Was anyone else surprised

[kitsch4]

by what happened in the movie "Bridge to Terabithia"? This may be really old news, but my daughter and I just watched the movie last weekend, and neither one of us had a clue that


***SPOILER, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE AND DON'T WANT TO KNOW, STOP READING***











Leslie would die! I swear I haven't been living under a rock, but I had no idea and was totally caught off-guard! I did not read any reviews and did not hear anyone else talk about it. (I know- bad mom!) We just saw the DVD at the store, and it looked like a cute fantasy-type story, so we got it and had a mom-daughter movie night. By the end we were both sad and crying, and my daughter asked if I could turn it off and return it to the store.

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I just wondered if anyone else went into it as clueless as we were.

 

[mrs.beast]

it is adapted from a book. so no suprise at all. in fact, our 6th graders read it in our district. so most everyone around here knew how it ended.

 

[tink1969]

Yes, my daughter and I were surprised by the ending of the movie as well. Tears were flowing. My daughter was 9 yrs old a few months back when we watched it. She really enjoyed it. But she also knows that movies are not real and she understands that death is a natural part of life.
Are you worried about her reaction to it? It's only natural. Kids are curious but they have different ways of dealing with things than adults do.

 

[dementia412]

We saw it at the movies.. not only did I not have a clue she would die.. I also didn't really know what the movie was about. I thought it was a Narnia type, real other world movie. I was caught off guard, but I loved it so much. I was sniffling in the theater. My kids all loved it, and wanted to watch it again. They've seen it two more times at home and want me to buy it. I can see how it might upset some people though... "oh, how cute, look they are learning that even bullies have feeling.... lalalala, WTH, she's dead! " Kind of like being punched in the stomach while eating cotton candy.

 

[Feralpeg]

I'd read the book, so there was no surprise other than how wonderfully they adapted the book to the screen. The kids in the movie were wonderful. I bought the DVD about a week ago and watched it with my DD. We both cried, but it is actually a very uplifting movie.

 

[Kat77]

I bawled in the theatre It was so sad! Even grampa looked a little red eyed leaving. I warned another mom to buy kleenex with the dvd for herself and DD.
The movie was really wonderful though. I loved it despite the sad suprise and will buy the dvd now it is out.

 

[stagemomx3]

The kids and I had read the book so no surprise. In fact I got chills the first time she crossed the creek, knowing what was coming. I think it's a wonderful movie.

 

[tigger813]

I have read Bridge to Terabithia to my students for the past 6 years. I bought the movie the day it came out on DVD. I spoke to my daughter to warn her about the sad part. She loves AnnaSophia Robb from the first American Girl movie and Because of Winn Dixie. She SOBBED for a half hour she was so upset! I cried but I always do even reading the book. DH and I realized that she had never seen a sad movie before. She and I had to make brownies to cheer her up. We don't plan on letting her watch it again anytime soon. DH hasn't watched it yet as he'll need to watch it when she's not around.

 

[meandtheguys2]

You can see the spoiler when you click on your thread. Might want to move it a couple more lines down.

I thought they did an excellent job adapting the book.

After a few surprises, I started really checking out movies before we go.

 

[AngieWin]

Another who read the book probably close to 20 years ago. I have not seen the movie, but from watching the trailers I would say they did almost a dishonest job of previewing it. I loved the book, but the focus of the book was not as much of the fantasy world as it was portrayed, I remember it being about the friendship between the 2 children. I told every parent I knew that was thinking of seeing it that there was an upsetting end to it (especially for the children).

My mom bought it for my nephew who had been requesting it (he is 6!), but thankfully she previewed it before showing it to him. After her disappointment she gave it to me for my 12 and 13 year olds. My 4 year old will not be watching it though.

 

[kitsch4]

Are you worried about her reaction to it?

