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Difficulty in relating to people has made young Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) keep to himself.
His schoolmates make him a target of their teasing and pranks. At home he is neither faring well with his parents and little sister Mabelle (Bailee Madison). His time is spent working on his scrapbook filling it with sketches and drawings. When the school scheduled a racing contest, Jess decides to enter it and win. But a newcomer to his fifth grade class, Leslie Burke (Anna Sophia Robb) beats him to the finish line. She tries to make friends with him. After several attempts he relents and they become fast friends, sharing the same interest: he draws and sketches what he imagines, as she writes and tells the stories that her mind shows her. Together they discover the "kingdom of Terabithia" which they could reach by swinging on a rope from their side of the river to the other side, a place of wonder and adventure.
The very imaginative visual effects, well composed shots and sequences and enhanced
cinematography, instead of overwhelming the story, actually serve as the means to focus on the situation of Jess and Leslie.
Josh Hutcherson and Anna Sophia Robb are effective as two preteens who experience problems in their young life. Viewers of their age-range with similar difficulties may find themselves empathizing with the characters.
Jess and Leslie find themselves not accepted by their schoolmates.
Jess did not also like Leslie the first few time she tried talking to him. But they soon found out that they were two of a kind and they quickly became the best of friends. They were always together, going places, doing things, helping each other, enjoying imaginary adventures and places. It is a positive friendship that helped them grow, learn to accept the not so ideal real world, appreciate praise from the teacher, feel for caring parents, do what they could, and respond to efforts to becoming peace loving persons.
(Date Reviewed: 23 February 2007)
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