From the Page to the Screen

It's been read by millions, it's taught in English classes, it won the Newbery Award -- heck, it's even been banned (just like Harry Potter!). Now Katherine Paterson's beloved children's book 'Bridge to Terabithia' hits the big screen in a movie starring Josh Hutcherson ('Zathura') and AnnaSophia Robb ('Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'). We chatted with Matt Aitken, visual effect supervisor at Peter Jackson's Weta Digital, who walked us through some exclusive photos from the long-anticipated film.

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Only the Lonely Can Play

In Paterson's book, Jess (Hutcherson) befriends Leslie (Robb), the new girl in town, when she beats him in a footrace. Both loners, they create their own private kingdom across the river. But where the book only hints at the scope of their imaginary world, the film goes further, bringing Terabithia to life. Aiken calls it "a natural change ... It doesn't really make sense to make a film of this book and not visualize that stuff. It's a great opportunity to add richness to the visual experience."

Magic Kingdom

This frame is from the final scene of the movie, in which Terabithia and its citizens are revealed in all their glory. "As you can see," Aitken points out, "you've got these guys riding these giant emu creatures ... The kids' imaginations are running wild at this stage, and the Terabithian citizens are welcoming them to Terabithia. They're all clapping and cheering and smiling." And no, that is not Disneyland up on the hill. We're pretty sure Mickey Mouse isn't a Terabithian.

We See Right Through Her

Pictured on the left in the previous frame, the "bird lady," who has a birdcage for a torso, is one of Terabithia's more fanciful creatures. "She has this diaphanous quality," says Aitken. "She's sort of half there and half not there. She walks right up to the kids, and we made sure that she moves very gracefully. She was just a great creature to help create." Alas, the bird lady does not have a single line of dialogue in the entire movie. So much for that SAG card.

Terabithians Know How to Rock

What would a welcoming party be without music? The instruments here are based on real, non-Western instruments, modified for Terabithian use. (Sort of like Eddie Van Halen's guitars.) And if you're finding it hard to spot the musicians, there's nothing wrong with your eyes. "We always wanted these Terabithians to feel like they were part of the environment, integrated with the forest," says Aitken, "so the colors we created them with are very much a natural palette."

You Could Put Someone's Eye Out

In this, one of the original illustrations for the preceding scene, the Terabithians had a somewhat different look to them. Using this sketch as inspiration, Aitken and the other designers toned down the colors and the angles so that the figures didn't seem menacing, and they eliminated the flags so that they weren't mistaken for weapons. It's almost a shame, though; we were looking forward to some wicked tall-flag routines.

Beware the Rabid Squirrel Boy

Jess and Leslie's chief villain, the vicious Squogre, is named after bully Scott Hoager. "They see a squirrel around the treehouse," explains Aitken, "and they say 'Scott Hoager,' and the squirrel becomes 'Squogre.' So they create this combination of an animal and a kid." Squogres have Scott's hair and eyes, but that spiked ball is uniquely Terabithian. "We decided the reason they were so aggressive," Aitken jokes, "is they have this thing bouncing in front of their eyes. It was driving them crazy."

Gentle Giant

Another bully who torments Jess and Leslie at school is Janice Avery; in Terabithia, she takes the form of a giant. "When we first meet her in the film," says Aitken, "she's threatening, and the kids think that she's somebody who has to be battled with." But as their attitude toward the real Janice Avery changes, so does their vision of the giant, who becomes their ally. "When we get to this grand welcoming scene at the end of the film," Aitken continues, "she's the one who places the crown on Jess's head."

Win, Lose or Draw

Aitken and his team developed the film's creatures from pencil sketches drawn by director Gabor Csupo, and artist Dima Malenitchev. "They worked up these great evocative illustrations that were a wonderful starting point for us," says Aitken. "Then we went through a process of interpretation and fleshed these designs out into something that could be real and believable." This creature, the Hairy Vulture, is modeled on after yet another bully -- Gary Fulcher -- and a crow.

They're Small, but They're Feisty

Jess and Leslie have help fighting off the Squogres and the Hairy Vultures in the form of tiny, armor-clad insects. "When it looks like the Squogres and the Hairy Vultures are going to triumph over the kids," Aitken explains, "they need some more help, so they conjure up this swarm, a giant, mass army of insects." Each warrior insect has its own weapon and helmet. We can't wait for the action figures -- and though they don't have names, we're going to go ahead and dub this one the Grim Reaper.

Head Toward the Light

The film also evokes fantasy elements in dealing with Jess's difficult relationship with his father. In this scene, the kids are "looking for a set of keys," says Aitken, "that Jess's father has lost and is blaming Jess for. They imagine this blue light which has a life of its own, and it points to where the keys are hanging in the branch of a tree. It's where the reality is imposing itself into their fantasy world." Wow, we sure need one of those key-finder things. Will Weta take a check?

Jess and Leslie, Sittin' in a Tree

Fans of the novel, be reassured: "I really loved the book," raves Aitken. "So right from the start we were working in a way that we wanted to honor this great piece of children's literature." As for the actors themselves, with whom Aitken worked on choreographing and directing "against thin air," he says, "They were just great. You know, they're 12 years old and they have a total understanding of the process. It's scary, really." Scary as a Squogre and a Hairy Vulture? We'll see about that. --Patricia Chui

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