Not worried, but I just felt really bad. She knows about death and knows that it is a part of life. She is very sensitive (just like her mom). My dad, her Papa, passed away last year, and she has slept with her light on since. That's just how she is. She wanted me to turn off the movie, but I couldn't just leave it without it being resolved. I told her the ending had to make it better- and it did. But I don't think she will be watching it again soon.

I don't want to give the impression that I hated the movie. I really liked it. It's just that it was like a punch in the gut when she died, as dementia412 wrote. Normally you hear something if a movie is really sad or if it affects people in a large way, but I didn't hear anything!

 

[akmom]

I had NO idea and I BAWLED like a baby. I got up and went to the bathroom I was crying so much. hahaha That one really caught me off-guard.

 

[mickeylove2]

I read the book as a child, and my 6 year old has read the book to her little sis 4 I also know the real life background story to this book, so no, it was no surprise to me or DDs but we still cried at the theatre and all 6 times that it has been watched since we bought the DVD...it has been watched everyday since last Tuesday 6-19...it is a wonderful movie about friendship and other childhood issues. this may be a little TMI but both of my DDs know what death is, they may not comprehend all that it means for someone to die, but they know enough about it to know sometimes people die and go to heaven and it's not always fair but it happens. My brother died at 21, before my DDs were even born yet they go to the cemetary and clear the leaves away and leave special things there. They will say uncle Shane is in heaven, he's not hurting...they will look up into the trees and talk to him. They know that he is buried in the ground and that's why they love to make his grave pretty and neat. My grandfather recently passed away and no they didn't go to the funeral but they know that he is no longer living and in heaven.

 

[writersblock42]

Read the book almost a couple of decades ago. Wze loved the book, we were in fourth grade and we used to act out all the parts. When I saw the movie coming out the previews looked nothing like the book but the movie was actually a lot like the book so I was waiting for the part to happen. We rented it on DVD and I admit I left the room when that part came up.

 

[sskem96]

We saw it at the theater and had no idea she was going to die either. My girls lost a 15 year old cousin 3 years ago, so they are very aware that young people can die unexpectedly, and I don't think it's harmful to expose them to that. It's just a fact of life. Of course we all cried during the movie, but that's normal. There aren't too many Disney movies that I don't cry at actually. DD7 did say next time we go see a sad movie, she's going to make sure she wears long sleeves so she can wipe her eyes easier!

 

[disneygal2007]

we also watched it lat weekend. My kids saw it in the movies with my parents while my husband and I were at DW but as soon as we came home my son told me she died needless to say I was mad. But when we saw it last friday I bawled like a baby. It just so sad when they have a child die. I get really attached to people in movies that I enjoy

 

[kitsch4]

I have read Bridge to Terabithia to my students for the past 6 years. ... She loves AnnaSophia Robb from the first American Girl movie and Because of Winn Dixie.

How do you read the book to your students and not cry?! Was AnnaSophia "Samantha"?

 

[ForeverDance]

Totally caught off guard and cried like a baby (would have cried even if I'd known it was coming though )

DH said "should have known, it is Disney after all".

 

[Feralpeg]

How do you read the book to your students and not cry?! Was AnnaSophia "Samantha"?

My students read "Mick Hart Was Here" this past year. We took turns reading in class. There was a lot of sniffing going on in the classroom. I'm sure the same thing was true in her classroom.

 

[Tikicampers]

My students read "Mick Hart Was Here" this past year. We took turns reading in class. There was a lot of sniffing going on in the classroom. I'm sure the same thing was true in her classroom.

I remember reading Bridge to Terabithia in school, and everyone sobbing. We also watched a filmstrip of it and everyone cried again.
Obviously, I knew about the ending, but DH didn't. We were at the video store and he pointed to it and said we should get it for family movie night. DS is three, and I think that's a little young for it, so I looked at DH and said, "You know she dies right?" He had forgotten. Needless to say we haven't seen it yet. Now that I have kids, I just can't bring myself to watch something like that.