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Bridge to Terabithia
Walt Disney Pictures

Bridge to Terabithia reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 74 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.3 out of 10
based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 117 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements including bullying, some peril and mild language

Starring Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel, Robert Patrick, Bailee Madison, and Lauren Clinton

Based on the popular Newberry Award-winning novel, Bridge to Terabithia is a fantasy/adventure story of friendship, family and the power of imagination. (Walt Disney Pictures)


GENRE(S): Adventure  |  Family/Kids  |  Fantasy  
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Stockwell
David Paterson
Katherine Paterson (book)
 
DIRECTED BY: Gabor Csupo  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: June 19, 2007 
Theatrical: February 16, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
Village Voice Jessica Grose
Director Gabor Csupo of Rugrats "fame" steer clear of cutesy tween stereotypes, but it's Jess's relationship with his father, played by Robert Patrick, that elevates Terabithia from a good kids movie to a classic contender.
Read Full Review
90
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
The news is good for Bridge to Terabithia fans. The beloved children's book has not just survived but thrived in its adaptation to the screen.
Read Full Review
90
Los Angeles Times Alex Chun
A wonderfully heart-wrenching love story for tweens, teens, and even adults who fondly remember when a friendship could be ignited by a gesture as simple as offering a stick of Juicy Fruit.
Read Full Review
88
ReelViews James Berardinelli
This is easily the best family feature of the early year.
Read Full Review
83
The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
This is Csupo's feature directorial debut, but as creator, producer, and writer of "Rugrats" and "The Wild Thornberrys," among several other series, he's had a long career in animation, and he handles the CGI setpieces masterfully.
Read Full Review
80
The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
Consistently smart and delicate as a spider web, Bridge to Terabithia is the kind of children’s movie rarely seen nowadays. And at a time when many public schools are being forced to cut music and art from the curriculum, the story’s insistence on the healing power of a nurtured imagination is both welcome and essential.
Read Full Review
80
Empire Angie Errigo
A thoroughly pleasing family film with fine performances and honest, affecting real situations mixed with joyful adventure.
Read Full Review
78
Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
When the special effects aren’t getting in the way, the kids’ imaginary scenes have a hazy, shimmering quality, as if the potential of a long afternoon with no homework could be measured in waves.
Read Full Review
75
TV Guide Angel Cohn
Parents should be warned that the novel ventures into some emotionally dark territory that could be upsetting to very young or sensitive children, and might want to consider reading and discussing the book together before seeing the film.
Read Full Review
75
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Csupo needed two very gifted leads to do this beloved story justice, and found them in AnnaSophia Robb and Josh Hutcherson.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post Kyle Smith
Has buckets of gentle sincerity. Since there aren't any dumb jokes or hip visuals, it's easy to get caught up in the simple messages: Be good to your sister, don't be a bully, use your imagination in a pinch.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Elaborately mounted, expensively produced and filmed with style and empathy, it's an adaptation of Paterson's Newbery Medal-winning book that manages to expand the original vision, yet preserve much of its intense emotion.
Read Full Review
75
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
There's a persistent innocence to this movie that will work wonders on all but the most churlish.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Ty Burr
It's like an After-School Special version of "Pan's Labyrinth ," and I actually mean that as a compliment.
Read Full Review
75
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Bridge to Terabithia the movie, like the book, is buckets-of-tears sad. Director Csupo and company manage to get that - the simple power of a story about kindred souls, about loss, about the limitless possibilities of a lively mind - just right.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
Bridge to Terabithia is a good movie, but it could become truly great with a director's cut that leaves the fantastic elements a little more vague.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter
Both a cathartic and a creative family entertainment.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Peter Debruge
[Csupo's] take on Bridge to Terabithia doesn't pander or misrepresent, but instead illustrates the power of open-mindedness in both its forms: creativity and acceptance.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak
The two young actors -- Hutcherson and Robb -- are terrific and unpretentious.
Read Full Review
70
The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
The fantasy-adventure incorporates the novel's magical and emotional elements without overplaying either -- a balance that hasn't always proven easy to maintain in the world of kid-lit adaptation.
Read Full Review
70
Variety Justin Chang
Some literal-minded attempts at magical realism are redeemed by the film's emotional texture, winning chemistry between the tyke leads and scrupulous adherence to a childlike point of view.
Read Full Review
70
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
This family feature from the Christian production company Walden Media is something of a disappointment after its excellent "Holes" and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
Read Full Review
63
USA Today Claudia Puig
For a movie about the power of imagination, Bridge to Terabithia is not as clever as you would hope.
Read Full Review
58
Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling
The movie -- which never decides if it's a fantasy or coming-of-age story -- spends a lot of time away from Terabithia; that also leaches out the wonder. The boy seems more excited that Zooey Deschanel is his hottie music teacher than he is to see tree men in the forest.
Read Full Review
50
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Though the first-time director, Gabor Csupo, has achieved distinction as an animation artist, he lacks experience directing actors. The best adult performance in the film is that of Zooey Deschanel; she comes off -- again, agreeably -- as self-directed.

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 117 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jonas N. gave it a10:
This movie is simply beautiful. The way Lesslie gives Jess an incredible gift, and teaches him to appreciate his mind. I have never cried at a movie before, but when Jess gives Maybell his hand and takes her to Terabithia, and everything becomes clear, the beauty, the incedible sadness of what happened, the message, I broke down. This movie must not be missed.

Jack B gave it an8:
Heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking. The people who made the trailer should be fired though, very misleading.

Aaron F. gave it a4:
It had it's good points and was a fairly imaginative movie, and I also appreciated the idea of not just being another LotR ripoff. The problem for me was the way the tear-jerker ending came about. It just didn't fit the pacing of the movie. It's like sprinting and hitting a wall suddenly. After that was all said and done, they didn't really feel like they finished out the story they had been building with through the movie. I'm not saying they couldn't do that ending, I just wish they'd taken the time to not have it feel so random. They could have used at least some sort of pacing in their or scenes to pre-lude such a sudden tragic moment. It could have been great, but falls flat because of bad directing in my oppinion.

Michelle C gave it a10:
Great movie, even for an adult. I never expected the ending which made me cry but the movie was still great.

James B gave it an8:
Not for audiences lacking in imagination or expecting a movie choked with CGI; this is a really touching, dark story for adults as much as it is for children. Only let down by the terribly misleading ad campaign.

Cristopher G. gave it a10:
Best family film of the year by far. Great acting by Hutcherson and Robb, especially Robb (stole every scene she's in) and Zoey was top notch like always. Quite sad in the end, but a great moral message is delivered which made this movie a classic fairytale/coming of age story that will be remembered for a long long time.

David S gave it a10:
Really amazing storie that touch ur heart, brain and soul. Now im writing again. Thanks Disney and Walden Media.

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