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Horsegirl15
Guest
Anyone read the book or wants to see the movie? Comments please. Just saw a trailer for it and looks pretty good.
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LilyM
Guest
I read the book when I was a young 'un. Interesting that a movie wasn’t made before now. Great book for teens, not keen to see the movie now that I’m coff coff well past them.
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lotusblossom
Guest
I read it in grade school and I remember it being incredibly sad. But I’d definitely be interested in viewing the trailer to see if I’d want to see the movie.
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Contarini
Guest
It looks like the movie is not going to be much like the book. The movie looks like a Narnia ripoff, which is ironic because the book has a gentle homage to the Narnia stories. The book, however, is not fantasy except insofar as it deals with the imaginative world created by two kids. The focus isn’t on the details of that world, though, and it certainly isn’t treated as “real” in the world of the novel. The story is about the relationship between the two kids in the “real world”–at least that’s how I remember it.
Edwin
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punisherthunder
Guest
I agree.
Nothing like the book.
Total Narnia ripoff.
Nothing like the book.
Total Narnia ripoff.
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Lissla_Lissar
Guest
The book is wonderful, and very sad. It’s about a boy growing up in a small, poor town, and about his friendship with a girl who’s just moved into town from a big city. It’s about loneliness, alienation, and the depth of an imaginative friendship.
The movie looks like a fun-special-effects travesty.
The movie looks like a fun-special-effects travesty.
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Meggie
Guest
The book was soooo sad…I really don’t want to watch the movie becuase I think I was tramatuized by the story(I have a DEEP love of literature)…
…I definatly wouldn’t bring children under 10 to it…mesmerizing story but such a sad ending…and so incomplete
…I definatly wouldn’t bring children under 10 to it…mesmerizing story but such a sad ending…and so incomplete
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mlchance
Guest
Actually, it looks horrible. I’ve read the book several times, and what’s shown on the TV for the trailers is almost entirely unrecognizable. Apparently, the only points it has in common with the book are two children characters and the title. If I weren’t so lazy, I’d picket the theaters with signs that say, “Stop the Violence!”
– Mark L. Chance.
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Cat
Guest
Let’s wait and see the movie first before condemning it, OK?
Of course the trailers are going to show all the “action” and fantasy and special effects. They have to attract all the people into the theater who have never read the book. Gentle trailers about friendship and death aren’t going to attract too many people. Action will get cause people to buy tickets.
I understand that the same company who produced Narnia did this movie. Narnia was an amazingly good movie that followed the book accurately. It was incredible how they were able to produce a movie that pleased Christians and non-Christians.
Why would this production company take a formula that has been successful for them (following a book/story exactly) and throw it away? I feel fairly certain they’ll follow the very popular book closely. They know that kids and their parents are looking for Bridge to Terabithia, not some weird adaptation of it.
Even if they do blow it and destroy the story, it looks like the movie is at least a family film that people can watch without having to go home and take a Lysol shower (or go to confession) afterwards to clean the slime out of their souls. I say we should support any efforts by Hollywood to make wholesome movies.
My favorite actor is in this movie, so I hope it’s good movie. (Robert Patrick-he plays the father of the boy.)
Of course the trailers are going to show all the “action” and fantasy and special effects. They have to attract all the people into the theater who have never read the book. Gentle trailers about friendship and death aren’t going to attract too many people. Action will get cause people to buy tickets.
I understand that the same company who produced Narnia did this movie. Narnia was an amazingly good movie that followed the book accurately. It was incredible how they were able to produce a movie that pleased Christians and non-Christians.
Why would this production company take a formula that has been successful for them (following a book/story exactly) and throw it away? I feel fairly certain they’ll follow the very popular book closely. They know that kids and their parents are looking for Bridge to Terabithia, not some weird adaptation of it.
Even if they do blow it and destroy the story, it looks like the movie is at least a family film that people can watch without having to go home and take a Lysol shower (or go to confession) afterwards to clean the slime out of their souls. I say we should support any efforts by Hollywood to make wholesome movies.
My favorite actor is in this movie, so I hope it’s good movie. (Robert Patrick-he plays the father of the boy.)
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Brian_C
Guest
There was a sappy public or Canadian tv movie version put out in 1985. I watched it in elementary school.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_to_Terabithia_%281985_film%29
Terabithia and Where the Red Fern Grows were the two big downer books of my childhood.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_to_Terabithia_%281985_film%29
Terabithia and Where the Red Fern Grows were the two big downer books of my childhood.
