Somebody Never Read the Book

After seeing the trailer for the new Bridge to Terabithia movie, I wrote, “Some people will be terribly disappointed. . . . The movie will either be quite different from the trailer, disappointing moviegoers, or quite different from the book, disappointing its many readers over the years.”

Well, fans of the book have responded to the movie with pleasure. And Gregory Kirschling at Entertainment Weekly is apparently not one of them. Instead, his short review implies he was more enchanted with the trailer:

Wouldn't it blow your mind if you discovered an enchanted CG kingdom in the woods behind your house? In Bridge to Terabithia, the two middle schoolers who stumble onto a whole new world don't seem all that wowed. And the movie — which never decides if it's a fantasy or coming-of-age story — spends a lot of time away from Terabithia; that also leaches out the wonder. The boy seems more excited that Zooey Deschanel is his hottie music teacher than he is to see tree men in the forest.

Not enough tree men in Terabithia, too much coming-of-age, a C+ grade--someone didn’t get this book assigned to him in middle school.

EW also has an interview with filmmaker David Paterson, showing that at least one person at the magazine has read his mother’s book--and really, really wants to warn potential viewers about a crucial plot point.