Disney's Bridge to Terabithia is a surprisingly good family-friendly treat. This handsomely mounted adaptation of Katherine Paterson's Newberry award-winning novel is an intelligently layered drama of creative inspiration and adolescent friendship. And while the movingly tragic direction it ultimately takes will be rough on some of the younger viewers, this shocking turn is handled with such grace and loving care adults should be able to discuss things with their children with the comfort and tact it deserves.

Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is a lonely outsider with three sisters, the two oldest of whom tend to rule the family roost like it is their own personal playground. At school he is treated with scorn and constant bullying, his only refuges being a single-minded pursuit to become the school's fastest fifth grader and the imaginative drawings he sketches on an almost daily basis.

Fellow outcast Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) is new in town and feels an immediate kinship with Jess. Neighbors, she makes it her mission to become his friend, the two of them ultimately crafting their own imaginary world the name Terabithia. This new realm lies deep in the woods and just across a meandering stream, the only way to get there to swing on an old rope across the raging waters.

Together, these two form a bond no real-world terrors could ever crush. More, this fantasyland of ogres, fairies, giants and other bizarre beings starts giving Jess the courage to face his demons and take a few risks. Soon he's going to museums with the school's kindly music teacher Ms. Edmonds (Zooey Deschanel) and helping his little sister May Belle (Bailee Madison) get even with the school bully. But nothing can prepare him for the greatest challenge to come, and it will take every ounce of Jess' strength to deal with these new events threatening to overwhelm him.

I admit I could not remember reading Paterson's original novel before watching the movie, and it wasn't until a good thirty minutes or so in that I realized I knew where this one was going. Personally, I think this says more about my memory than it does about the quality of the source material, many people more highly qualified than I having already named it an extremely worthwhile read. What I am qualified to say is that this movie based upon it is almost completely wonderful, the heartfelt emotions and the strong human adventure at its center more than enough to warrant a recommendation.

Director Gabor Csupo (making his live-action debut after years working on Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys) does a splendid job blending the imaginary and the modern worlds, while writers Jeff Stockwell (The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys) and David Patterson (the author's son) do a great job of making sure the story's themes come across as genuine not forced and cliché. There is honesty to the film that's both entertaining and refreshing, and while it certainly drifts into darker territories this child's-eye view of the world is sensationally intoxicating.

Granted, the film is a bit long, and some of the material (especially in regards to the two main bullies tormenting Jess) is a tad too sophomoric. I'm also not completely positive the dialogues about faith and religion are anywhere near as well done as they probably were in the book. But these are minor foibles, tiny speed bumps on a road that's otherwise as smooth as freshly poured asphalt. Add in assured performances from the two kids (as well as a superb character portrait from the usually sinister Robert Patrick) and Bridge to Terabithia is an enchanting road to cinematic wonder.

Film Rating: êêê  (out of 4)