27, 2007
  • Kuwait: October 12, 2007
  • Mexico: November 9, 2007
  • Argentina: January 10, 2008
  • Peru: January 17, 2008
  • Egypt: January 23, 2008
  • Panama: January 25, 2008
  • Japan: January 26, 2008
  • Venezuela: April 11, 2008

DVD and blu-ray disc release

The DVD[7] and Blu-ray Disc (high definition version)[8] were released on June 19, 2007 in the United States. Both DVD and high definition Blu-ray version shared the same special features; including: "Digital Imagination: Bringing Terabithia to Life", "Behind the Book: The Themes of Bridge to Terabithia","Keep Your Mind Wide Open" music video by AnnaSophia Robb, and an audio commentary with director Gabor Csupo, writer Jeff Stockwell, and producer Hal Lieberman, and a second audio commentary with producer Lauren Levine and actors Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb. This movie is also by Klasky Csupo

Reception

Box office performance

In an analysis by Boxofficeprophets.com, Bridge to Terabithia had a strong second place domestic opening over the Presidents' Day weekend, grossing "a higher-than-expected $28,536,717 from only 2,284 screens: $9,885 per screen average".[9] The opening Friday box office was $6.3 million.[10]

As of April 6, 2007, Bridge to Terabithia has a worldwide gross of $120 million US, taking in $80 million in the United States and Canada alone.[11]

Reviews

The film received an overwhelmingly positive international reaction, earning an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. James Berardinelli of ReelViews said that "This is easily the best family feature of the early year." Jessica Grose of Village Voice said "Far from a computer-generated escapist fantasy, this film is an unpretentious and touching tale of preteen companionship and loss." Jeannette Catsoulis of New York Times wrote that "consistently smart and delicate as a spider web, Bridge to Terabithia is the kind of children's movie rarely seen nowadays." It is also by Klasky Csupo.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Bridge to Terabithia has three elements: orchestral music, pop songs, and songs sung by children at school. The songs sung by the children at school were not included on the separately released CD soundtrack of the film.

See also: Music from and Inspired By Bridge to Terabithia

.

Alison Krauss was originally slated to score the movie, but had to back out due to time constraints. Scoring duties were then given to Aaron Zigman, and the orchestral music was composed and conducted by him:

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

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. This song is a different version from the one in the soundtrack. This version is only performed by Miley Cyrus, and doesn't feature her father Billy Ray Cyrus as did the original track. The lyrics are also different.
  • "Try" performed by Hayden Panettiere. Written by Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil and Mike Krompass.
  • "Keep Your Mind Wide Open" performed by AnnaSophia Robb. Written by Dave Bassett and Michelle Featherstone.
    The song "Keep Your Mind Wide Open" from the film soundtrack, performed by AnnaSophia Robb, is heard on the radio early in the film, during Jess's birthday.
  • "A Place for Us" performed by Leigh Nash and Tyler James. Written by Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy, and Aaron Zigman.
  • "Another Layer" performed by Jon McLaughlin. Written by McLaughlin and Jamie Houston.
    "Another Layer" is the music played when Jess and Leslie's family paint the room.
  • "Shine" performed by The Skies of America. Written by Rob Bonfiglio.
  • "Look Through My Eyes" performed by Everlife.

The children in the music class sing three songs:

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

Differences between film and book

The book has several noticeable differences from the film; commonly noticed ones are Leslie's appearance and the switch of roles at certain parts of the story.

  • Jess waves to Janice when he gets off the bus. In the film it's Leslie.
  • Jess's parents are wary about him hanging around with a girl. In the film his mother is pleased.
  • Leslie introduces herself to Jess at the fence between their homes before school starts. In the film, they first meet when she is placed in his class.
  • Jess goes to the grove of pines (not present in the film) with a wreath, instead of making a boat like in the film.
  • Leslie's hair is brown and Jesse's is blonde in the book, but in the movie it's swapped.

Leslie Burke's character has gone through a big change from book to film: examples include:

  • In the book Jess has trouble figuring out Leslie's gender on their first meeting, while in the film Leslie is clearly a girl.
  • In the book her character is an agnostic whereas in the film she just lacks Jess's Christian beliefs.
  • In the film she is a slightly different character and thus handles situations differently. She runs away when Jess confronts her after she tells the class she has no television, while in the film she withdraws it all. In the book there are different instances where she raises her voice or pulls stern looks, in the film there are none.
  • Leslie refers to her parents by their first names, rather than as "Mother" and "Father" (as part of their new-age upbringing). Also, the parents come across as hippies. In the movie, this plot element is lost.

The book also takes place in the 1970s (when it was first released). The movie was set in modern times, with appearances and references to pop culture such as Hannah Montana which appears in the background.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Terabithia Ads Mislead?, SCI FI Wire, February 7, 2007
  2. ^ David Paterson at IMDb Retrieved February 12, 2007
  3. ^ Question & Answer from Katherine Paterson's official website Retrieved March 11, 2007
  4. ^ Internet Archive version of June 2005 story Lisa Hill and the Bridge to Terabithia. Retrieved March 11, 2007
  5. ^ Catholic University of America Alumni magazine profile Spring 2006 Retrieved February 15, 2007
  6. ^ Walden Media Retrieved February 24, 2007.
  7. ^ Bridge to Terabithia (2007) - DVD details for
  8. ^ Blu-ray.com - Bridge to Terabithia (Blu-ray)
  9. ^ Weekend Box Office Wrap-Up for February 16 to February 18, 2007 by John Hamann Retrieved February 19, 2007
  10. ^ "Friday Box Office Analysis" by Tim Briody February 17, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2007
  11. ^ "Box Office Mojo: Bridge to Terabithia" April 6, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2007
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