Bridge to Terabithia is a novel by Katherine Paterson that explores themes of loneliness, grief, and friendship. The story revolves around Jess Aarons’ struggle to embrace new ideas and self-worth amidst the expectations of his impoverished family and schoolmates. The novel has been adapted into a movie twice, once in 1985 and again in 2007. The movie follows the book more closely than the book, but it has better special effects and a more engaging storyline.
The fantastical realm of Terabithia provides a necessary escape for both children, as they can use their active imaginations away from the prying eyes of their classmates. However, one morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief.
In Bridge to Terabithia, character vs. character conflicts arise, such as the death of Jess’s little sister May Belle, who drowns in the water. AnnaSophias Robb, the protagonist, loses her ethereal quality and becomes a more nurturing father. Jess believes that it is his fault that Leslie died because he didn’t invite her along on the day trip with Mrs Edmunds.
The story’s main conflict shapes Jess into a more nurturing father, able to be soft-spoken and tender when his son needs it most. Despite being lively and energetic, Leslie is scorned as readily as Jesse because her parents don’t want her to watch TV and because she is an artist too. Together, they create an imaginary kingdom called Terabithia that can only be reached by swinging across a creek bed on a rope.
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What is the message in Bridge to Terabithia?
Talk with your kids about these ideas. Bridge to Terabithia is an adventure film with fantasy elements. The film is about the value of friendship and how it can help people overcome difficulties. It also shows how imagination can help solve problems and see new things. You can talk with your children about the values in this movie: friendship, trust, loyalty, caring, understanding, empathy, and not judging people. You can also talk about other issues, like bullying and how it feels to lose someone close.
Did Jess have a crush on his teacher?
Lewis called The Chronicles of Narnia. Jesse is creative and artistic. His music teacher, Miss Edmunds, encourages him. Jesse falls in love with Miss Edmunds because she helps him with music and makes him feel special.
What is the main lesson of Bridge to Terabithia?
The main moral of Bridge to Terabithia is that friends are important for personal growth.
What lesson did Leslie teach Jess?
Summary: In Bridge to Terabithia, Jesse meets Leslie when she moves to his town. Leslie taught him to believe in himself. She taught him about classic books and imagination, which led them to create Terabithia, where they ruled together.
What happened to the girl at the end of Bridge to Terabithia?
Jesse goes to an art museum with his favorite teacher and secret crush, Miss Edmunds, without telling Leslie. He comes home and finds Leslie died trying to swing into Terabithia. The rope broke, and she drowned. I’ll pause so you can cry. Leslie’s death is shocking, horrible, and devastating, but Paterson makes it feel real. She based Leslie on one of her sons’ friends who died suddenly at age 8. (Truth: It’s stranger than fiction!) The author gives Jesse a bit of closure before the book ends. He finds comfort in his family and builds the bridge that will allow him and his sister to cross into Terabithia safely. (You couldn’t have built that bridge four chapters ago, Jesse?) But between Jesse’s thoughts after Leslie dies (I am now the fastest runner in the fifth grade), Leslie’s parents’ grief, his father’s assurance that God won’t send any little girls to hell, even though Leslie’s family wasn’t religious—it’s hard to read! I’m crying just thinking about it. I’ll never get over this book. Dystopian YA series are great, but I think one bright 5th grader’s fatal fall is more emotional.
What is the problem of Bridge to Terabithia?
The bridge is slippery, and she falls and hits her head on a rock. Leslie drowns in the water. This conflict continues into the story’s end when Jesse tries to move on without Leslie.
Was Jess in love with Leslie?
The film is about Jesse’s relationship with Leslie Burke (played by AnnaSophia Robb). He also likes Miss Edmunds (Zooey Deschanel). Leslie is shown to like Jesse in scenes like when she hugs Prince Terrien after he gives her a gift. He falls in love with her the last time he sees her, but he also sees her wave goodbye from afar. This foreshadows her death. After Leslie dies, her father tells Jesse that Leslie loved him and that he was her best friend. Jesse realizes he loved Leslie and blames himself for her death. He gets angry at others, who try to make him forget, but it makes him more frustrated. At the end of the story, Jesse accepts Leslie’s death and builds the bridge of Terabithia, making his sister May Belle the new princess.
Reception Bill Warren says the child actors are good, especially Josh Hutcherson. Chris Barsanti says Hutcherson plays Aaron with sullen inattention. Alice B. McGinty compares the Jody Baxter character in The Yearling to the character Jess Aarons.
Why do you think Jess was angry at Leslie?
Jess’s music teacher, Miss Edmunds, asks him to go to Washington, D.C. with her. When he gets back, his family tells him that Leslie has died. Leslie drowned in a flooded creek behind her house after falling and hitting her head. Jess is sad and shocked. He doesn’t know how to react to Leslie’s family and feels angry with her for leaving him. Jess goes into the woods to think about Leslie, but his sister May Belle follows him. May Belle starts to cross the tree bridge, but loses her courage and yells for Jess to help her. Jess helps May Belle across the creek and learns she was trying to join him so he wouldn’t be alone.
At school, the other students talk about Jess, but no one talks to him. Mrs. Myers says she’s sorry for Jess’s loss. Mrs. Myers misses Leslie too. She says Jess and she can help each other through this. Jess knows Leslie made his life better just by being his friend, and he doesn’t want to forget her. Jess decides to play with his sister in Terabithia to show her some of the love and support Leslie gave him. The school principal says the kids in music class must sing “God Bless America.” Jess and Leslie are like God in Genesis, looking at Terabithia and saying it’s good. Jess makes May Belle swear she won’t follow him.
