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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
Reviews for James and the Giant Peach
First-class family entertainment that will please everyone, particularly the young 'uns.
An ambitious project combining classic fiction, imaginative computer imagery and animated live-action footage.
Marvelously inventive fairy tale based on Ronald Dahl's 1961 children's book.
James and the Giant Peach is frequently so alluring that viewers may feel the urge to get lost in the picture's curious shadings, intricate merriment and fantastical atmosphere.
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.
In general the magic as well as the heart of Roald Dahl's novel has remained stubbornly on the page, leaving us with this overly mechanical copy, as appetizing as a once-flavorful peach that's been in cold storage for far too long.
On the whole, the movie is a success. I still hope that children and their parents will read this wonderful book together, but it's nice that there's a movie they can see, too.
The film is generally quite faithful, retaining the book's humor, familial spirit and even its darker edges.
Mrs. Ladybug sums it all up with one marvelous line, though: 'It's better than aphids.' Who am I to argue?
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...
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