Bridge to Terabithia

Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's poor, she's a city girl, and he's a country boy the two become fast friends. Together they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants where they rule as king and queen.

The film earned broadly favorable notices for its emotional honesty and its two young leads, but critics disagreed on whether the fantasy elements earned their place — some found the blend of imagination and coming-of-age grief deeply moving, while others felt the film never committed fully to either register. The final stretch, in particular, divided those who saw it as genuinely affecting from those who felt it tipped into sentimentality.