Terebithian Theology

On Saturday evening I took the kids to see the movie A Bridge to Terebithia. It was not at all what I expected but turned out to be a wonderful movie. I thought I was going to see a lot of fantasy characters like you might find in Potter or Lord of the Rings movies. I tend to like that kind of stuff. It was there, but it was such a minor part of the whole of the cinematography.
I want to reflect on something that one of the characters said. To set it all up, there are two lead characters, a boy and a girl, age 14 (+/-) who are neighbors. He has a real gift for art, she has a gift of story telling. Together they invent a story book land called Terebithia. That has almost nothing to do with the short tangent the story takes. The tangent is where I want to go.
At one point the boy says that he "has" to go to church on Sunday. Leslie asks to go along. Jess, the boy, tells her that she'll hate it and that she'd have to wear a dress because girls can't wear slacks to his church. (Gee, do you think he'll grow up to be a committed Christ follower in his adult life?) Leslie assures him that she owns a dress.
After church lets out Leslie, Jess and May Bell (Jess' adorable little sister) are in the back of the pickup truck riding home. May Bell says you have to believe the story of Jesus or God will damn you to hell. I'm going to have to watch it again to get the full script on that line of conversation. The key line for me is this, Leslie responds to Jess and May Bell's line of religious doctrine with this incredible response, "It's a beautiful story. You hate it because you have to believe it. I don't have to believe it and I love it." Wow. What a great theology. The greatest story ever told without the danger of retribution theology mixed in. It is simple, pure, and lovely as seen through the eyes of a child.
Of course, this isn't really a child's view of things. It's the result of the collaboration of an adult author and an adult screen writer. But what does it say about theology? Certainly the retribution theology (believe or go to hell) is challenged. It also says that there is a desire to accept the story without the religiosity that tends to be ascribed to it. (Women in dresses, boring worship, compulsory responsibilities.)
Well I'll be unpacking this one for a while. I'd love to have your thoughts on it.