It's the last straw for put-upon farmboy Jess (Hutcherson) when he's pipped to the post by grungie school newbie Leslie (Robb) in a class race he was convinced he would win.

Life's not much fun for Jess. At school he's the perpetual victim of a motley crew of vicious bumpkin kids while at home he suffers as the only boy in a family of five whose stern father is only too well aware how near the breadline they are.

Then the effervescent Leslie leaves him in second place. At first slightly ticked off at the newcomer, Jess rapidly becomes intrigued by the girl he observes receiving the same sort of treatment dealt out to him by the bullies.

Realising they are near neighbours, the pair bond and banish thoughts of their less-than-happy schooldays by creating the imaginary kingdom of Terabithia, reached by a rope swing across a rushing stream.

It turns out that she is an imaginative storyteller while he is a gifted artist, talents that bring the world of Terabithia to vivid life with its mysterious inhabitants bearing more than a slight resemblance to the class-room tyrants and preoccupied parents.

Although billed as another Narnia, this couldn't be more different. CGI effects are kept to an absolute minimum - apart from hairy vultures and a friendly troll - while the focus is kept on the richly drawn relationship between the two highly impressive leads.

Far, far from the children's movie style that owes more to Little House On The Prairie than real life, the events portrayed here - while often set in mythical fantasy world - have the stressed authenticity of adolescence.

The particularly harrowing twist, while probably a little too dark and upsetting for younger viewers, is a masterstroke in poignancy and provides an unbearably sad turn that wouldn't disgrace a fully-fledged, grown-up adult drama.

It's rare to find a children's movie that treats youngsters as adults-in-waiting and this is all the more notable for choosing the mysteries of the mind over the cheap thrill of flashy computer graphics.

Tim Evans