With his dad Jack (ROBERT PATRICK) being somewhat distant and preoccupied with the family finances, Jess is surrounded by females, including his mom, older sisters Brenda (DEVON WOOD) and Ellie (EMMA FENTON), and younger sibling May Belle Aarons (BAILEY MADISON) who just wants to hang out with her big brother.
It doesn't get much better at school. While he has a crush on his music teacher Ms. Edmunds (ZOOEY DESCHANEL), towering school bully Janice Avery (LAUREN CLINTON) torments him when not charging everyone admission to the restroom, and new student Leslie Burke (ANNASOPHIA ROBB) has just beaten him and everyone else in that important foot race. Thus, not only must he deal with that disappointment, but he must also endure the taunting from his classmates, Scott Hoager (CAMERON WAKEFIELD) and Gary Fulcher (ELLIOT LAWLESS), who act like jerks toward him.
Despite Jess initially not liking Leslie for beating him in the race, the two soon become fast friends and escape from their troubles in the nearby woods. There, they find a deserted tree house and make it their own, with Leslie declaring the land to be Terabithia, a world filled with fantastical creatures, both good and bad. Encouraged by their ability to deal with the latter, they then set out to make things right in the real world.
Those scenes and other moments of potential peril might be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers, while a major child character dies toward the end of the film (not seen, but referenced, with plenty of related emotional aftermath). That obviously results in tense family material (while other unrelated bits also occur).
Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (including several bullies), while some behavior may be enticing for some kids to imitate. Finally, a bit of crude material (about bodily functions) is also present.
Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.
For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, we see slow-motion shots of Jess and Leslie separately swinging on a rope swing (where they appear stationary and the background moves behind them).
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(2007) (Josh Hutcherson, Annasophia Robb) (PG)
Alcohol/
DrugsBlood/Gore
Disrespectful/
Bad AttitudeFrightening/
Tense ScenesGuns/
Weapons
None
Mild
Moderate
*Moderate
Mild
Imitative
BehaviorJump
ScenesMusic
(Scary/Tense)Music
(Inappropriate)Profanity
Moderate
Minor
Heavy
None
Minor
Sex/
NuditySmoking
Tense Family
ScenesTopics To
Talk AboutViolence
None
None
Heavy
Heavy
Mild
CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.
(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).
Reviewed January 26, 2007 / Posted February 16, 2007
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