This irresistibly mad plot and the superb animation is only slightly let down by some of Randy Newman's more forgettable compositions.
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:50
Fresh:48
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: The arresting and dynamic visuals, offbeat details and light-as-air storytelling make James and the Giant Peach solid family entertainment.
Runtime: 79 mins
Genre: Childrens
Synopsis: This Disney film combines live action with stunning stop-motion animation as it tells the story of a child's fantastic adventure. In the live-action prologue, a recently orphaned British boy... This Disney film combines live action with stunning stop-motion animation as it tells the story of a child's fantastic adventure. In the live-action prologue, a recently orphaned British boy named James comes to own a bag of glowing, magical crocodile tongues. When he drops some of them near a tree, a peach grows--and grows, until it reaches gigantic proportions. One night, James crawls inside the fruit (at which point the film becomes animated) and meets the six fascinating insects that reside within. The bugs become his new family, and together they set sail in the giant peach, floating toward New York City. During their voyage, James and his antennaed friends experience wild adventures--and danger. And when they arrive in New York, they decide to make it their new home...and live happily ever after. [More]
Starring: Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes, Pete Postlethwaite
Starring: Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes, Pete Postlethwaite, Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Susan Sarandon, David Thewlis
Director: Henry Selick
Director: Henry Selick
Screenwriter: Jonathan Roberts, Steve Bloom, Karey Kirkpatrick
Story: Roald Dahl
Producer: Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi
Composer: Randy Newman
Reviews for James and the Giant Peach
Despite a lightness of plot, it most beautifully captures the book's free-floating, fantastic sense of adventure and wonder.
The vocal cast are great fun, and the animation is smooth and vibrant. Except for a few treacly songs, this is great entertainment for all.
We fully anticipate the wrath of several generations of possessive children when we declare that the new Disney film of James and the Giant Peach is an improvement on Roald Dahl's 1961 backyard fantasy.
The film's a technical tour de force, with flawless stop-motion animation and some imaginatively realized live-action sequences. What's surprising here is how much of Dahl's misogyny is allowed to surface.
The animated segments are wonderful, but they jar badly with the ill-conceived live-action pieces which open and close the film.
This is a clever, enthralling little tale that, if the kids in the audience were a guage, should keep all but the youngest kids entertained through its 75 minute run time.
Latest News for James and the Giant Peach
May 09, 2009:
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Henry Selick, the animation mastermind behind such Certified Fresh classics as The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach adds another gong to his cabinet with... More...
May 18, 2006:
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Two of Mexico's most excellent filmmakers, Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro, are planning to get together and mount a new cinematic adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The... More...
April 05, 2006:
Selick Meeting with "Monsters"
Henry Selick, the wonderfully talented filmmaker behind The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, has set his sights on a new project: The very popular... More...
February 07, 2006:
"Shrek" Helmer Catches Barker's "Thief"
The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a new partnership that should please all the Clive Barker fans out there: Seems that "Shrek 2" co-director Kelly Asbury will head... More...
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