What happened in Terabithia?
Leslie dies on the rope swing to Terabithia. Edmunds (Zooey Deschanel) goes to an art museum without Leslie. He comes home and finds Leslie drowned after their rope swing broke. She was trying to cross a flooded creek to get to Terabithia. Bridge to Terabithia’s death is as sad as Mufasa’s in The Lion King. Here’s a recap of its sad death. Leslie’s death on the rope swing to Terabithia is sad. It is based on a real-life tragedy. Bridge to Terabithia is a good film for young people to watch. It is about a boy who loses a friend. Other films like My Girl and The Lion King are sad too. Bridge to Terabithia is sadder than other films. The movie is about childhood, imagination, and loss. It’s based on the 1977 children’s novel by Katherine Paterson, co-written by her son David Paterson. It deals with the complex emotions of youth. The film is well-known for its moving story. It is often used in schools, but some people think it is too sad.
What family problems did Jess face in Bridge to Terabithia?
What kinds of family problems did jess face? his mother favors his sisters more then him and he ends up doing the chores, his dad only appreciates the girls, at the dinner table his family never says one word.
📹 Bridge to Terabithia Blu-ray 1080p Full Movie (SUB)
CLOSE YOUR EYES, BUT KEEP YOUR MIND WIDE OPEN. Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in …
The buildup was really subtle. Over time, you can see the creek swelling, and as they swing over it, the rope gets closer and closer to the water. The kids even note it in passing at some point in the movie. It foreshadows that the creek is getting more and more dangerous. It’s getting higher, flowing faster, the rope isn’t as high up over it as it was in the beginning, and the rope itself is so old and just kinda tied to a tree in moist conditions.
I think the lack of buildup to Leslie’s death is what makes it so real. It’s a freak accident and that happens in life. No prep for it, it just happened. Leslie was there one day and then she was gone the next. I think the realism is what makes this movie so so great and, along with the deeply superb performances from its young actors, why it’s stands out as such a truly remarkable children’s film.
I remember my 5th grade teacher reading us this book, and my whole class was sucker punched when Leslie died. It was such a shock, and so many complained to the teacher that she actually stopped and said that’s what death is like. It can be sudden and come out of nowhere. I think that was the first time I ever realized that not every story had a storybook ending. As foundational as that was for me, I could never bring myself to read the book again.
The buildup that you missed is that the teacher offered to bring leslie along to the art museum but jess wanted the teacher all to himself so he said no. If he had invited her, she would still be alive. So yeah she just dies out of nowhere, but with that context, it has a bit more depth to it because you know jess has to live with that.
Thanks for this article. I, at 45, can’t watch this movie. I was a kid when I read this book, with my first real “best friend”. A girl in my class named Mariah. I didn’t know at the time but she had a fatal illness (I knew she had health issues, but not that serious). She recommended we read this book together… every day at recess, before and after school, and on several weekends… we’d sit and read together, taking turns reading it… Only about a month after we’d finished… she tragically passed away. She KNEW she was dying, and how much we meant to each other… she tried to prepare me for losing her… it was one of her favorite books. To this day I remember her, her face, her favorite blue dress she was buried in…. and this book… It’s a powerful story about finding yourself, connection with another person, and the hardship of loss… and it holds a deeply special (even if traumatic) place in my heart.
I love how blunt they made Leslies death, there was no build up, there was no hints or foreshadowing, it was completely blunt. A lot like real life. Its what made it feel so real and genuine, and the fact that they showed his grieving process made it even more real, his anger over her death, and the fact that you could FEEL her absence in the scenes after her death just hit so deep.
This is such a an accurate portrayal of death. So many times in books and movies it has this buildup of expectation or it’s for a dramatic beat, but unexpected death is just that, unexpected. I lost a friend in high school and for a few days I couldn’t even process it because it didn’t seem fathomable. An important movie.
Besides Leslie’s death, the saddest thing is that Jess imagines his own father as The Dark Master that terrorizes Terabithia. After her death he, in his grief, goes to their treehouse and gets the paints that Leslie bought for him on his birthday, and squirts the tubes into the creek. And it is very subtly different when he’s there without her. The colors aren’t as vibrant the sounds are like normal forest sounds, the camera doesn’t move like it did before. When he hears the rattling of the dark master he tries to run, but the “dark master” catches up to him, and its actually his dad, who hooks his keys on his beltloop. And he scoops Jess into his arms and holds him while Jess weeps and says “It’s all gone.”
The movie still makes me cry, it hits very close to home, I lost a friend at a young age and I understand what it feels like living with regret, wishing you could of done something differently so the outcome would be different. I believe a lot of us have that feeling wishing we had a Time Machine and could go back and rewrite our history and mistakes. It’s very rare for a movie to be almost as good as the book. This is Based on a true story..somewhat at least. The authors son lost his best friend to a lightning strike. And what he went through kinda not wanting to face the fact that they are gone forever… well depending on what you believe at least. As I grew older, I learned to accept the past for what it is, that nothing can be changed and the best you can do is live your life to the fullest as the people you have lost along the way would have wanted you to. Great article
I’m 26 and my best friend and I also ran through the forest after Middle School, we had a long tour to get up a hill, we had to cross two fields and two forests, we had fantasy names for each stop and played adventure. We had a fight after highschool, last year I contacted her again and now we are as close as we were ❤ she also never forgot our forest fantasies and loved our childhood
I was already 19 when I first saw this movie, still traumatized me for weeks. I had to google the actress because I thought she has died in real life hence the shocking death of her character in the movie. I even drew her a portrait, really grieved for her. Imagine the people who first saw it as kids.
