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Bridge to Terabithia
Walt Disney Pictures


7.2

based on 25 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 128 votes
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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

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...

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.

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.

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.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

This is easily the best family feature of the early year.

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.

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.

Empire Angie Errigo

A thoroughly pleasing family film with fine performances and honest, affecting real situations mixed with joyful adventure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

There's a persistent innocence to this movie that will work wonders on all but the most churlish.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

It's like an After-School Special version of "Pan's Labyrinth ," and I actually mean that as a compliment.

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.

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.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

Both a cathartic and a creative family entertainment.

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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

The two young actors -- Hutcherson and Robb -- are terrific and unpretentious.

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.

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.

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."

USA Today Claudia Puig

For a movie about the power of imagination, Bridge to Terabithia is not as clever as you would hope.

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.

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.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 128 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sam J gave it a0:
Absolutely awful, literally nothing happened through the whole thing, i was so bored through the entire film that I didn't give a damn about the supposedly super sad ending. Seeing the adverts I expected something like narnia, what I got was just a boring sack of crap

[Anonymous] gave it a2:
I'm sorry, but this is a terrible, disappointing film. I didn't like it for several reasons. One, they used false advertisment to lead us to believe that this was a fantasy and it wasn't. There was some bad acting and also some really cheesy scenes.

Sky T gave it a10:
The movie which made me cry since the Titanic. I love this movie, the first time I saw my sister cry for a movie. I saw the sincerity from her eyes while her tears fall. Very touching and must not be missed.

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.

Bridge to Terabithia Walt Disney Pictures

Bridge to Terabithia
Walt Disney Pictures