Bridge to Terabithia

May 4 2007 By The Journal

While younger cinema-goers will be swinging into screenings of Spider-Man 3 this weekend, savvier audiences will be immersed in an even richer fantasy world, brought vividly to life.

Adapted from Katherine Paterson's award-winning novel, Bridge To Terabithia is an utterly charming coming of age story conjuring a magical world of otherworldly creatures and adventure.

Student Jess (Josh Hutcherson) is a talented artist and he retreats into the private world of his art due to bullying.

Life changes forever when story-teller Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) moves in next door with her equally artistic parents.

They become friends, creating a secret fantasy kingdom called Terabithia on the other side of the stream near their homes. It becomes a fantastical refuge for the two outsiders, where they fight the Dark Master and his hench-creatures, and hatch plans to wreak revenge on the bullies.

But even in a shared imagination, Jess and Leslie are not completely safe from the dangers of the outside world.

The verdict: Striking computer- generated effects, courtesy of team at Weta Digital, who won Oscars for The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and remake of King Kong, bring to life a world of good and evil, where tiny warriors join forces to thwart the allies of the dark.

Yet for all its visual flourishes, this is very much a story grounded in reality, where children inflict huge pain with cruel jibes and financial pressures threaten to tear a family apart.

It is one of the best family films for some time, boasting an intelligent screenplay that should appeal to audiences of all ages.