- “Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep. Know what that is? My loser detector.”
- ―Scott uses his "loser detector" on Jess Aarons
Scott Hoager is the main antagonist of Bridge to Terabithia. He is a classmate of Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke specifically created for the 2007 film adaptation of Bridge to Terabithia. He often bullies Jess at school along with his sidekick, Gary Fulcher.
Role in the film[]
Scott sits behind Jess in Ms. Myers' class and teases him behind his back. During the first day of school, he tilts to Jess and uses his "loser detector" on him. When Ms. Myers rebukes them, Scott blames Jess for hitting him, but she, luckily, doesn't believe him. As Ms. Myers continues talking to the rest of the class, Scott taunts Jess for wearing pink shoes belonging to his older sister, Ellie.
During recess, Scott and Gary participate in the race. At the scratch-line, Gary stands on Jess' left side while Scott is on his right. When Leslie Burke wants to join in, Scott tells her it is only for boys, but Jess upholds her (by asking Scott, if he's afraid of losing to a girl) who is then allowed to run. She eventually beats them all, including Scott, and wins.
Scott soon starts make fun of Leslie, too. He laughs loudly when she mistakenly drops her bag, causing all her things to fall out. He also taunts her because her parents, Bill and Judy, don't have a TV at home. Since she and Jess become friends, Scott and Gary decide to wait for them in front of the school, but have no chance to bully them, as they enter the building alongside their music teacher, Miss Edmunds.
After Leslie's death, Scott and Gary bully Jess even worse. In class, Scott taunts him about it by jokingly calling him the fastest kid in the class now, leading him to turn and punch Scott in the face, making him surprised. He later appears with Gary where the latter pushes Jess to the floor, implying that they haven't shifted their attitudes since Scott got punched by Jess, while a sympathetic Janice Avery watches. He isn't seen again for the rest of the film afterward.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Scott's Terabithian counterpart, the Squogre.
- One of the creatures Jess and Leslie fight in Terabithia, the Squogre, a half-squirrel, half ogre creature, is based on Scott. It also make the beeping sound of his "loser detector".
- Also, when Jess and Leslie are fighting a group of Squogres in Terabithia, Jess grows a metal fist and punches several of them; this foreshadows a scene in the film when he punches Scott for making a snide remark about Leslie's death.
- Scott does not appear in the book because he was created especially for the film.
- Scott is more than likely considered the bigger nemisis to Jess and Leslie, as he, along with (formerly) Janice Avery are referenced in their fictional Terabithia realm, while Gary Fulcher is never mentioned or referenced throughout the film by Jess or Leslie. Unlike Janice, he never reforms and remains a spiteful sadist, overjoyed by Leslie's death and using it to torment Jess.