Josh Hutcherson was not their first choice for the role of Jesse Aarons, but they settled with him because they "felt the chemistry between AnnaSophia Robb and him". One day, a child and an angel stood on either side of a magic river that there was no crossing, but as they tried, the water began to rise; then they raised their eyes, and as the river fell away, they built a bridge. Not all reviews were as positive, Claudia Puig of USA Today wrote that "for a movie about the power of imagination, Bridge to Terabithia is not as clever as you would hope".

When the bridge is cleared, you can find glimpses of decency through hauntingly well-done visuals, inspired performances and promising subject matter, but in the end, limitations within the meat of the subject matter are so intensely stressed by repetitious, incoherent and trite story structuring and cloying sentimentality that Gábor Csupó's "Bridge to Terabithia" ultimately crashes into mediocrity under the weight of laziness that is not matched by inspiration enough for me to escape the sad reality that this is nothing special. Leslie's costumes in the film were designed to look as if the character "might have made some of them herself", and they were updated from those described in the book to reflect what would currently be considered eccentric.Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post praised the script for being "utterly recognizable and authentic", and thought Robb and Hutcherson were "perfectly cast". Zigman, who also scored Flicka simultaneously with Bridge to Terabithia compared both the film's having Celtic influence a bit, but added the score of the latter as more modern and orchestral compared to the former. Well, sure enough, this film is cheesy something fierce, and woah boy, that is far from its only problem, although I must give credit where it is due.

Weta modified some of the creature designs, but ultimately remained faithful to Csupó's original designs. Bridge to Terabithia is a 2007 American fantasy drama film directed by Gábor Csupó from a screenplay by David L. The filmmakers distanced themselves from the advertising campaign for the film, saying that it was deliberately misleading and made the film seem to be about, or occurring in, a fantasy world.Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages.

With regard to the character, Robb said "[Leslie]'s one of those people who's just always lit up, who has this glow about her, and no one can bring her down. One critic said the film was actually "grounded in reality far more than in fantasy", [21] while another thought, "far from a computer generated escapist fantasy, this film is an unpretentious and touching tale of preteen companionship and loss". I must say I did not see the second half of the film coming at all, it blew my emotional feelings in.

The film was directed by Nickelodeon's Rugrats co-creator and former Hanna-Barbera animator Gábor Csupó, who was first recommended for the job by Walden Media President Cary Granat. Robb also conversed with producer Lauren Levine before casting even began, and "their conversation convinced her that, without a doubt, AnnaSophia was meant for this role".

Miriam di Nunzio of the Chicago Sun-Times praised Hutcherson and Robb's performances, saying that "the film's heart and soul rests on the abilities of its young lead characters to make us really see the world through children's eyes.Rather than being a fairytale for youngsters, the movie actually gives the viewer an inside look in a young boy's life and all the troubles he faces, concerning school, family and friends. Don't show them this movie expecting the next Narnia, there is something much more dramatic in this movie, but I didn't like how Disney was advertising this as a sweet fantasy, when its not really. Well, this film is draggy, trite and all around cloying, but that's mostly because of storytelling, because in concept, this story, while minimalist something fierce, offers worthy coming-of-age subject matter that combines wonderment with grounded themes on friendship and bringing oneself to reality. From what I had seen in the trailers, I thought the movie would be about two kids that end up in some magical world, similar to the Chronicles of Narnia (clearly, I did not read the book).