Bridge to Terabithia Trivias

The filmmakers have disavowed the advertisement campaign for the film saying that the advertising is deliberately misleading; making the film seem like it was about or occurring in a fantasy world like that of Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia. David L. Paterson in the SCI FI Wire article was surprised by the trailer but understood the marketing reasoning behind it saying:
"Although there is a generation that is very familiar with the book, if you are over 40, then you probably haven't, and we need to reach them. [...] Everyone who read the book and sees the trailer says, 'What is this? This is nothing like the book. What are you doing, Dave?' And I say, 'You know what you're seeing is 15 seconds of a 90-minute film. Give me a little leeway and respect. Go see it, and then tell me what you think.'"

David Lord Paterson is one of the producers and screenwriters for Bridge to Terabithia. His name appears on the dedication page in his mother's novel Bridge to Terabithia. The story was based on his real life friend, Lisa Hill, who was struck by lightning and killed when they were eight years old.

Paterson, an alumnus of the The Catholic University of America, held a special advance screening of the film for members of the CUA community at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland on February 1, 2007.

The film received a Heartland's Truly Moving Picture Award

The film has also been a recipient of the F.I.L.M award (Finding Inspiration in Literature and Movies).

Differences between the film and the book:

In the book there is only one bully who is a girl named Janice, in the film there are also two boy bullies named Gary and Scott, along with Janice.
In the book, Jesse first meets Leslie in the field behind their houses. In the film, Jesse first meets Leslie at school even though they are next door neighbors.
In the book, Jesse's family seems to have more of a farm - they have a milk cow. In the film, Jesse's family grows vegetables to supplement their food.
In the book, Jesse has blond hair and Leslie has brown hair. In the film it's reversed.
At the end of the book, Jesse makes his sister, May Belle, the new Queen of Terabithia whereas in the film he makes her the Princess.
In the book, Leslie calls her dad Bill, but in the film she calls him Dad.
In the book, Leslie and Jesse are in 5th grade although they appear to be 7th graders, also supported by the fact that they sit closely to the very back of the bus. Despite this, Robb's song claims that they are in 5th. It is also possible that the school went up to 5th grade, which is common among schools around the United States.
In the book, Jesse's full name is Jesse Oliver Aarons Junior. In the film, his father's name is Jack.

Time differences between the film and the book:
The book was clearly set in 1977. The film was updated thirty years to 2007. For example, in the film:

There are references to electronic games and downloading from the Internet.
During Jesse's talk with his teacher, Mrs. Myers, the copyright shown on a map of the historical USA reads "1990".
In the book, Leslie could not watch a documentary film on television about Jacques Cousteau, who was a popular underwater TV documentary maker of the 1970s. In the film, the documentary was about the underwater explorer Bob Ballard, who is a popular underwater television documentary maker of the 2000s.
Ms. Edmunds' music class sings "Someday" by Steve Earle, which came out in 1986.
When Jesse's sisters are watching television, they are watching Hannah Montana, a Disney Channel show that came out in 2006.
When Mrs. Myers says: "Take out those electronics, you guys," there are two boys playing Gameboy Advance SPs, which were released in 2003.
In the bus when Jess and Leslie were talking, there is a girl listening to an MP3 player, which weren't released until 2001.
When Jesse gets the phone call from Ms. Edmunds, he is using a cordless phone.