"A Bridge to Terabithia" is based on the children book written by Katherine Paterson. It is a brilliant and compelling tale about the amazing strength of a child's imagination.

Set in the modern day, "A Bridge to Terabithia" is a story of two young kids, Jess and Leslie (Josh Hutcherson & AnnaSophia Robb). Both outcasts in their junior high school, the two find some common ground that begins to strengthen their bond. Jess loves to draw, whereas Leslie loves to create wondrous stories with her imagination. As their friendship builds, they decide to create a world of their own to get away from the bullies at school and the responsibilities at home. A place that don't ever have to tell anyone about...a place where they can be king and queen...a world they create and call Terabithia. In this place, they can run as fast as they want, they rule over the Terabithians, and stand up to all of the evil that comes to them. With the friendship that bonds them together, they have created a place they can be happy, and no one will ever cause them to forget their bridge to Terabithia.

"A Bridge to Terabithia" is a fantastic film. It is centered around a story both kids and adults can love. It is at its core a love story, not romantic love but deep friendship and a understanding between two friends whose bond is stronger than anything else in life. The acting in "Terabithia" is spot on; Hutcherson and Robb do a great job at drawing us into their characters. Zooey Deschanel does a wonderful job as Ms. Edmonds, a teacher who only wants to help and encourage them to grow into their passions. Director Gabor Csupo brings this story to the screen with ease. Every character created by Jess and Leslie almost feels as if it could be real, and that this world is a place we want to be.

"A Bridge to Terabithia" is a fun, entertaining film that is so much more than just a story of two kids making up a world. It is a story of love, life, and death...it teaches us that in life we have to remember that there is more than just surviving. We have to live life to its fullest...taking everyday one day at a time, and remember all the good things that we have in life and savor them.

The DVD

Video:

"A Bridge to Terabithia" gets a really nice video transfer. We get some fantastic detail, especially in outdoor scenes, very good skin tones, and great colors. There are a couple times with some mild grain and some inconsistent spots, mainly in the dark areas. However, this definitely should not hold you back. The overall video is top-notch and is absolutely beautiful. When Terabithia comes alive we see a beautiful world with incredible detail and color. Adding to the beauty is the cinematography. The cinematography is nearly perfect, and truly enhances our viewing pleasure.

Sound:

Here we get a 5.1 Uncompressed and a 5.1 Dolby Digital Track. This dialogue track is extremely clean and crisp. Sometimes, maybe...just maybe it is a bit quiet but that is being harsh. The surrounds are filled with wildlife that truly comes alive. During the times of dialogue, and back into the "real" world, we get a nice track that doesn't push any limits, but is very consistent. The soundtrack is also top-notch and truly brings us to believe in Terabithia.

Extras:

Behind the Book: The Themes of Bridge to Terabithia: Here we get teachers, librarians, and even some cast members praising Katherine Paterson's book, "A Bridge to Terabithia." The teachers really hit on the subject matter in the book and how important it is to teach our kids these values that Paterson has portrayed here. My favorite part of the feature is Paterson herself talking about the book and relating to the film.

Digital Imagination: Bringing Terabithia to Life: This is a very short feature highlighting the making of Terabithia & the Visual Effects behind it.

Music Video: AnnaSophia Robb: "Keep Your Mind Wide Open."

Now here is the surprise that is awaiting you when you open up the disc. On the back the features above are what we can expect, but when you pop in the disc, we get two commentaries that no one was expecting! First off we get a commentary by Director Gaber Csupo, Writer Jeff Stockwell and Producer Hal Lieberman. These guys do a great job of touching on the more technical side of things and giving us really nice details. The commentary is pretty technical and will really relate to big fans. Next up is the second commentary with actors Josh Hucherson & AnnaSophia Rubb, who are joined by Producer Lauren Levine: It is a blast to listen to these two kids talk about their experience filming Terabithia, and "breaking" down individual scenes as seen by our main actors.

Final Thoughts:

"Bridge to Terabithia" is a fantastic film. I absolutely fell in love with our two characters as they created a world together, a place where they can get away and become whatever they can imagine. I was absolutely drawn into the story in everyway. The video quality is fantastic with only a couple spotty moments, but the audio track definitely pulls us into the film even more. I highly recommend "Terabithia" to anyone looking for a great glimpse into a child's imagination.