Film Analysis: Bridge to Terabithia

Hero: Jess Aarons
Mentor: Miss Edmunds
Threshold Guardian: Leslie, Jess's own thoughts and misgivings
Herald: Leslie. "Don't let the Terabithians Hear You."
Shapeshifter: Jess's Dad
Shadow: Scott Hoger
Trickster: Janice Avery
Ordinary World: Boring day-to-day chores, surviving the sixth grade friendless.
Call to Adventure: Leslie Burke beats Jess in the race; later she invites him to create a magical kingdom with her.
Refusal of the Call: Jess resists imagining, questions Leslie and doubts his own creative ability. "Enchanted Rope?"
Meeting With the Mentor: Music class with Ms. Edmunds, who praises his artwork and encourages Jess. "Have you taken Art lessons? You're Really Talented." --and-- "Jess, Don't let those other kids push you around."
Crossing the Threshold: Jess calls the pinecones grenades, he and Leslie build the treehouse.
Tests: Jess must find and return his father's keys; He and Leslie must confront & defend themselves against the Giant Troll (Janice Avery), Jess's chivalry to Ms. Edmunds in order to protect himself from Scott Hoger.
Allies: Leslie (His best friend), Maybelle (younger sister and confidant), Prince Terrian (P.T. the dog), later on Janice Avery.
Enemies: Scott Hoger (School Bully), Janice Avery (Frightening Eighth Grader), Jess's Dad (Imposing and Demanding).
Approach: Falling Tree impales the tree house (survival), Heightened Bullying (Maybelle's twinkies stolen, ketchup packets) and defense, Ms. Edmunds invites Jess to the Museum.
Ordeal: Leslie is killed by rope-river accident. Jess Must cope with his aching heart and confused emotions.
Reward: Jess is able to endure with his remorse and is still able to imagine.
The Road Back: Jess's father comforts him, Jess begins building a 'bridge' to Terabithia.
Resurrection: Jess calls Maybelle to come to Terabithia with him.
Return with Elixir: Leslie lives on in Jess's memory, Maybelle and Jess continue to imagine in Terabithia. "Can there be purple flowers?"

Hero's Journey

Josephine Katherine Lawson (Jo, for short) has always dreamed of becoming a famous vocalist, and has kept a secret passion for Juilliard school of music locked away in her list of possibilities. She has diligently sought to please her demanding mother by following in her older sister's scholarly footsteps and sustaining her own teen job at the local creamery. But Jo quietly holds grandeur plans of escape from the same-old of Galveston, Texas. When a written invitation asks Jo to attend a young musicians scholarship convention in New York City, Jo leaps for the opportunity and spends half her life savings to go. Jo is faced with difficult peer competition, tests of music theory, and challenging auditions during her week stay at the convention. Though veering from the family norm of logically minded professions, Jo at last finds fulfillment in her aspirations and earns a full-ride to Juilliard. Her parents at last accept her differences and support her openly.

Hero: Jo, 16 years of age, Galveston Resident and Middle Child

Ordinary World: Regular High School and Creamery Job (Regular old hometown)

Call to Adventure: Invitation to Muscial Convention

Special World: Scholarship to Julliard, major in vocal performance

Hero

Name: Josephine K. Lawson (Goes only by Jo)

Age: 16

Religion/Gender: Christian (no particular denomination), Female

Physical Description: Five foot four; long and curly brunette; no acne but lots of freckles;

Parents: Devout Catholic Mother and Inactive Father; Jo is very close to her father but struggles with clashing views/opinions concerning her mom.

Siblings: Has an older sister attending Harvard Law (Juliet, 23) and a younger sister (Janae, 13) who plans to attend college with a computer science major.

Style of Dress: Conservative; revels in buying high heels and hiking boots.

Hometown: Galveston, Texas

Family/Marital Status: Wants to marry in the future, hopes for two or three kids.

Life's Ambition: To attend Julliard school of Music with her talent in voice.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Strawberry

Fondest childhood memory: Earning an award for excellence in musical composition (elementary, age 9)

First Love: Joey Brooksen, who gave her his fruit snacks every day for a week in the fourth grade.

