A Bridge to Terrabithia
Movie Inspector Gregory has always been fond of drawing his conclusions based upon previews. It was then, with no great surprise that his verdict on “A Bridge to Terrabithia” came out as “a knock-off of last year’s Narnia flick.” I don’t suppose one can blame Gregson, really, as movie promoters often try to dress up ducks as swans, or chickens as marmosets, if they think the wrong impression will fill theaters.
The trailer for “A Bridge to Terrabithia,” like the recent “Pan’s Labryinth,” went to great pains to squeeze every drop of fantasy footage from the whole movie and put every bit of it into a two minute preview. Thus, a movie that is 95% drama and 5% fantasy can come out looking like “Harry Potter” or “Lord of the Rings.” It is a crime that no court in the land will ever punish, and I, as with many a movie-goer, would chase such preview editors about with a dog-whip, given the chance.
Happily, in the matter of “A Bridge to Terrabithia,” this bait-and-switch technique pulls viewers into a superior product, rather than a shoddy one.
“A Bridge to Terrabithia” is a movie about children and the imaginary worlds they create as they play. A tree-house becomes a fort, a stick becomes a sword, dragonflies become fairy soldiers. But Terrabithia is not a delusional escape, and the youngsters of this movie spend more time in the real world than their playtime one. They deal with family economic woes, playground social conflicts, and friendship, and do it in a very worthwhile fashion to the viewer.
Of course, this is a product of Hollywood, so the quirky new girl in school, played by AnnaSophia Robb, is a blonde California-ish charmer who could only stand out more in her class of dullish Appalachian-looking brunettes if she had a beam of heavenly light shining down on her. (And later, actually does get a heavenly glow in a moment that will cause any observant movie detective to immediately go “Uh-oh!”) She’s great in the part, though, as are all the kids in this movie.
Josh Hutcherson and Bailee Madison are excellent as the brother and sister at the core of the tale. Robert Patrick, once more playing the working-class father, will make you forget all about how intimidating he was as the second Terminator.
All in all, “A Bridge to Terrabithia” is a case worthy of your investigatory efforts, no matter your age. When you finally realize the source of the title, you’ll find out if you’re a cold, calculating automaton or not, as it does bring a tear.
What Great-grandfather Sherlock would have said about “A Bridge to Terrabithia”:
“See the value of imagination. It is the one quality which Gregory lacks.
Past Investigations
An Introduction to
Mr. Sherlock Holmes IV