People who expressed dismay at the Bridge to Terebithia trailer?

You are not alone. The filmmakers behind the movie are too. From the Scifiwire article:

The filmmakers behind Disney's upcoming fantasy film Bridge to Terabithia disavowed any connection with the movie's ad campaign, which they told SCI FI Wire was deliberately misleading. The ads show a boy and girl entering a fantasy world; the scene actually takes place at the end of the movie.

"I believe it's a stretch, and it's a very difficult decision on Disney's part, but we the filmmakers had nothing to do with that promotion," said director Gabor Csupo (The Wild Thornberrys). "We don't really think that it's an appropriate way of selling the movie, but they're convinced that that's the way to get kids interested, and hopefully they will be positively surprised. If they are anticipating a Harry Potter movie, then we are in trouble. It is not a Harry Potter kind of a movie."

It is not a Harry Potter kind of a movie."

Well, depending on whether or not Harry DIES at the end, it might be moreso than he thinks.

Finally saw CHILDREN OF MEN last night, and it's probably the best movie I've seen from 2006 (haven't seen PAN'S LABYRINTH yet though - that's next on the list to see). Just nail-biting sequences that you don't really think to go "How the hell did they do THAT?" until after you've caught your breath, and the movie definitely set you up so that there was no guarantee that it would have any kind of happy ending.

Actually, after all the betrayals during the movie, I'm not sure that I was supposed to feel all that warm and fuzzy about the ship arriving at the end, but since several characters I liked were sacraficed for one reason or another, that's the feeling I'm going with, else it was all meaningless.

Chiwetel Ejiofor continues to amaze me how well he disappears into characters. I'd forgotten he was in it, and it wasn't until after the first big sequence in the car that I went "Hey, wait, isn't that...".

I think the ending is ambiguously hopeful. I mean, yeah, there's the boat, so she probably won't drown or die of exposure, but we still have no idea who The Human Project is, or whether they'll be able to help her. By process of elimination, they're the only group left who might be "the good guys," but there's no guarantee that they're not just as corrupt and self-serving as the government and the Fishes.

I think the ending is ambiguously hopeful. I mean, yeah, there's the boat, so she probably won't drown or die of exposure, but we still have no idea who The Human Project is, or whether they'll be able to help her. By process of elimination, they're the only group left who might be "the good guys," but there's no guarantee that they're not just as corrupt and self-serving as the government and the Fishes.

Or like Syd, who I was hoping (without much conviction) wouldn't turn out to be a fascist bastard like he did, because I thought he was hella amusing in his earlier scenes. Yeah, that was pretty much take on the ending. I mean, I have to go with the assumption that Theo died, and didn't just pass out from blood loss, but there's really not text one way or the other. And that leaves the Human Project.

I was mighty imressed with Clive Owen too, and, as I think someone here noted, I absolutely loved that he never picked up, let alone used, a gun during the entire movie.

The filmmakers behind Disney's upcoming fantasy film Bridge to Terabithia disavowed any connection with the movie's ad campaign, which they told SCI FI Wire was deliberately misleading.

sumi, that's a huge relief. Though, what the hell was Disney thinking? Has anyone in charge of the ad campaign actually sat down and watched the movie the whole way through? Any kid who goes in to see it based on the ads is going to come out wrecked, or at least extremely bitter. It might get people into theaters the first weekend, but once word gets out, NSM.

It might get people into theaters the first weekend, but once word gets out, NSM.

Most movies are marketed these days to open big, cashout and quit. Very few go for platforming the marketing and trying to build it and give the movie legs.

In other words, they don't care about word of mouth. They want to hit the Harry Potter fans now while they're jonesing.

They want to hit the Harry Potter fans now while they're jonesing.

looks up from trying to shove DVD's into elbow vein....

Wha? Harry Potter? Where? Where? GIVE ME MY MOVIE!!!

Of course, bad publicity still works too. The ad I saw seemed geared toward the younger set -- 5 or 6 -- which I doubt is appropriate for the movie (if it is indeed faithful to the novel). Crying children and angry parents demanding their money back is the kind of hit I bet Disney would probably prefer to avoid. It tends to persist quite a while after the movie has disappeared.

Crying children

That's what I would have said about the completely misleading advertising for "Happy" Feet.

Make that 'bipolar' (no pun intended) feet, more like it.