"Bridge to Terabithia" is a coming-of-age fantasy film based on the childrens book of the same name by Katherine Paterson. The story follows Jess and Leslie, two friends who build a secret fantasyland called Terabithia across the creek in the woods where they play all the time and forget about the rest of the world. One day, Jess goes on an impromptu field trip with his music teacher and crush Ms. Edmunds to an art museum without inviting Leslie along. When he returns home, he finds out that Leslie drowned after their rope swing broke while she was trying to cross the rain-swollen creek to get to Terabithia. The death happens off-screen, but it is still impactful and surprising. Jess is completely devastated and goes through the stages of grief, including denial, anger, fear, and sorrow. Initially, he does not see how he is to go on, but eventually, he realizes that he can only keep Leslies memory and his own newfound sense of self alive by continuing the fantasy of Terabithia.