Imaginary effects: Klasky Csupo's Gabor Csupo finds his place in a live-action world sparkled with fanciful 3D characters.(Interview)

The critically acclaimed film Bridge to Terabithia is director Gabor Csupo's first foray into live-action films, though not his first project aimed at children. As chairman and co-founder of Klasky Csupo, an award-winning animation company, Csupo co-developed, produced, and animated the Rugrats television series, co-produced the company's first venture into feature filmmaking, the enormously successful animated film The Rugrats Movie, followed by its sequel, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, and, in 2002, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, among other projects. Here, Csupo discusses how and why he incorporated visual effects magic into a dramatic children's story.

Q This is your first five-action film. Why did you want to make this feature?

A It is different because it's live action, but when you see the movie and understand it's a story about children, with children, and about good values, it's not so different. Even with Thornberrys, I tried to talk up to children, not down to children. I've had the ambition to do a live-action film for a long time. I read lots of scripts, but I didn't like anything until I read this book. It's a beautiful story, and it moved me. I wanted to do it.

Q What in the story moved you?

A The emotional arc. The messages it conveyed. And, how beautifully it was written. She [author Katherine Paterson] wrote it to put her own son's mind at ease because something similar [the death of a friend] happened to him when he was a little boy. I could identify with the outcast little boy. I grew up in Hungary with poor parents, and I was odd. I hid my drawings, too. So, I felt close to the character.

Q You hid your drawings?

A At first I did. I wasn't sure enough in myself. I was insecure and shy. The only difference in my situation was when finally my father noticed, he encouraged me. In this movie, the father neglects the little boy, not because he's mean-spirited, but because he's so busy and occupied with everyday problems and trying to provide for his family, he misses the best part of his life. He has a hard time connecting with the little boy.