Csupó explained that "it was a very conscious decision from the very beginning that we're not going to overdo the visual effects because of the story's integrity and the book's integrity." There was only a small mention of Jess and Leslie fighting creatures in Terabithia in the book. For this reason, they "tried to do the absolute minimum, which would be required to put it into a movie version".
To design the creatures of Terabithia, Csupó wanted to use "little more artsy, imaginative, fantastical creatures than the typical rendered characters you see in other movies." He was inspired by Terry Gilliam and Ridley Scott. Dima Malanitchev drew the creatures. Csupó helped him in this. Csupó chose Weta Digital render the 3D animation. He "was impressed with their artistic integrity, the teamwork, the [fact that] people were really nice, and also they responded to our designs very positively." Weta modified some of the creature designs. However, they mainly used Csupó's original designs.
100 crew members from Weta worked for the movie. Weta was doing the animations when the movie was being shot. Weta crew members saw the shooting of all scenes involving these creatures. Weta's Matt Aitken said the process of animation was "split into two steps". First, natural-looking creatures were created based on pencil sketches by Csupó and Malanitchev. Photoshop pictures made by visual effects art director Michael Pangrazio was used for this. The second step was to use the best animation and motion style for the creatures.
Leslie's costumes in the movie were designed to look as if the character "might have made some of them herself". They were updated from those described in the book. This was because the descriptions in the book would appear odd now.
Producer and screenwriter David L. Paterson is the novel's author's son. His name was featured on its dedication page. The story was based on his real life best friend, Lisa Hill. Hill had been struck by lightning. She was killed when they were both eight years old. Paterson had asked his mother, Katherine Paterson, if he could write a screenplay of the novel. She agreed "not only because he's [her] son, but also because he's a very good playwright". Paterson found it difficult to market his screenplay. It was mainly because of Leslie's death. "[I]f you can believe this, I did meet with some companies that asked if I could just 'hurt' Leslie a little bit—put her in a light coma and then bring her out".
Paterson said it was very important for him to keep the spirit of the book alive. At the same time, he had to change it from "a novel that takes place mostly in the characters' heads to a dynamic visual medium". Paterson knew that the movie had to be about friendship and imagination. He focused "bringing out the emotions of the story." He said he found it difficult to write about Terabithia. This was "because it was too close". He credited fellow screenwriter Jeff Stockwell for recreating Terabithia for the movie. "What Jeff was able to do as an outsider who wasn’t so attached to the story was to really let his imagination go free and make up this world in a wonderful way", David said. Csupó said that the two main characters are a little bit older in the movie. Csupó claims the movie "deals with so many issues including friendship, and maybe first innocent love, things like that", so it "made more sense" to make the characters older.
The film's musical score was composed by Aaron Zigman. He was hired after Alison Krauss did not compose the music. Zigman said there are similarities between the music he made fro "Bridge to Terabithia" and the movie "Flicka". He said: "[...]at times there's a bit of a Celtic influence but not much", but he also went on to say that there was a more modern feel to the music he composed for "Bridge to Terabithia". The score he composed for the movie is described as "very large" compared to his other work, and Zigman commented that "Aside from the minimalist stuff and coloring that I love to do, I also like big orchestral stuff, and want to do more of that, and this movie enabled me to spread my wings out a bit." The official soundtrack for the movie was released by "Hollywood Records" on February 13, 2007.
Reviewers criticized the film's advertisement campaign. One critic said the movie was actually "grounded in reality far more than in fantasy." Another thought, "far from a computer generated [created] escapist fantasy, this movie is an unpretentious [not pretending] and touching tale of preteen companionship and loss".
The movie premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on February 16, 2007. Paterson, who studied in The Catholic University of America, held a special advance screening of the movie for them. This was shown at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland on February 1, 2007. The movie opened in the UK on May 4, 2007, and in New Zealand June 7, 2007. The movie grossed "a higher-than-expected" $28,536,717 from 2,284 screens. It earned an average of $9,885 per screen. The opening day had collections of $6.3 million. The movie has a worldwide gross of US$120 million. It grossed $80 million in the US and Canada.
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released on June 19, 2007 in the US. The DVD and Blu-ray version had "Digital Imagination: Bringing Terabithia to Life", "Behind the Book: The Themes of "Bridge to Terabithia"" It also had "Keep Your Mind Wide Open" music video by Robb, and two audio commentaries. The first was with director Csupó, writer Jeff Stockwell, and producer Hal Lieberman. The second was with producer Lauren Levine and actors Hutcherson and Robb.
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes said 85% of 137 collected reviews for "Bridge to Terabithia" were positive. The average score was 7.1/10. Critics said the movie was "a faithful adaptation of a beloved children's novel and a powerful portrayal of love, loss, and imagination through children's eyes. Dynamic visuals and natural performances further enhance the imaginative film". At Metacritic, the movie got 74 out of 100 from 25 reviews. This meant it received "generally favorable reviews".
James Berardinelli of ReelViews called "Bridge to Terabithia" "easily the best family feature of the early year". Ann Hornaday of "The Washington Post" praised the script. She said it was "utterly recognizable and authentic", and thought Robb and Hutcherson were "perfectly cast". Hornaday said the final five minutes showed "oversweet sentiment." Viewers would remember the film's "warmth and respect with which it pays homage [respect] to first love," she added. Jessica Grose of "The Village Voice" praised director Csupó for not showing "cutesy tween [neither a child, nor a teenager] stereotypes." She felt Jess' relationship with his father made "Bridge to Terabithia" from "a good kids movie to a classic contender". "The New York Times" Jeannette Catsoulis believed that the fantasy was kept in the background "to find magic in the everyday", and thought Csupó directed "like someone intimate with the pain of being different, allowing each personality more than a single characteristic". She particularly praised Deschanel and Madison. Catsoulis said the movie handled adult topics with "with nuance [cleverly] and sensitivity". Since it was smart and "delicate as a spider web", it was the kind of children's movie "rarely seen nowadays". Miriam di Nunzio of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised Hutcherson and Robb's performances. "[T]he film's heart and soul rests on the abilities of its young lead characters to make us really see the world through children's eyes. The dynamic duo of Hutcherson and Robb do not disappoint," she noted.