Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Directed by Gábor Csupó
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's poor, she's a city girl, and he's a country boy the two become fast friends. Together they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants where they rule as king and queen.
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Directed by Gabor Csupo (who wrote and produced "The Wild Thornberrys Movie"), the movie moves along at a good pace and, thankfully, doesn't take the easy way out by leaning on computer-generated animation.
An adaptation of a Newberry Medal-winning kids' novel, Bridge to Terabithia is more As the World Turns than The Wizard of Oz.
The movie "Terabithia" was co-written and produced by David Paterson, son of the original author, whose boyhood inspired the major character, Jess (Josh Hutcherson of "The Polar Express").
Yet this is no Heavenly Creatures.
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Out in the woods, the two find an old treehouse and refashion it into a mythical land called Terabithia, complete with an evil overlord and giants and minions (the squirrels-on-steroids look a bit like the R.O.U.S. from "The Princess Bride ").
And while the almost 30-year old story is indeed spruced up with some Narnia-style CGI to suit the sophisticated 10- and 15-year olds who will undoubtedly be enjoying its otherwise understated charms, this is a film that shares company with the likes of Zathura, Toy Story and even E.T. as a sweet and satisfying celebration of what it's like to think and feel like a kid.