We get exactly 2 points of foreshadowing to Leslie’s death. The first was when Jess warns that the rope is old . And the second is when they swing across while it’s raining and the tip of the rope brushes against the water. We were told, and then reminded, that this rope swing is dangerous. And then the story makes good on the threat, and it snaps while Leslie is alone with no one to save her.
Bridge to Terabithia holds a very special place in my heart. My now boyfriend and I were hanging out at his place, we usually throw something on to watch as we love movies. I didn’t know anything about it at that time, and picked it out randomly. This was one of his favourite movies at the time, felt like a very special moment. It brings me right back to those days ☺️💕
leslie’s death when i first watched this movie as a kid it left me sad. i had an understanding of death, but just how jess’s grief looked made me feel so sad for him. but going back to it now, after losing my own best friend abruptly, this movie did a beautiful job showing the process of grief, the feeling if you would’ve did something different, if you could’ve been there, things would be different. and showing at the end, that’s life, and instead of letting someone’s death let your life lead to a halt, honor them, however you can everyday.
I’ve never actually seen the entire movie since reading the book in 5th grade, but I remember the book explicitly mentioning that Jess considered inviting Leslie on the museum trip, but decided not to so he could have alone time with his teacher, and how that choice haunted him afterwards. That’s an even more gut-wrenching thought as an adult. It was never his fault, of course, but that’s just how life is sometimes. One decision can change everything.
I always saw Leslie’s sudden death as showing that you can’t escape reality forever, no matter how hard you try. Jesse and Leslie used Terabithia as a way to escape their real-life problems, to the point it became just about the only thing they really cared about. It was a place where they were invincible. But at the end of the day, Terabithia isn’t real and reality has to set in sooner or later. And in reality, if you’re swinging across a river on a raggedy old rope, chances are that rope will eventually break. I think the ending where Jesse is comforted by his father over Leslie’s death and he brings his little sister to Terabithia means that Jesse is going to find a better balance between reality and fantasy. His father and sister are two people from his unpleasant reality, so making peace with them could be seen as him accepting reality more.
I relate to this movie so much as an adult when I didn’t as a kid. I felt that exact emotional whiplash the movie gives you. I was on a vacation in Costa Rica, having fun, when out of nowhere my mother calls me and tells me my best friend committed suicide. In an instant everything was shattered for me and it didnt feel real.
When I was young I was obsessed with this movie, watched it on repeat everyday after school. When I was 16, my childhood best friend broke through ice in the river close to where we both lived and passed away 😞 the movie pretty much became my reality. Never noticed how morbid it was until I watched it a lot older. RIP Dylan ❤ 7/10/03-2/7/19
I first stumbled upon Bridge to Terabithia as a book when I was in highschool (8th or 9th grade)…That was the time when the tiny room that acted as the library in our school became my sort of hiding place..a place of peace…that was quite an aged book…dusty and was quite forgotten…but I read it and captured my very active imagination…i loved that book and imagine my excitement when i learned just a couple of years later that they will make it into a movie….but alas it was after a few years later (college years) when I finally was able to download and watched that movie with my gf (now my wife)…i was enthralled, she was bawling her eyes out….then a few more years and I stumbled upon the book on a BookSale outlet…and of course I bought it and took it back home and read it again like I was back in highschool…I am now 32…i still kept the book..our daughter is now turning 3…and you bet that I intend to bestow her this special book…and when she’s a bit older we will watch the movie together…
I rewatched this movie when I was 14 about 6 months or so after a middle school friend of mine died and while it was one of the most painful viewing experiences I’ve ever had, it made things easier somehow. It reminded me that I wasn’t alone in my denial, fear, loneliness, and grief. Absolute 10/10 movie. Can’t wait to sit my future kids down some day and watch it with them.
I was in my teens when this movie came out. And it was a huge kick to the head when the reveal of Leslie’s death was so abrupt and completely taken aback from the entire theme of child wonder and suddenly punched in the throat with the depressing realization that horrible things will just happen in life and we have no power over these things happening but we need to be strong to overcome the pain of sudden loss.
Great article! I read the book in middle school and cried like a baby 😭 When the movie came out, my grandpa watched it and said he would never watch that movie again. Apparently, something very similar happened to him when he was a kid. He made friends with this new girl, (I can’t remember her name 😢). Him and her became inseparable. They would always go on adventures together and explore their hometown of Manitou Springs. One time, they found an ancient native artifact, like a fertility statue or something that was over 1000 years old! People didn’t like her because she was outspoken. She died of cancer when they were kids, and my grandpa said he lost his true love. Her parents really didn’t have money to buy her a headstone, so the town got together to buy her one.
I just love how “real” this movie felt. It’s really a perfect middle-school movie with how difficult life feels like it suddenly gets and issues that kids could relate too like bullying and toxic parents. There are magical moments, but it’s only as a form of escapism for Leslie and Jess. Life sucks, but they have each other and one friend was all they needed…until that suddenly changed which is exactly how death is in the real world. I deeply miss stories like this because this movie came out in 2007 and I’ve never forgotten it ♥
I sat in the cinema during the end credits of this movie balling my eyes out on my mums knee at the age of 13. It destroyed me. Then my parents bought me the dvd for Christmas and I was sobbing Christmas morning just from opening it. I then watched it almost every day after school, had it on in the background while doing homework or messaging friends on MSN. I could lip sync the entire film. It still has my heart and even just perusal this I was emosh 😂
The scene of her reading the story about scuba diving is often considered foreshadowing, and they added bubbles coming from her mouth while she was reading it. She imagined the scuba diving but it was ultimately her imagination that killed her. The death is still sudden but this is one of those movies you have to see more than once to understand what it’s all trying to tell you.
