Bridge to Terabithia (2007) on Netflix
PG20071h 36mAdventureDramaFamily
Jess Aarons trains to be the fastest runner at school, but new student Leslie Burke beats him at recess. They become friends and invent Terabithia, a world they rule together.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.2/10194,675 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes85%
Trailer
Plot summary
Jess Aarons is a twelve-year-old aspiring artist in Lark Creek, where money is tight and his strict father, Jack, gives most of his attention to May Belle, Jess's little sister. Two boys at school, Scott Hoager and Gary Fulcher, pick on him, and his mother makes him wear his older sister's sneakers. After training all summer to run fastest at school, Jess is beaten at recess by Leslie Burke, a new student who turns out to be his next-door neighbor. Leslie compliments his drawings, and the two become friends. In the woods they cross a creek by rope, find a disused treehouse, and dream up a world they name Terabithia, where they spend their free time.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
Producer and screenwriter David L. Paterson is the son of the novel's author, and the story was based on his real-life best friend, who was struck by lightning and killed when they were both eight years old.SPOILER
Paterson had difficulty marketing the screenplay, mostly because of Leslie's death: he met companies that asked if he could just “hurt” Leslie a little bit, put her in a light coma and then bring her out.- The first actor cast was AnnaSophia Robb as Leslie Burke. She wrote director Csupó “such a beautiful, heartwarming letter” about her love for the book and the character that he cast her for “her letter, her enthusiasm, and her love of the material”.
- Bridge to Terabithia was cinematographer Michael Chapman's final film before his retirement. On the DVD commentary he said he retired after shooting it because he wanted his last film to be a good one, calling it “such a beautiful story”.
- The promotion and advertising for the film were met with criticism and controversy, and the filmmakers distanced themselves from the campaign, saying it was deliberately misleading and made the film seem to be about, or occurring in, a fantasy world.
- Josh Hutcherson was not the filmmakers' first choice for the role of Jesse Aarons; they settled on him because they felt the chemistry between AnnaSophia Robb and him, after a search for someone who could go from an introverted boy to a confident, brave leader.
- Aaron Zigman took over the scoring duties after Alison Krauss exited the project, and he composed the music while simultaneously scoring Flicka; both scores carry a bit of Celtic influence.
