Review of James and the Giant Peach (1996) by Garrett R — 16 Sep 2010

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH is a delightfully adventurous and offbeat family film, primarily in the format of stop-motion animation. Based off of the beloved 1961 Roald Dahl novella, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH chronicles James's story in live-action as well as stop-motion animation. Featuring a lively voice cast of Richard Dreyfuss as Centipede, Susan Sarandon as Miss Spider, David Thewlis as Earthworm, and lesser known actors Simon Callow as Grasshopper and Jane Leeves as Ladybug and Paul Terry as James, director Henry Selick's second feature film in collaboration with Tim Burton can only mean that they're be plenty of visual flair and fun.

James is a young boy who lives with and loves his parents. They plan to take James one day to the Big Apple. One sad day, a giant rhinoceros gobbles up his parents in less than 35 seconds and now an orphan, is left in the custody of his two dreadful aunts, Sponge and Spiker. They mistreat him with insults and fear, and know no mercy for the well-being of James. Fortunately enough, James meets a Mysterious Stranger on the outskirts of the Aunts's house one night, when he offers James crocodile tongues.

If the situation couldn't get any more fantastic, James accidentally drops the tongues (a direct reference to Jack and the Beanstalk) and they seep into the ground around the dead peach tree. The aunts see a peach growing, and oddly enough it grows to gigantic proportions. Where the aunts see profit, James feels a change is coming. That change comes when James enters the peach, and he meets a colorful cast of characters with whom he accompanies on a fantastic and adventurous (and sometimes scary) adventure to the Big Apple!

Director Henry Selick and producer Tim Burton provide a faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl's book, for the most part. With a few exclusions of the book's more mischievously dark story elements, the many eccentricities (unique dialogue, wild and colorful characters) of Roald Dahl's novella are kept intact, right down to the character illustrative details (I read the book another time only last week!). What's more is the inclusion of a few action sequences, which are pretty thrilling and inventively so in their own right. There's even a cameo of one of Tim Burton's defining characters, which you could probably figure out who, but not who he is in this story!

Just in case you haven't seen JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, know this: it is downright delightful and adventurous, and it features wild and colorful characters with unique dialogue spoken by a lively voice cast and Henry Selick and Tim Burton's trademark visualistic style and flair for satisfying fun. For those who have, you'll feel this to be true.

Having recently been released onto Blu-Ray with a combo DVD and Digital Copy and also the Single-Disc DVD, I'd go with a purchase of the Blu-Ray and see how eye-popping the visuals are and how fun the delight is of the adventure on-screen! Not to mention it's a good addition to any fan's Tim Burton or Henry Selick designated area in their collection, as it is in mine. I do implore you, enjoy! Be ready for more Critiques and Opinions on Every Movie I Can Get My Hands On!