This movie destroyed me emotionally as a child. I watched this once and refused to even click anything with the name until today. Had nightmares of the trees and stuff for like 3 weeks after. I can Remember the emotions of this show so vividly despite it coming out so long ago. Now, as an adult, perusal this episode to convince myself the movie wasn’t as bad as I remembered. I’m now in my feelings once again as my body remembers every emotion of every scene, especially after the 3rd act …. The mood and theme of this movie got so dark SO fast with no warning that it was gonna be a sad movie. I’m pretty sure this movie traumatized an insane amount of children on it’s release…… that being said, The screen writing and cinematography was actually wayyyyyy better than movies and cartoons we get today because like wtf was WISH and all these live adaptation movies ?
I lost my best friend to a car crash when we were 12, and she had a lot of the same qualities as Leslie. The movie came out a couple years before she died, but I always used to watch it for comfort after because it reminded me so much of our friendship and really helped me while i was grieving. And if I am being honest, i’m always grieving her, and the rewatch value of this movie always hits home for me <3
The author says “It grew out of a friendship which my son David had with a little girl named Lisa Hill. And they were wonderful friends for the second grade. And the summer after they both turned eight years old, Lisa was struck and killed by lightning. And it was out of those horrendous events that I began to try to make sense out of something that made no sense to me whatsoever.”
Still one of my favorite movies, watched it back when CD players were still the thing and my family could all just sit down and watch one show at a time. Really didn’t expect the twist at the end, we all cried. And It still makes me cry every time. I miss perusal family friendly shows like this that would really grip your attention and reach your heart no matter your age. BTW, your articles are hilarious, just discovered your website and subscribed. ^_^
honestly this film is just so good. the characters are so beautifully written. the bully is realistic, the teachers being concerned for Jess while he is grieving instead of being horrible towards him like some other fictional stories like to do. The parents and their growth. twisting the manic pixie dream girl trope on its head…. I dont know its just really well put together and emotionally driven
What wasn’t shown here was that Jess and his dad do actually have a close emotional moment when Jess runs off and properly breaks down about Leslie’s death and his dad had followed him. and whilst Jess cries about how he wished he invited Leslie on the trip, his dad holds him and comforts him. What hits so hard also is the ‘tell, no showing’ of Leslie’s death. It’s just said. We relate to Jess’s grieving process and long denial period because it’s hard to process a death more when it’s not seen and comes out of nowhere. The movie gave us the news at the same time Jess got it, and first time watchers would still be expecting it to be a trick and that Leslie will walk right back through the door. The movie then gives us a good amount of time to realise this is indeed happening.
I read this book when I was ten years old on the recommendation of my teacher (who did say it was maybe too grown up for me, but I didn’t listen). This was the first time I really understood just how emotional a piece of art could be. As a lifelong reader, it holds a special place in my (only slightly traumatised) heart
As someone who’s studying to be a teacher and now knows that you should strive to keep a professional boundary between you and your students, the scene where Jess’ teacher calls him up to take him to the museum (without his parents’ knowledge) makes my skin crawl. Nothing bad happened (to Jess) but it’s still REALLY not okay.
This movie is a landmark for me in recognizing the humanity in people, and the importance of a creative childhood. The relationship between Jess and his little sister particularly hits home for me, in that I too once reached an age where hanging out with my little sister was the last thing I wanted to do, despite how much she admired and needed me, and I learned to still include her. Them helping the school bully let go of some of her insecurities, even if unintentionally, is also sweet. It shouldn’t have taken Leslie passing for Jess’s dad to realize how much Jess needed a father figure to be present with him emotionally, but he did finally make some progress. The abrupt tonal shift of Leslie’s death is so painfully real. Most of the time in real life, you don’t get this sixth sense thing telling you something is gonna go horribly wrong. You can even be having the best day ever, and it can suddenly turn into the worst one.
When I was younger, I remember genuinely believing that Terabithia existed, at least in the movie’s sense. That they really did escape to some fantasy world, and that his dad really was lying when he said that Leslie had died. I remember thinking that, man, she must be in teribithia somewhere, just waiting for him… I so desperately clinged to every hint of her, even if I wasn’t the smartest as an 8 year old. I tried to come up with ANY explanation as to how she could be alive in my head… I even momentarily believed that the shadow monster had become her, that jess was going to meet her when he was seeing the shadow monster, or that the shadow monster had hidden her somewhere, somehow. Anything. In my little kid brain, by the end of the movie, I thought that she lived in the forest still, that she was just around the corner in every step somebody took. I think somebody can get a very cynical view about this all when they realize that terabithia was really just in the kid’s heads… that Leslie really did die. A lot of people consider maturing to be the adoption of that viewpoint, of a simple: “this and/or that” kinda deal. A direct grappling with real life. But, I don’t believe maturing to be that… in a way, terabithia really was real. And that’s the real beauty of this. I think the moral of the story wasn’t death and dealing with it but rather an emphasis on growing up without losing the special traits of seeing things differently- imagination. Imagination is much more powerful then seemingly “Mature” people take it up to be.
