" is a warm family movie with difficult themes, held together by its charming child actors. Josh Hutcherson (Jess Aarons), a gifted artist and fast runner who’s less-than-wealthy home life with four sisters and surly parents demands some kind of escape. Jess endures an underdog life, he is bullied at school, has to wear his sister’s hand-me-down sneakers.
He looses a prime foot race at school to the new-girl Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb). The potentially disastrous first-meeting turns into one of the screens great platonic relationship as the pair develop a sympathetic rapport that’s enlivened by their fertile imaginations that they use to create an imaginary world called in a nearby forest. Jess and Leslie are good friends, great friends, nothing more.
They build a tree house that can only be accessed by crossing a creek on a Tarzan rope. This crossing brings tragedy into Jess’ life beyond his comprehension. It is Leslie who conjures up the kingdom of with its Dark Master (an occasional moving black blur), warrior dragonflies, squirrels that become boar-like Squogres and turkey buzzards that turn into dive-bombing, winged monsters.
There are prisoners kept here, says Leslie. "You and I have been sent to free them." Leslie enlists Jesse, with his drawing ability, in the creation of the magic land that only they know about.
Les is something of a super-heroine, taking on Janice Avery, the overweight 8th Grade grade bully who demands a dollar from any girl trying to use the washroom, and putting down Gary Fulcher when he teases Leslie for not having a TV set at home. With two closeted writers for parents, absorbed in their work, Leslie has her own reasons for finding a place of escape. It's ironic that the " " is a warm family movie with difficult themes, held together by its charming child actors.
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