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Cat
Guest
Here is the Variety review:
variety.com/review/VE1117932755.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
Unless I’m reading something into it that isn’t there, I get the feeling from the review that although there were some flaws in the movie, mainly the ending, overall the film was true to the book. It sounds like the film captures the loneliness of the boy and the difficulties for growing up an outcast, and that’s the important part of the story.
Looking forward to it.
As usual, my favorite actor (Robert Patrick) was sparely written up, but well-treated by the critics. I’m sure his part isn’t more than a few minutes of screen time, but the critics noticed him. Also, it’s salaried work for him, and he did a good job working with children (he always works well with children; see Spy Kids, A Texas Funeral, The Sopranos, etc.) and it will probably lead to more parts for him. At his age (48), that’s great. Yay!
variety.com/review/VE1117932755.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
Unless I’m reading something into it that isn’t there, I get the feeling from the review that although there were some flaws in the movie, mainly the ending, overall the film was true to the book. It sounds like the film captures the loneliness of the boy and the difficulties for growing up an outcast, and that’s the important part of the story.
Looking forward to it.
As usual, my favorite actor (Robert Patrick) was sparely written up, but well-treated by the critics. I’m sure his part isn’t more than a few minutes of screen time, but the critics noticed him. Also, it’s salaried work for him, and he did a good job working with children (he always works well with children; see Spy Kids, A Texas Funeral, The Sopranos, etc.) and it will probably lead to more parts for him. At his age (48), that’s great. Yay!
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dympnha
Guest
I loved the book and was horrified by the trailer. It seems to have little to do with the text.
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Cat
Guest
Another review: (You have to scroll down)
seattleweekly.com/2007-02-14/film/this-week-s-attractions.php
This review says DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE TRAILER!!!
It says that this movie is the story of a friendship, and that the relationship between the boy and his father elevates the movie to classic status.
Again, I encourage everyone to PLEASE not make up their minds before even seeing the picture.
seattleweekly.com/2007-02-14/film/this-week-s-attractions.php
This review says DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE TRAILER!!!
It says that this movie is the story of a friendship, and that the relationship between the boy and his father elevates the movie to classic status.
Again, I encourage everyone to PLEASE not make up their minds before even seeing the picture.
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ElizabethAnne
Guest
I feel like we must have seen two different movies. The Narnia movie did not match the book exactly. In fact, I found that they changed several things for no reason that I could figure out. I especially remember the children hiding from the wolves in trees. The wolves would have been able to smell them. Especially intelligent, talking wolves would not have forgotten to check the trees. In the book the children were farther ahead of the wolves than that.
It’s been over a year since I saw the movie, but I know there were other changes as well.
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CathCentrist
Guest
Never read the book, the trailer looks great. Hope theres enough in there to interest an adult viewer who likes stuff such as Potter, Narnia and LOTR - I’d say Aragon, but I havent seen it yet.
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Cat
Guest
This is from our dioscesan newspaper. The story is from Catholic News Service. I tried to find a link to the whole article, but unfortunately can’t. The article is by Mark Pattison, so maybe someone else can find the whole article and post a link.
The article is called “Catholic University Grad Brings His Mom’s Novel To Life On The Screen”
There is a picture of Katherine Paterson with her son David Paterson. The copy under the picture says, “Katherine Paterson, author of the novel “Bridge to Terabithia” poses with her son, David Paterson, at the premiere of the story’s film version in Los Angeles Feb. 3. David wrote and produced the movie based on his mother’s book that she dedicated to him in 1978.”
The article, which is several columns long, describes how “Bridge to Terabithia” was actually written by Mrs. Paterson for her son, because he experienced the story in his childhood. His father really WAS scary. He really did get picked on. He really was in love with his music teachers… Then he met a girl named Lisa, and became best friends with her. But before third grade, the little girl was struck by lightning and killed. Paterson was told that his friend was gone and he would never see her again.
His mother wrote the book for him and also for herself.
**OK, everyone, it seems to me that this young man is highly unlike to rewrite his own MOTHER’S book that was written about HIS OWN LIFE! ** Especially when she is still very much alive and standing right next to him at the premiere!
According to Paterson (in this article), “One of his conditions was that the movie studio was not going to betray the book…Ninety-nine percent of the time, when the “interpret” something, they bomb.”