This movie will always hold a special place in my heart because I remember it being the first time that the concept of death fully registered with me. I was seven years old when I watched Bridge to Terebithia on DVD with my family and that last third of the movie wrecked me every which way to Sunday, I was practically sobbing in my mom’s arms the rest of the movie. ❤😭
I read this book in 6th grade and since I procrastinated I was left crying alone in the middle of the night when I reached that part. But probably the hardest thing was when my own child had to read it and I couldn’t spoil it for her so I just had to wait and try to console her because I knew what was coming!
I really liked this movie for portraying how kids sometimes need to escape their home life by acting out fantasy. It was recommended to me by a friend in high school, and we both came from bad households, and both loved to play out fantasy irl, loved reading and writing, playing in the forest, building treehouses, having fake sword fights, and talking about the stories we wrote. Trying to escape our real lives by engaging in our fantasy worlds were it was a bit safer to be and were we could be ourselves for once. The friendship ended when I had to switch schools, but this movie always reminds me of her, and having a friend who gets the need to find fantasy in your own life. Last year I saw her again for the first time at a Renfair, which feels very fitting for what used to be our shared interests.
(A) I’m surprised you never talked about how Terabithia’s Dark Master was actually Jess’ father. He tried as hard as he could to run from it, but it didn’t matter. Eventually, he couldn’t outrun him anymore, and he realized that his father still loved him. It took all that pain and loss to make Terabithia into a better place, as his little sister inherited a prettier, purer, one. Now, there was no chance that May Belle would suffer in it. (B) To this day, I will remember Jess breaking Scott Hoager’s face. That brooding rage, and subsequent discussion with his teacher was the best part of that movie, hands down. It was the reason I studied Education in University. I know how both of them feel, far too much.
I remember my mom letting me rent this from the article store as a “treat” because to make up for something she and her boyfriend did. I went in thinking this movie would be so good and it would make up for a horrible day… boy, was I wrong. I loved the movie but literally cried my eyes out over it. I still cry every time I watch it.
When Jesse went to the museum and didn’t invite Leslie I thought, “Well that sucks, hopefully he hangs out with her later.” I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, but not her death, I was so devastated bro. I was a kid when I first watched the movie and man did it bother me, especially today remembering it. Also I just read a theory on Reddit about how it could’ve been a suicide and now I’m even more heartbroken for her. Add the fact that this death was inspired by the Author’s son’s friend dying, makes this story so tragic.
Man, i had a part time job cleaning cinema rooms when this movie debuted, Never have seen so many kids crying or parents taking off before they fully realized what just happened with Leslie’s death. even perusal this article now hits kind of hard (forgot how well performed is too. If it is was a crappy actuation u might joke about it, but is so well done is devastating…)
I remember reading the book in my 4th grade class and trying my hardest not to cry but of course everyone, the teacher included was. It really stuck with me, and inspired me a lot as an aspiring writer. I don’t know, I like how grounded it felt, since I was around the same age as the protagonist I thought a lot of the same things he did. And it was that much more heartbreaking to see how he responded to death by the end.
This movie holds a large place in my heart. When I was 15 I was put into foster care and I went to a group home because my grandparents didn’t want to take me in. While I was in the group home I read the book a few times in a row and since then the book has been a comfort to me despite being very sad.
I think your right. I remember as a kid there were also shows that you could watch as a older child with your parents. Like Star trek Tng, Sliders, Quantum leap, ect. These would occasionally have adult themes but mostly could be enjoyed together. TV today (even Star Trek )seem to either be made for adults or for for children.
I’m not a very emotional person when it comes to books and movies but I picked up this book the day of state testing and finished it the very same day. I ended that school day crying on the middle of class, when I say no book has ever made me cry I mean it. We need more books/movies like this in the world.
Saw this movie when I was a little kid and it broke me every time. Had a friend that was exactly like Leslie. Would go on crazy adventures and explore. Mapped out our entire neighborhood, built a treehouse in the forest, did so much. Friendship just kinda faded over the years. Didn’t go to the same school, different friend groups, just stopped hanging out. Now that we are adults everyone is independent. Wish I could go back
It’s been years since I’ve read this book and I still cried at the funeral portion of this article. Coming from a “child of the woods” myself, their playtime was so realistic and genuine to many children in America’s childhood experience. And the death was just—oof. I had just graduated high school when my first childhood friend died, and I found out sort of like this. I’d just gotten home from a festival, and my mom gave me the news. Dealing with grief for the first time is so hard, and the fact that Leslie was his only friend? I can’t imagine how awful that would feel. This is a gorgeous book, and I truly believe everyone should read it once. In my opinion, as a kid, it was the first book that really explored grief in its totality, and that made this book truly unique from other things I read as a kid. I like that the movie stayed true to the book like this.
We had to read this book in school when we were the same age as the characters (this was a good few years before the movie came out) and it’s even harder to get through than the movie (the dog does as well in the book). Everyone in the class cried. We had to read Where the Red Fern Grows that same year. I’m pretty sure we all left sixth grade emotionally scarred.
The thing that bugged me the most about this film as a kid was the marketing. Me and my mom both love fantasy so we went to watch it in the theatre together, but like halfway in we were disappointed that it wasn’t actually a fantasy film. All the trailers, posters etc make it seem like Terabithia is real and not just something the kids made up, it made my first watch of the film a bit awkward for lack of a better word.
I’ll never forget, many moons ago, my teacher reading this to us in 2nd grade. He would read a chapter a day, and we were so enthralled with it. But when it got to the ending, it was like wrenching your guts out. It still feels like that seeing this movie. I do feel like it’s a shame to miss out on reading the book.
