Bridge to Terabithia

From the desk of The Movie Snob

Bridge to Terabithia (C). This movie is not the family-friendly feature I was expecting. In fact, it's a big old downer of a movie that you should hesitate to take your young children to. Most of the movie is an ordinary, not particularly interesting story about two fifth graders, Jesse and Leslie, who are sort of misfits at school. They become friends, play together in the woods, and imagine they are having adventures and fighting monsters in the fantasy land of Terabithia. Some mild special effects do little to enliven the picture. Then, without warning, a serious tragedy strikes and turns the remainder of the movie into a surprisingly dark tearjerker. Also, religiously minded parents might have some difficulty with the Enlightenment views expressed by one of the stars.