OK? See the movie first, then complain to the AUTHOR herself and HER SON. OK?
Paterson did say in the article that “Even if every person who read “Bridge to Terabithia” saw the movie and brought five people along, the film would still lose money. We have to reach out to audiences that have never read the book or heard of it.”
So I suspect that my analysis about the trailer is correct–they’re trying to attract people who have never read the book. There probably is enhancement of the imaginary parts of the story, but it sounds to me on every side like the movie is true to the book’s story about friendship. Also, remember that since this is David Paterson’s own story, perhaps he added things into the movie that happened in his real life that his mother chose not to write into her book (maybe she didn’t know about the things that happened in her son’s mind back then).
The article is called “Catholic University Grad Brings His Mom’s Novel To Life On The Screen”
There is a picture of Katherine Paterson with her son David Paterson. The copy under the picture says, “Katherine Paterson, author of the novel “Bridge to Terabithia” poses with her son, David Paterson, at the premiere of the story’s film version in Los Angeles Feb. 3. David wrote and produced the movie based on his mother’s book that she dedicated to him in 1978.”
The article, which is several columns long, describes how “Bridge to Terabithia” was actually written by Mrs. Paterson for her son, because he experienced the story in his childhood. His father really WAS scary. He really did get picked on. He really was in love with his music teachers… Then he met a girl named Lisa, and became best friends with her. But before third grade, the little girl was struck by lightning and killed. Paterson was told that his friend was gone and he would never see her again.
His mother wrote the book for him and also for herself.
**OK, everyone, it seems to me that this young man is highly unlike to rewrite his own MOTHER’S book that was written about HIS OWN LIFE! ** Especially when she is still very much alive and standing right next to him at the premiere!
According to Paterson (in this article), “One of his conditions was that the movie studio was not going to betray the book…Ninety-nine percent of the time, when the “interpret” something, they bomb.”
OK? See the movie first, then complain to the AUTHOR herself and HER SON. OK?
Paterson did say in the article that “Even if every person who read “Bridge to Terabithia” saw the movie and brought five people along, the film would still lose money. We have to reach out to audiences that have never read the book or heard of it.”
So I suspect that my analysis about the trailer is correct–they’re trying to attract people who have never read the book. There probably is enhancement of the imaginary parts of the story, but it sounds to me on every side like the movie is true to the book’s story about friendship. Also, remember that since this is David Paterson’s own story, perhaps he added things into the movie that happened in his real life that his mother chose not to write into her book (maybe she didn’t know about the things that happened in her son’s mind back then).
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Horsegirl15
Guest
Ok I just saw it and here are just a few comments from a teenager’s perspective. I thought that Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb were PERFECT for these two characters. You really felt the bond that these two kids had and that was probably the best part of the movie for me. IMO, just seeing the beautiful friendship that was portrayed was worth the price of admission. From the start, you feel a connection with the characters, especially Jesse. On the downside, we dont get to see a whole lot of Terabithia. I thought that it would be the main focus of the movie but it wasnt, sorry to say. The movie focused more on the kids’ lives. Even though this is aimed at children, I think it is more for 10 and up. Some parts are very sad and I found myself crying along with my friends. Overall, great movie buts its a tearjerker not a happy-go-lucky family story. Two thumbs up.
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Contarini
Guest
As others have said, it sounds as if the movie is a lot more like the book than the trailer made it sound. I was put off by the trailer (because much as I like fantasy movies, that’s not what this particular story is about), so your review encourages me that the movie did remain faithful to the main theme of the book, even if they couldn’t resist a bit of CGI!
Walden Media is doing good work–I hope they keep it up. The Narnia movie wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty good as movie adaptations go. And I’ve heard great things about their version of Charlotte’s Web, though I haven’t seen it yet. I also want to see the movie about Wilberforce. I hardly ever see movies any more, what with two teaching jobs (one full-time, one part-time), several writing projects, and a three-month-old baby.
Yes, I know–what am I doing on this board!
Edwin
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Cat
Guest
Here are 13 reviews of the movie:
movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809420332/critic
Almost every review mentions that the movie is nothing like the trailer.
Only one review is negative. It contradicts all the other reviews, and the critic disdainfully refers to the “Christian” company that produced the film. Sounds under the surface like he has something against “Christians.” He apparently sees something (gag!) Christian in Bridge to Terabithia and that’s why he gave it a C-. Good reason to go see the movie, IMO!