I remember reading this book by myself, then as a class In Middle school. When we got the part where Leslie dies, we had a substitute teacher, and I remember him saying I don’t want to hear talking only tears. Everyone thought he was joking, untill we started reading it. I knew it was coming but it still made me sad, and everyone else was too. I remember perusal the movie and hating how different it was. But now, even perusal this review, even thinking about it makes me literally tear up. This book was really impactful for me, and is even more so now. I also think that the part where she dies not being the ending is really impactful. Like it shows the grief that he’s dealing with, and how he deals with that as a middle schooler. I really like this book, and looking back, I was probably to harsh on the movie.
I remember perusal this movie growing up and being confused about her death but later on i rewatched it and I think her death is really sad, just seeing how she affects his life so much and then passes away in a sudden death and then how he copes with her death as a child is heart breaking 💔 reminds me of how I’d go play outside and pretend I was some ninja while inside my house so much trauma was going on
This movie broke me when I first saw it, it is such a beautiful movie. Something that hit me real hard was that we can see how Jess doesn’t have a strong connection with his dad at all, and tries to connect with him, and in the end of the movie when everything breaks for Jess, after Leslie’s death, his dad comforts him. He really needed that from his dad and I think his dad needed that too. Such good writing!
One of the extremely, EXTREMELY rare circumstances that fridging a character somehow worked so well. We don’t get a send-off or last scene with Leslie. She just dies off-screen, and then he’s told about it, and then he just has to cope. God, damn, does he have to cope. And you know, normally this would be a terrible way to kill a character. Not to mention a character of such importance. But the movie is trying to depict the chaos of life, and sometimes… people we really care about, are just suddenly not there anymore. It doesn’t matter how much rapport you’ve built or how much the person means to you; some really terrible thing happens and poof, they’re just gone. This was a heart wrencher. A real punch right in the feels.
My fourth grade teacher had us read this in her class. Every now and then she’d have us act out scenes in the book, and I landed the role of Jess. I remember reading and acting out the museum scene so vividly. It hit like a truck when the class found out that Leslie died and I remember it being one of the first times I thought about how precious and fragile our lives are. This book/movie will always have a special place in my heart for being a turning point in how I view life
This was probably the first movie that left me sad after perusal it. I was little and the idea of death was not fully understood by me. I knew people died but I thankfully never experienced losing someone close at the time so when Leslie dies I was just so lost and remember silently praying for all that to be a dream for Jess. perusal it again as an adult makes you understand if someone you adore isn’t in your life anymore, life doesn’t end for you. You still continue and make the best out of what you have. Appreciate what’s around you. Man, why am i tearing up writing this? Thanks for the article and its been a while since a shed a tear or two so thanks for that as well
even though it’s been years since I’ve seen the movie and read the book, this story has absolutely cemented itself in my brain as one of my favorites. it’s fantastical, fun, and terribly sad, and both versions handle it so well. like others have said, there’s no easing you into it, she just dies and all of the magic and joy you had throughout the first part just completely evaporates into grief. you and Jesse both mourn her loss and have to figure out what to do next. it’s a phenomenal story about life and death and growing up and it was one of my favorites as a kid – I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
this movie didnt traumatize me, it healed me, at that age i was already suffering with a lot of family deaths (not direct family but i still loved them nonetheless) this movie help me understand more about grief and death, help me to cope and moving on from those death and just keeping them in your heart forever. ik the sudden death was out of nowhere and shocking but it is what it is, its exactly how it feels, you just come home and boom you found out about the person passing away.
I never saw this movie, because the book had already killed my soul. I was reading a lot of Sci-Fi and fantasy that had body counts in the thousands and that didn’t get to me. But that one page twist hit so hard, I remember holding a grudge against the librarian for the remainder of my time in elementary school.
One part of the movie I actually find pretty interesting, is that after Leslie dies from the old rope breaking and falling into the river (increased by the storm the night prior), Jess finds that a tree happened to have broken and fallen right next to the broken rope, almost as a second-chance bridge that’s (while slippery thanks to the rain) a more sturdy way across to their escape to fantasy. The real event that inspired this book, has the author’s son’s best friend die suddenly, but because of a lightning strike instead of drowning. The same occurrence that seems to have made the tree-bridge in the movie. Such a heartfelt little touch and love letter to the real kid💗
Both characters reminded me of myself. I am an artist like Jess and imagnative, animated, and energetic like Leslie. The wholesomeness of their relationship and whimsicalness of the movie was done so well, it made the gut punch of her death all the more intense and heart wrenching. But it’s realistic and teaches kids a very valuable lesson I think. This movie came out when I was about 14, and I’m glad I didn’t see it back then. I likely would’ve cried for weeks.
I read this book when I was pretty little, and it was the first sad book I ever read. My mom likes to tell the story of when she saw me get to the chapter where Leslie dies, I got to the chapter, my face gets all screwed up into confusion and fear, then my whole face falls. I close the book carefully, stand up, and go to my bedroom to sit for a while. I didn’t come out for a while, and my mom eventually convinced me (the next day) to finish it. I was very disappointed with the movie, because it wasn’t nearly as sad
One of the only movies to still make me just as emotional as I was first perusal it, one of the best movies imo. Also for anyone interested there is a really good fan fiction written by a fan that continues the story, titled Bridge to Terabithia 2: The Last Time, idk but reading it just made me extremely happy and emotional but in a good way
This review even made me cry just by you including the clip of them telling Jess that his friend Leslie is dead. I was waiting for that moment to come but once it did it still cut my soul back open a little tiny bit. I think maybe i should reread the book for the first time in 23 years (since i was in 5th grade).
