Crossing the Bridge: A DVD Review of "Bridge to Terabithia"

I had never heard of the novel "Bridge to Terabithia" when I popped in the DVD version of the movie made from it. When I reviewed the bonus materials on this DVD and saw how glowingly so many people talked about reading this book and how it had become such a part of many school's curriculum, it made me curious and want to go back and find the book. Sure, it's supposed to be a book for kids, but so is Harry Potter, and I read those.

In short, viewing this movie made me want to seek out the root and source material. I hope that this comes across as a compliment. I am not one who always assumes the book is better, but that is often the case. With this, I have a hard time believing it.

I am not the world's biggest fan of family movies. I don't have a family of my own, so seeing movies for kids isn't high on my list of things to do. In fact, I generally don't go see Disney movies unless the word "PIXAR" is attached to the project somewhere. So, it was with some reservation that I put this DVD in. I figured, this was the life of a guy who fancies himself a bit of a film critic and that, at times, you have to watch kid-fare.

I ended up completely sucked in and then, abruptly, emotionally devastated by this movie. Yes, I even teared up, dammit and I am a man who just turned 36 a few weeks ago. I am a wimp, so sue me.

The story involves a boy named Josh who lives on a farm with several sisters and a hard-working father who never seems happy with him. Josh is a brilliant artist, but his father wants him to stop dreaming and come to grips with the reality of their situation. The family is struggling and their crops are not giving them any additional income. The parents have hushed private conversations where they discuss money and pour over bills.

To add to this, Josh is very unpopular at school. Since he is poor, he sometimes has to wear hand-me-down clothes. Since all of his older siblings are sister, you can imagine the issues involved here. However, Josh creates amazing characters in his drawings and he is a very fast runner.