Greatest Fear: Being forced to join a convent

Strongest desire: To become a successful vocalist

Job: Local Ice Cream Parlor (Server Girl)

Identifying Marks: Slash of hairless skin through her left eyebrow (result of a childhood curling iron accident)

Mannerisms/Gestures: Widens her eyes whenever she is excited or incredulous; Snaps her fingers absentmindedly when she is making a trivial decision; ALWAYS taps her toe to the radio (even elevator music).

Favorite Quotes: "History will be kind to me; for I intend to write it." ~Winston Churchill

"Sharp rocks at the bottom? Bring it on." ~Emperor's New Groove

"Dancing. Even if one's partner is barely tolerable." ~Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice

Favorite Movie Lines: "Anybody want a peanut?" ~Princess Bride

Favorite Songs: Symphony No. 9--Beethoven

Fallin' For You--Colbie Calliat

Dies Irae--Mozart

Santa Fe--Newsies

Defying Gravity--Steven Schwartz, Wicked

Favorite Candy Bar: Whatchamacallit

Favorite NBA team: Boston Celtics

MVP (Most valuable possesion): Her i-pod

How he/she feels about love: Hopes for a long courtship (a year or more), beginning as simply friends. Wants nothing to do with infatuation or flighty marriage; wants absolute certainty in her decision. This also holds Jo back from starting any relationships, however.

Reading . . . Writing

Book . . . . . .
Pen . . . .
Paper.
I curl up with a paperback
And read quietly for hours
Laboriously I scratch Ideas
My brow spouts cold sweat showers
I yawn and set my book down
The story puts me fast asleep
I struggle over the sentence
I've been wording for a week
I crease my brow in thinking
The story grasps my full attention
My hand cramps as I speed write
My own adventure weaves suspension
I fly in freedom winging
As the story sweeps blue skies
My fingers drag enduring
Try to keep the writing alive
It's easy just to read away
And enjoy a sea of words
But when it's my pen scratching
I create my own bright world
I can't decide the ending
In a book or play I like
But I make my own adventures
When I find te time to write.

Short Story Adaptation

"I'm sorry, Joseph. You've developed arthritis in both patellas, and I'm afraid if you continue marathon training it will only cause greater bone deterioration."
The doctor's words felt like a stifling cloud in Joseph's mind. Joe quietly murmured a thank-you to the doctor, stuffed the prescription bill in his pocket, and trudged out of the office.
Before long, he found himself driving into the parking lot of the city cemetery.
Joseph pried his white-knuckled hands from the steering wheel and folded them across his chest. His graying auburn hair hit the headpiece on the fraying seat. His lips parted in a slow intake of air, releasing in gusts.
In, out.
In, out.
Joseph's broad shoulders sagged as he softly shut the Chevy door and trod through the clean-cut lawn. After passing several rows of headstones, he paused.
"Hey, dad." He murmured. "I've got it too. Guess it's just a family gene, idn't it."
Saltwater droplets began to dribble from his gray eyes.
"Dad!" he exclaimed mournfully, sinking in sorrow toward the gray stone. "Dad, what am I supposed to do?"
He tried to remember, remember what dad would've said to cheer him up, as he always did. . .

"Dad!" I asked with urgency.
"Dad, look at my fingers!"
The tall, dark figure of my Daddy whipped around backwards, his left hand holding a razor to his cheek. Creamy foam smothered the rest of his face, and I could barely make out the red lines of his lips through it.
"What is it, son?" Daddy asked, his big old blue eyes popping out at me in concern.
"Daddy, what's wrong with my skin?" I exclaimed. I stood up in the tub, where frothy pools of water seeped off my body and into the drain. Shivering, I hopped out toward him and outstretched my hands.
Those two, big ol' blue eyes inspected the ends of my raisin-looking fingers.
"Now those, son, are wrinkles." He said matter-of-factly.
"Wrinkles! I'm doomed!"
He grinned at me, grabbed a fluffy green towel, and draped it tightly around my shoulders before hoisting me up to the counter top.
"You know, son, they aren't anything to be afraid of," He said while tousling my wet hair. "I've got wrinkles," he said, tracing the lines next to his eyes, "But it just means I've been well loved."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked curiously.
"Well, my wrinkles come from caring about you, and from taking care of your mama, and from working hard at work."
"Really?"
"True as can be. They might not look pretty, but they mean I've got a lot of blessings. Growing old, it just means you've had a lot of life to live and time to love."
. . . .
Joseph's tears slowed to a stop; he wiped his eyes. Those images of his memory played in his mind again and again. He patted the top of the headstone while whispering a "Thanks, Dad." Joe's Chevy rumbled up the drive and away into the suburbs in the afternoon light.