But all the other reviews praise the movie for capturing the book.
Some of you might wonder why I’m so determined to defend this movie.
I’m an ex-Protestant, and over and over, I’ve seen really good art trashed by Christians who conjure up imaginary demons or imaginary connections with “the antichrist” or “the illuminati.” They make other Christians look foolish, and they cause people to turn away from religion, the Church, and the Bible.
I don’t want my fellow Catholics to be like that!
Sometimes there are truly controversial issues; e.g., Harry Potter has Christian fans and foes with good reason. There are some sticky occult issues with these books/films, and I can understand why some Christian parents and schools are saying “no.” There are so many other great books for kids out there. Personally, I have no problem with Harry Potter, but I can understand why others do have problems with it.
But Bridge to Terabithia doesn’t have these hot button issues or “fuzzy” theological disputes or a tendency to portray evil as good (a LOT of Hollywood movies and tv shows do this–how many times have you sighed with delight as the couple fell into bed together, in spite of the fact that this couple JUST MET! AAAGHH!).
Bridge is is a very big bone that Hollywood has thrown us! Let’s grab it and run and tell them we want MORE big bones! I don’t know about you, but I’m very tired of movies that show smart-aleck kids, adults interested in nothing but sex, and a godless world-view. One of the reviews in the list above mentions the hints of religion in this movie. BRAVO! It’s about time Hollywood started reflecting REAL LIFE, not some weird godless universe created in an agnostic, cynical screenplay writer’s mixed-up head.
My favorite actor, Robert Patrick (the father in Bridge to Terabithia) has publicly stated that he is looking for family-friendly movies to be part of. He has two kids and has said that they are his greatest production. IMO, there is a movement in Hollywood, involving actors like Patrick and producers like Jay Russell, to produce significant films with stirring themes that lift people up and encourage them to love God and others. We need to support this movement and these people, not find imagined reasons to tear their work apart.
movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809420332/critic
Almost every review mentions that the movie is nothing like the trailer.
Only one review is negative. It contradicts all the other reviews, and the critic disdainfully refers to the “Christian” company that produced the film. Sounds under the surface like he has something against “Christians.” He apparently sees something (gag!) Christian in Bridge to Terabithia and that’s why he gave it a C-. Good reason to go see the movie, IMO!
But all the other reviews praise the movie for capturing the book.
Some of you might wonder why I’m so determined to defend this movie.
I’m an ex-Protestant, and over and over, I’ve seen really good art trashed by Christians who conjure up imaginary demons or imaginary connections with “the antichrist” or “the illuminati.” They make other Christians look foolish, and they cause people to turn away from religion, the Church, and the Bible.
I don’t want my fellow Catholics to be like that!
Sometimes there are truly controversial issues; e.g., Harry Potter has Christian fans and foes with good reason. There are some sticky occult issues with these books/films, and I can understand why some Christian parents and schools are saying “no.” There are so many other great books for kids out there. Personally, I have no problem with Harry Potter, but I can understand why others do have problems with it.
But Bridge to Terabithia doesn’t have these hot button issues or “fuzzy” theological disputes or a tendency to portray evil as good (a LOT of Hollywood movies and tv shows do this–how many times have you sighed with delight as the couple fell into bed together, in spite of the fact that this couple JUST MET! AAAGHH!).
Bridge is is a very big bone that Hollywood has thrown us! Let’s grab it and run and tell them we want MORE big bones! I don’t know about you, but I’m very tired of movies that show smart-aleck kids, adults interested in nothing but sex, and a godless world-view. One of the reviews in the list above mentions the hints of religion in this movie. BRAVO! It’s about time Hollywood started reflecting REAL LIFE, not some weird godless universe created in an agnostic, cynical screenplay writer’s mixed-up head.
My favorite actor, Robert Patrick (the father in Bridge to Terabithia) has publicly stated that he is looking for family-friendly movies to be part of. He has two kids and has said that they are his greatest production. IMO, there is a movement in Hollywood, involving actors like Patrick and producers like Jay Russell, to produce significant films with stirring themes that lift people up and encourage them to love God and others. We need to support this movement and these people, not find imagined reasons to tear their work apart.
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Mommyof02green
Guest
Here is a link to Catholic News Service and the review to Bridge to Terabithia
catholicnews.com/data/movies/07mv031.htm
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