Kids, imagination, and tragedy, take two

I think the best book I ever read as a kid was Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, which I read in either third or fourth grade. It seems most people I know around my age read it at some point and have at least a vague memory of it. I wasn't exactly averse to reading as a kid, but I remember attacking that book like no other. It's the story of a boy and girl, both just a year or two older than I was then, who develop a powerful friendship and help each other through difficulties at school and at home by imagining a rich fantasy world that they create in the nearby woods. The girl in particular, Leslie, is an unusually endearing character; a bit awkward and bizarre but astoundingly self-confident and imaginative, she becomes in an odd way sort of the wise old sage to the boy's (Jess') naive apprentice--though they're the same age--teaching him how to use his imagination and talents to enliven and enrich his otherwise awkward and frustrating preadolescent life. Then real life intervenes, in a surprising and heartbreaking way.

It's hard to describe how deeply this book affected me way back when, though I suppose the fact that I remember it so well almost twenty years later gives you a hint. The characters were so well drawn (for a children's book, especially) that I was completely engrossed. I felt like Jess, and I really, really wanted a friend like Leslie (as I suspect almost every boy that age does). And it was the first book I remember reading--in fact, probably the first story I ever came across in any medium--in which real-life tragedy strikes a "good guy" (let alone one I could really identify with). I cried, a lot, and had to have a long talk with my mom about it. I don't think I was the same for a few days after that, which, when you consider how quickly kids recover, was really something for a little book.

So when I saw the trailer for the Disney film based on the book, I was (to overstate it slightly) offended. The book was about fantasy as an aspect of a lively imagination, not about fantasy as a film genre. The trailer, which you can see here, and other advertisements promise a non-stop adventure with trolls and other creatures (possibly even robots?), a la Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. That's a complete bastardization of the book's heart and message--in other words, pretty much how you expect Disney to roll.

But, praise be, it was the marketing firm that ruined it, not the filmmakers (and actually, the filmmakers have disavowed any connection with those terrible ads). Aside from the fact that the film took place in 2007 rather than 1977 and has just a bit of awful Hillary Duff-like pop music, I felt very much like I was back in third or fourth grade reading the book. The few fantasy elements that are actually depicted are merely (and clearly) representations of the children's imagination, and take up a very small portion of the film. And when the movie takes its tragic turn (which I fear parents will be unprepared for, thanks to those ads), it's handled very, very well. I cried again--not quite as much as when I read the book, perhaps, but that's because I already knew the ending, not because I'm too mature for it or any such crap. This is a good film for anyone of any age that has at least some memory of once being a kid. So that means you.

One thing about this film, and all kids' movies where the main characters are outcasts: they're too pretty. I know 5th-8th grade is tough for everybody, but no one who looks like this:


and has any sort of personality at all is going to be made fun of much. The above is AnnaSophia Robb, who was also Violet Beauregarde in the excellent remake of Charlie in the Chocolate Factory and is going to be a star for at least the next couple years and possibly many more (but at age 13 you can never tell), as Leslie. The thing is, though, she's so engaging and likable that it's impossible not to suspend one's disbelief over the fact that she's supposed to be a nerd who gets ostracized just because her family doesn't own a television. It's hard to imagine any child other than Dakota Fanning getting as much out of this (already excellent) role as she does. And who wants to see yet another Dakota Fanning flick?

The boy, Josh Hutcherson from Zathura (which I will never see), does almost equally well in a less shiny but equally important featured role. Evil Terminator Robert Patrick, who once kicked the lifeless corpse of X-Files square in the head for an entire, painful season, plays the first 3/4 of the movie rather listlessly, but really shines in the final scenes. And Zooey Deschanel, who was adorable opposite Will Ferrell in Elf, is almost equally adorable here in a small but important role as the kids' hippie music teacher.

All in all, this is a great film, for kids (who are old enough to handle it) and for everybody else, whether you loved the book as a kid as I did or never heard of it. I'll be buying the DVD when it comes out, and it'll get more than a few viewings well before our children-to-be are old enough to see it.

In other news, my beautiful wife just learned that she was accepted into the University of Chicago's Master of Arts in the Humanities Program for next year. Huzzah for her! I'm very proud, and alternatives to sitting in a condo watching TV all day are good.