Blurbs from Song Stories

Wrinkles (Diamond Rio)

37 year old Joseph Fairbanks, husband and father of four, is a successful businessman and long time athlete. A recent development in arthritis, however, has limited his ability to participate in marathons and charity runs. At first frustrated with this new physical challenge and still grieving from the loss of his father a year before, Joe reflects on his memories. He comes to a peaceful resolve on his situation when he remembers the life lessons he learned as a child.

There Goes My Life (Kenny Chesney)

Jake Harley married his High School Sweetheart the week after graduation, with plans to travel the world, attend a prestigious college, and become a successful business man in the automobile industry. He thought he had nought to worry about but doting on his wife and easily paying the bills. When he discovers he is the soon-to-be father of a beautiful baby girl, his dreams spur quickly to a halt. Jake feels at first caged and limited as well as confused in the responsibilities of guardianship. As he measures up to responsibility, however, Jake realizes that his daughter's life is the best decision he's ever made.

Forever & Always (Taylor Swift)

Jo (Juniper) Bellant is a tomboy in her senior year of high school. She's never dated much, acting as an independent and carefree woman--until a certain young man moves into her small town. Drew Lawson is assigned a seat next to her in Physics, and as their conversation blossoms into friendship, Jo knows she has finally found a man worthy of her love. After dating a blissful few months, the gossip around the school meanders to Drew's head. He decides though he loves Jo, their differences outweigh their comparable traits, distancing himself from her. Heartbroken and confused, Jo picks up her guitar and strives to find a way through the tragedy by pouring out her emotion into song.

Concrete Angel (Martina McBride)

Lily Jewkes is a fourteen year old city girl, trapped in an emotional confine of her abusive home. Lily is struggling to find a way to overcome her insecurities about boys, growth spurts, and junior high drama while hiding the physical beatings dispatched by her father. Lily finds refuge in a tutoring center for struggling math and science students, finding mentor Judy Lunz, a senior in high school. Lily must compose the courage to escape the hand of her father and confide in both Lunz and the police.

All I Want (Steven Curtis Chapman)

A tragic car accident leaves Rick Swenson, age eight, parent-less in the states. Having moved recently from Canada and having no living family relations, he is forced to jump from foster home to foster home in Conneticut while a permanent family is found. Two years later, with no familial success, Rick decides to give one last plea for a family in a letter to Santa Claus. Skeptical of Santa's existence and afraid of consequences from his naughty behavior, Rick hides the letter in his school binder for nearly two months. Only a week before Christmas, Rick mails the note. come December 25th, Rick receives a surprise call from the foster care facility. The next months of his life are spent adjusting to a life with a new family and learning to appreciate the tender mercies God offers.

Song Story: Wrinkles

Title: Wrinkles
Artist: Diamond Rio
Link to Song Lyrics

Plot: A grown man reflects on a memory from when he was a young boy. Frightened by the pruny appearance of his fingers from the bathwater, he worriedly relates this to his Dad, who is shaving by the sink. His dad explains that "Those are wrinkles, they ain't nothin' to be scared of!" The young boy wanders down the hall after listening to his daddy and enters his parents' room. He hears his mother complaining about her own wrinkles/age, so he decides to take his Daddy's advice and passes on the motto "Those are wrinkles, they ain't nothin' to be scared of!" He completes the story with his outlook on life now that he is grown and starting to recieve real wrinkles; contiuing to keep to the lesson his father taught him.

Characters:
Grown Man (Main character)
Young Boy (Main Character)
Daddy (Father to boy)
Mama (Mother to boy)
Audience (Main Character is talking directly to audience)

Conflict: Main Character is concerned with wrinkles and the physical problems/disabilities that accompany old age--such as wrinkles, gray hair, arthritis, etc. His parents are also concerned originally, before they express their new philosophy.

Theme: Acceptance of aging;
As long as you're living right and loving life, don't worry about 'wrinkles.' They're just a product of time and true love!

Setting: Happy family Suburban home; begins in the bathroom (specifically a hot bath, then to the hamper and sink), progresses down the hall to the master bedroom. Setting of the Character in Adult life is ambiguous.