Last evening, I enjoyed viewing the movie version of Bridge to Terabithia. As stated in my previous blog response about the book, I was somewhat skeptical about seeing the movie for a number of reasons. As I previewed the trailers for Bridge to Terabithia, it seemed as though the majority of the movie would be dominated by special effects. This, however, was not the case.
Overall, I thought that the characters were well developed. Patterson masterfully developed the characters in the book version of Bridge to Terabithia. Oftentimes, movie renditions do not capture the complexities and relationships captured in quality literature. I believe that the movie version devoted the time needed to tie the audience into the experiences and emotions of both Jess and Leslie.
The movie did not diverge from the events that unfolded in the book. However,the characters were not as I had envisioned when I read the story. This was done intentionally to appeal to younger audiences. I can understand the purpose behind modernizing the characters but I will admit that it was somewhat of a disappointment. Patterson's depiction of rural America was not captured in the movie. The characters seemed much more suburban and image conscious than what Patterson had probably intended. These details are somewhat minor and insignificant, but I constantly found myself making these comparisons. Because the movie did not attempt to authentically re-invent all aspects of the book, the images I visualized while reading the story have not been altered. The same cannot be said for movies such as Harry Potter because those movies aimed to portray the characters as closely as possible to the book descriptions. I appreciated the authenticity of the Harry Potter movies. The movie version of Bridge to Terabithia aimed to bring the story into the 21st century.
I was amused by the comic relief provided by the young actress who portrayed Maybelle. She fulfilled a lighthearted side to the movie that was needed, especially toward the end. I was equally moved by Leslie's death in the movie as I was when I read the book. Overall, I was pleased with the performance of all the characters and I felt that the simplicity and depth of the story was not compromised by special effects or poor acting/character development. I wish more movies like these were out when I was a child!
Overall, I thought that the characters were well developed. Patterson masterfully developed the characters in the book version of Bridge to Terabithia. Oftentimes, movie renditions do not capture the complexities and relationships captured in quality literature. I believe that the movie version devoted the time needed to tie the audience into the experiences and emotions of both Jess and Leslie.
The movie did not diverge from the events that unfolded in the book. However,the characters were not as I had envisioned when I read the story. This was done intentionally to appeal to younger audiences. I can understand the purpose behind modernizing the characters but I will admit that it was somewhat of a disappointment. Patterson's depiction of rural America was not captured in the movie. The characters seemed much more suburban and image conscious than what Patterson had probably intended. These details are somewhat minor and insignificant, but I constantly found myself making these comparisons. Because the movie did not attempt to authentically re-invent all aspects of the book, the images I visualized while reading the story have not been altered. The same cannot be said for movies such as Harry Potter because those movies aimed to portray the characters as closely as possible to the book descriptions. I appreciated the authenticity of the Harry Potter movies. The movie version of Bridge to Terabithia aimed to bring the story into the 21st century.
I was amused by the comic relief provided by the young actress who portrayed Maybelle. She fulfilled a lighthearted side to the movie that was needed, especially toward the end. I was equally moved by Leslie's death in the movie as I was when I read the book. Overall, I was pleased with the performance of all the characters and I felt that the simplicity and depth of the story was not compromised by special effects or poor acting/character development. I wish more movies like these were out when I was a child!
3 comments:
I agree with you on a number of points! I constantly found myself making comparisons while watching the movie and I found it to be somewhat of a disappoinment as well. I really enjoyed the character, May Belle. She was adorable and did a great job playing that part. I also didn't like the "modern" version from the movie. I guess I just wasn't expecting it to be that modern, but you're right. This movie is aimed at younger audiences which may be the reason. Overall, I did enjoy it.
I agree, Maybelle's role was perfect. I was so happy to see the movie and the book end with her as the princess of Terabithia. Of course I cried, thinking how sweet it was that she and Jess would be able to keep Terabithia alive. I also agree about the depiction of the rural America in the movie. The clothing of both Jess and Leslie especially were shocking to me... I did not picture either character to look, or dress as they did in the movie. As far as the special effects, I thought several of the scenes in Terabithia were over the top, but I understood this was the producers' way of picturing Leslie's imagination on screen. Overall, I enjoyed the movie, and am glad to hear you were pleased with the movie as well.
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