Man, I was in High School when I watched this movie. I thought it was going to be a fantasy flick like Narnia and other movies but I was mistaken. I remember really liking Leslie as a character because she reminded me of myself when I was younger. Loving fantasy and always doing my best to brighten up everyone’s day around me that I could. When her death was revealed it was a shock to my parents and I. We certainly weren’t expecting it to go that dark and there was a lot of tears shed. I might have to revisit it now that I’m older and would have a more appreciation for it. Thanks for reviewing this movie, it brought back some good memories.
Since Josh Hutcherson is the topic, I recommend reviewing Zathura I remember seeing this movie in theaters as a kid. My mom had zero idea what it was about. The movie stuck with me for so long. Josh Hutcherson was in a lot of movies around this time (I’d previously saw him in Zathura), so to see him so sad in this hit extra hard cuz my little kid brain had grown really close to him
I just turned 46 this last December and Bridge to Terrabihia is STILL my favorite young adult book. I identified with it so much the first few times I read it. It still holds a place in my memory and heart. The book is the same… the quick twist in it is so sudden… but death of loved ones is so like that when we are so young. The book is just so great at showing how we can work through loss and go on with our lives, in a positive way. I don’t care what age you are, if you have not read this book… or seen the movie… you should!
I am 33 and we read this book as our read aloud book in fifth grade. It is honestly one of the only books from that period I even vaguely remember, and I remember this thing crystal clear. I definitely don’t regret hearing this story at this age, but it’s just really surprising this flew as a retrospective.
I loved Leslie as a kid. Playing make believe in a forest with friends is all I ever wanted growing up. Looking back I was a lot like her, and the imagining real life problems as things you could just kick in the face was my relaxing pass time. It’s actually a really good coping mechanism too. Leslie’s death was a punch in the gut, but at that point I had already experienced loss before. My grandpa died when I was 5, but I remember the day they took him to the hospital. One moment he was putting up the Christmas tree, the next he couldn’t walk on his foot. Grandma and dad took him to the hospital, and grandpa never came back.
I remember the trailer of this being on some dvd I had when I was around seven or eight and it looked like a great movie. My Mom died from cancer when I was eight and to get our minds a bit off it, my dad bought this dvd the week after. Leslies death hit me, but even worse, I remember the absolutely crushed look on my dad‘s face. It was even worse for him, because he wanted to cheer me up and it ended in that. I still feel so sorry for him. I‘m sure there is a reason to appreciate this film, but personaly I will never be able to. Weirdly, the rather serious toned kids movie I really came to love also had Anna Sophia Robb in it. It was Winn Dixie and to this day, my dad and yi reference that one from time to time.
I remember very vividly perusal this movie with my sister and grandma when it came out, I was in the same state of shock as Jesse. I couldn’t believe Leslie was just gone like that, my 7 years-old little mind had a really hard time grasping the concept that death could be so sudden and could happen to people this young. Unironically, I think this movie really helped me processing the concept of death which is something sometimes too harsh, scary and abstract for kids to understand and be ok with.
I remember when me and my sister rented this movie because it kind of reminded us of Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe due to the Fantasy look from the trailer and I’m pretty sure we both ended up with depression after this movie. It’s such a jaw-dropping experience, and even though I’m a massive movie fan, it’s still one I’d recommend.
the book that this movie is based off of was assigned reading in my elementary school and it fucking broke me. I cried so hard over that book (I found out there was a movie later and refused to watch it) also, about the thing at the end saying their was no build up to the death, in the book, they had it where him getting invited to the thing with his teacher cause a fight between the two kids because she wanted to go but he wouldnt let her (it made the death more impactfull because he felt more at fault for it)
I always enjoyed this movie as a kid, but never fully understood the tone and meaning behind everything. perusal it later as an adult and now perusal this article, it really hits home. A friend of mine passed away in a motorcycle accident with his grandfather one day. Nobody knew where they went, and for five days people were looking for them until someone we went to high school with found the scene of the accident. The day before he passed, he was at my apartment playing Magic with our group of friends and we were talking about getting together again next week when he had the day off. Just like in the movie, his death really came out of no where. I wasn’t the closest with him, but him and I and two other friends took a week long trip to LA to go to E3, something we all have wanted to do for years since we were kids. There’s some days I realize that I’d forgotten he’s passed and it feels wrong that I could’ve forgotten about him, but I never really do. Movies like these and the older animated movies like Treasure Planet will never be made with how Disney is now and it’s a shame. Just seems like the same cookie cutter superhero movie, kiddie movie, or edgy teen “drama” over and over.
I remember my older sister taking me to the movie theater we were looking for something to watch and saw this movie’s poster, we were kids still back then and I still remember the moment the entire tone of the movie flipped heartbroken is an understament of how we felt perusal it, even at the end when the credits rolled we were still feeling this pressure on our chest, we still haven’t rewatch it again we just never have the strenght to power through it cause we still remember how it made us feel back then. This is one of those movies that packs such a powerful message that lives with you through the years.
i agree, they really don’t make movies like this (for families) anymore, and it sucks. i remember reading/watching this for an extra curricular book club in third grade, and looking back now, we read some really heavy/weird stuff, but i’m so glad i was introduced to these themes and ideas at a young age because in a way, i think it really helped me mature and understand difficult topics easier. as i got older i was able to handle those subjects easier? speaking of my book club though, another book/movie we did was because of winn-dixie, and i’d love to see alex meyers review that one sometime since it was one of my faves as a kid!
