DVD Review by Maggie Woods | Bridge To Terabithia

Bridge To Terabithia

IN A WORLD OF FANTASY, nobody can make you cry. From the people who brought you The Chronicles of Narnia comes the box office smash hit and critically- acclaimed Bridge To Terabithia, fantasy/adventure story of friendship, family and the power of imagination.

Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) has trained hard all summer to win the school race, but he is beaten by new girl Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb). Initial resentment leads to a deep friendship and Jesse falls under the spell of Leslie's storytelling about the secret kingdom of Terabithia. The youthful Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb play their parts with conviction and empathy.

Terabithia is a magical place that only they can escape to — by swinging on a rope across the stream in the woods. Once in their own dreamland, the two rule the kingdom, fight The Dark Master and his creatures and plot against the school bullies.

The bullies, the strict schoolteacher, the Aaron family's financial problems and Jesse's need for his father's love are left far behind as magical things start to happen and Leslie and Jesse live out the fantasy — right down to the friendly giant troll that is a dead ringer
for an old enemy.

Together the two friends form a close bond and Jesse's life will never again be the same. Adventures and amazement in other worlds centre round these two kindred spirits and Jesse finds that life isn't that bad after all — thanks to his friendship with Leslie, he is changed for the good.

But then tragedy strikes and Terabithia begins to fade until out of the sadness comes forth a new base on which to build the dream — along with a deeper understanding and the rebuilding of bridges.

Based on the much-loved book by Katherine Paterson, Bridge To Terabithia is a life-affirming story of friendship, magic and wonder that you'll want to see again and again. Released just in time for the school half-term and packed with special features, the DVD is the perfect starting point to ignite everyone's imagination with ideas to fill the holiday.

Brimming with fantastic creatures, palaces and beautiful forests, the world of Terabithia is brought to life by the amazing Academy Award-winning visual effects wizards at Weta Digital (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong).

If your mind is wide enough, then let your imagination take you over the Bridge to Terabithia. The film is enjoyable, a visual delight and is full of human observations. Among the messages is one that demon-strates how revenge isn't as sweet as you might think. A well acted, well thought out and thought provoking film that stretches the imagination.

Of particular note is Zooey Descharel as the guitar-playing teacher
Ms Edmonds, who encourages Jesse's artistic talent; Bailey Madison
as Jesse's cute little sister MayBelle; Jen Wolfe as strict (but ultim-ately fair) teacher Mrs Myers and Lauren Clinton as class bully Janice — I thought she was splendidly believable.

Special features: Behind the book featurette | Bringing Terabithia to life featurette | Keep your mind wide open — AnnaSophia Robb — music video | Director/writer/producer audio commentary | Cast audio commentary | Cast and crew interviews | Gallery containing 25 images of competition winners' creature paintings and credit roll for additional 100 winners names and schools | Icon trailer reel.

• First released on 15 October 2007 and distributed by Icon Home Entertainment, Bridge To Terabithia (certificate PG) is a family film
with a running time of 95 minutes. UK DVD Price £19.99 RRP/UK
Blu-ray price £24.99 RRP.

"Simply Glorious" — Metro

"Delightful… The best family film you'll see all year" — Daily Mirror

"Charming, magical and moving; the finest family fantasy of the year" — Daily Star

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