So, who knew that Gabor Csupo could actually work on something of quality? After all the Klasky Csupo drek tossed up on Nickelodeon over the years, I had no idea that production team could actually produce something worth watching. And worth watching, this movie is. As I had heard earlier, this film is completely misadvertised by Disney. They’re setting it up to look like Chronicles Of Narnia or LotR or something. While it may have been shot/produced in NZ like Narnia/LotR and slightly feature fantasy elements, the similarities stop there. This is a wonderfully engaging film that doesn’t sacrifice storytelling in favor of production. This is the kind of movie that a studio like Disney should be turning out. It’s one of the best movies of the year.

Writing: To be honest, I had never heard of the book until I had seen the first previews for this movie. Even more interesting is the fact that apparently this has been previously adapted as a TV movie in 1985 (I’ll have to track down a copy of that some time to check out – I’m sure it’ll be quite a difference). Though I know nothing about the book, the movie feels like it paid much respect to the source material. From start to finish, the movie remains completely about character. It also follows a well mapped out narrative and is actually quite grounded in reality.

Production: There’s nothing to criticize in terms of production quality. It’s all here in spades. The sequences that demand fantastical effects have them. There’s even one sequence where they are clearly making the visual effects look artificial for storytelling style, which I think is a cool thing to do. From cinematography down to location and set design, this movie hits all the marks it should. I particularly love the title sequence.

Cast: The two lead kids in the film are remarkably good. Josh Hutcherson is completely convincing, and pulls off the delicate balance of reality vs fantasy with seeming ease. Even more amazing is AnnaSophia Robb, who is so completely engaging and disarmingly direct, one almost questions where the acting begins or ends. She lends the character a wildly broad range of childlike wonder vs intelligent maturity. I predict her to be a rapidly rising star. Supporting cast like the always-reliable Robert Patrick and the always-fantastic Zooey Deschanel (one of my favorite actresses) are solid additions to the film.

Music: Aaron Zigman, a composer I’m familiar with by name, but hadn’t been particularly familiar with in work does a rather good job with the score. Channeling an Alan Silvestri sense of musical wonder and grand scale, his score works well all the way through. It stands out more in the fantasy scenes, as it should. The one minor criticism I will make is their use of a stereotypical styled song for an earlier montage sequence in the movie, which stands out amidst the otherwise orchestrally scored film (not counting the music classroom scenes, which are handled appropriately by the production).