Loosing the best friend is one of the worst things you can go trough especially as a child. I lost mine not even due to death but circumstances and it completely changed everything just as depicted in the movie, like to the T. The magical world we created just ceased to exist. No one could understand the lore, the references, the geography or laws in there and no one was really interested in it either. It was also my last connection as a child with someone who genuinely shared the same interests as me. I still had friends and good ones too but it was different. It was so damn hard and often so freaking boring.
Gah, this movie/story is still such a gut punch every single time 😭I know some people have a really hard time with how sudden Leslie’s death happens and the total tone shift from there on out, but it’s what I think makes it one of the most accurate depictions of grief after an unexpected death like that. Because it DOES come out of nowhere like a freaking freight train, and there’s no preparing for it or softening the blow. And Bridge to Terabithia depicts the different stages of grief incredibly well and tenderly, and Josh Hutcherson is SO good in the most heartbreaking way 💔 I do wish the advertising for the movie hadn’t fully advertised it as a whimsical kids movie, though, since I think it’s definitely one that requires parents/guardians to watch alongside kids and be prepared to talk with them through the difficult feelings about it afterward. The suddenness is intentional, but it IS by nature traumatizing, and parents should know what their kids are in for before getting into it.
This movie was way sadder than I thought it would be. I remember the previews/posters, but never watched it because I’m not a fantasy movie fan. I think the movie, Shiloh, falls into the “family movie” category. It’s serious, but it focuses on a child and his struggles and his way to cope while doing something noble. Of course, there’s the cute dog. I totally get what you mean by family movies. There’s really not many these days, and especially not many if any made by Disney recently.
I don’t think there was a movie I cried as much perusal as a kid as Bridge to Terabithia. First time I saw it I didn’t even realize that Terabithia was just something they had imagined (didn’t help that all the trailers made it seem like Chronicles of Narnia) and I kept waiting for it to be revealed that Leslie had been kidnapped by the dark master or something, which made that scene in the woods with Jess and his father just devastating. Heck, every stage Jess was going through (denial, anger, guilt, and then finally acceptance) hit so hard. Looking back, I don’t think the third act is as tonally jarring as people make it out to be. The news of Leslie’s death comes seemingly out of nowhere, yes, but that’s how death works and even in the first two acts of the film there’s a lot of heavier stuff hidden beneath the whimsy (poverty, neglect, Jess’s dad taking out his frustrations of Jess, etc). Heck, at one point Jess and Leslie are literally discussing religion and hell.
I had no prior knowledge of this movie when I first watched it. It was midnight, I got insomnia. So I turned on my TV cable, and they aired this movie. So I watched just for me to get company. But the more I watched it, the more I got attachment to Leslie character. Being shy and introvert boy myself when I was that age, Leslie is like the best person you could befriend with. So I got really invested to the movie, hoping those two to be married or something. And there it came the dead news scene. My response was exactly like Jess. I felt strongly in denial and hoping it was a dream or something. It was brutal. Jess can overcome his grief at the end of the movie. I wasn’t. For the rest of the night, I ended up googling about this movie and the book related. I couldn’t accept the ending and hoped for a better one. I think it took one week for me to pass through my grief. It’s the first time for movie character has a real life impact for me. What a great movie and book. P.S.: Is that necessary for you to put this 15:15 damn raining goodbye scene?!
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, still to this day. Such great acting by Josh Hutchinson, he’s really able to carry that third act. And thank you for leaving out all the really sad moments cause otherwise you would’ve ended up with all of us bawling our eyes out at the end of this “fun” youtube article lol.
I didnt remember the name of this movie. I watched this movie when i was a kid and cried for almost 2 weeks. This movie was always on the back of my mind but i could never remember it. Thank you for making this article. Just looking at the characters in this article made me emotional when i dont even remember the story at all. I am goimg ro rewatch it and i guess going to cry again.
This article made me cry… For the first time I cried in an Alex article, when I normally come here to laugh. Lol. Last year, I lost my friend so suddenly, he was murdered, in our school, and I remembered I heard it from someone who didn’t even know him at all. I hadn’t cried for almost the whole year but for some, reason later in the article, I just felt so empty again, remembered what happened and just couldn’t stop crying for a hot minute. Lol. Life is, Unexpected.
I watched this movie when it came out, and that was the last time I watched it. I haven’t even thought about it in years. But damn, it hit me hard at the time. It reminded me of My Girl at the time… another one I couldn’t watch again and probably a good example of the way these movies had characters the same age as me at the time – so I felt that impact hard.
For real, that turn was so out of left field. The shock was real, like I was half expecting that the imaginary world would become real and he could bring her back. The beauty of the shock is that as the viewer your right along side him feeling the same sheet. Something not a lot movies are able to do today
I was so excited to watch this movie, thought it would be like Chronicles of narnia. And then her death happened, and i was like I’m sure they will bring him back through magic or something. But the grief kept going on. And I was genuinely hurt by the end and was so depressed. This movie was so sad man
The sudden tonal shift nowadays would probably be an accident and a poorly executed one at that. In this movie, it serves to highlight the sudden nature of life and how quickly things can change. As a kid, hearing how difficult growing up can be is one thing, but seeing it in action through a movie about kids my own age was eye-opening.
I think about this movie from time to time, could never recall what it was called. I’m pretty sure Leslie was what defined the type of girl I was into back when I was a kid lmao. Was so bummed when she died. Came close to tearing up a little, sad stuff like that really gets to me in novels and very rarely movies.