Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

Most people think so. 82% of audiences gave it a thumbs up based on 5,145 votes. Critics agree, scoring it 80%.

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. Wikipedia ↗

Bridge to Terabithia is a 2007 American fantasy drama directed by Gabor Csupo, based on Katherine Paterson's Newbery Medal-winning 1977 novel. Josh Hutcherson stars as Jesse Aarons, a quiet, artistically talented boy from a struggling rural family who befriends Leslie Burke, played by AnnaSophia Robb, a confident, imaginative newcomer whose family has moved from the city. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods across a creek from their homes where they rule as king and queen, battling imaginary creatures that represent their real-world fears and anxieties.

The film's marketing misleadingly positioned it as a Narnia-style fantasy adventure, when in reality the fantastical elements are the children's imaginative play — and the story builds toward one of the most devastating emotional gut-punches in children's cinema, a tragedy that the book's readers dreaded and newcomers found shocking. Bridge to Terabithia earned $137 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.