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Movies / On DVD / James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach

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James and the Giant Peach (1996)

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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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for James and the Giant Peach

  • T-Meter Critics
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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

This irresistibly mad plot and the superb animation is only slightly let down by some of Randy Newman's more forgettable compositions.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/03/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

visually astonishing

comment Comment
04/06/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Despite a lightness of plot, it most beautifully captures the book's free-floating, fantastic sense of adventure and wonder.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
05/16/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

I hope we don't have to wait another quarter-century for the next great Dahl adaptation, but for a film as good as this one, I'll wait.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert Faires
Robert Faires
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
03/31/05
Brian Juergens
Brian Juergens
Bloody Disgusting

This very unconventional tale is well-told with an imaginative combination of live-action and stop-motion animation, all colored with Selick's uniquely dramatic, preternatural aesthetics.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Christine James
Christine James
Boxoffice Magazine

It will, I think, entertain kids for whom stop-motion animation is the last thing they're thinking about.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

No review available.

comment Comment
01/25/03
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

No review available.

comment Comment
04/24/03
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

A very satisfying movie.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
02/24/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The film is generally quite faithful, retaining the book's humor, familial spirit and even its darker edges.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
10/18/08
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

No review available.

comment Comment
07/01/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/21/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Mrs. Ladybug sums it all up with one marvelous line, though: 'It's better than aphids.' Who am I to argue?

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

The animated segments are wonderful, but they jar badly with the ill-conceived live-action pieces which open and close the film.

comment Comment
09/02/05
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

No review available.

comment Comment
02/29/08
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for James and the Giant Peach

May 09, 2009: Exclusive: The Art of Coraline with Henry Selick
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: Cuaron & del Toro to Do Dahl's "Witches"
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...

See All

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