Recently, tons of novels by Roald Dahl have been adapted for the big screen: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox and now James and the Giant Peach. Produced by Tim Burton, this is a live-action film at the beginning and end, with mainly stop-motion animation in-between. It's also a musical, as there's lots of singing throughout. Check out our full review of James and the Giant Peach: Special Edition.
The Story
This movie is about a young boy named James. His parents are killed in an accident and he ends up living with his mean aunts Spiker and Sponge who make him do all the house chores and only feed him fish heads. James doesn’t eat all that much and is usually sad most of the time. The only friends that James has at his aunts' house are the bugs he meets in his bedroom.
One day a weird thing happens: James is visited by a mysterious man who gives him a bag of crocodile tongues and tells him that if he keeps them, it will make his life better. As James carries the bag, he accidentally slips and some of the crocodile tongues spill out. As his aunts come to check on him, they spot a peach in a peach tree that has not grown peaches for a very long time. The peach grows larger and larger, and James' aunts come up with a plan to promote the giant peach to make money.
James, who is always very hungry, decides one night to try and take a bit out of the giant peach. But a hole opens up in the peach and reveals a room inside. There he meets a bunch of insects who decide to try and save James from his mean aunts. They cut the branch that the peach is attached to and the peach goes rolling around town and heads directly into the Atlantic Ocean. The rest of the movie is about James and his new friends as they try and survive their trip inside a giant peach.
Special Features
- Spike the Aunts Interactive Game: Try your hand at spiking the evil aunts with the rhino and ring up major points!
- Production Featurette: A look at the making of the film.
- Good News Music Video: Performed by Randy Newman
- Still Frame Gallery: With your remote, cycle through various stills from the film.
- Original Theatrical Trailer: The original theatrical trailer and Tim Burton’s The Night Before Christmas trailer.
Buy it now: James and the Giant Peach (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]
Related Stories
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Coraline DVD Review
- Tim Burton’s The Night Before Christmas
