great post Marz. Thanks for your insight.

About 12 years ago, I was one of those 4th/5th graders that read the book and then watched the movie. The older version was not loyal to the kingdom of Terabithia and only focused on Leslie and Jesse. This version, however, was much more loyal (but how much exactly? It’s been a while since I read the book, so I can’t remember, but I was familiar with all the scenes in the movie in terms of it coinciding with the book). I don’t think that it’s too mature for kids at all.. then again, I am speaking about it as a former 4th/5th grader who read the book.

I really cried when Jesse poured his paints into the river (which is exactly the same part I got emotional over when reading the book) and when he was being held by his father. I’m an adult already, but I feel like I still relate to that boy.
I just loved how human this movie was and how it focused on looking for ‘the better story’ by keeping our minds wide open. (Hehe! Quoting the movie. =P)

i hate kids like that. Taunting others for being emotional. I wish I had a video clip of every kid being emotional, so when they tease another kid about crying, I could show of clip of them crying. haha

like you, i watched this completely unaware. it was with my son’s 5th grade class and i thought the parts of it were too mature. a classmate of his got teary-eyed and then taunted after. kids are mean!
the fantasy meets reality was done very well, though.

What I enjoyed most about this movie is that it helped me to remember some of the things I felt when I was kid. Most will definitely find at least one experience that they can relate to. Pretty good stuff.

Hmm, I enjoy good films, and I did enjoy Pan’s Labyrinth. I’ll have to check this one out.