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James and the Giant Peach

PG Released Apr 12, 1996 1h 20m Kids & Family Fantasy Animation List
91% Tomatometer 75 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Featuring stop-motion animation and live action, this inventive adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's tale follows the adventures of James (Paul Terry), an orphaned young British boy. Forced to live with his cruel aunts (Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes), James finds a way out of his bleak existence when he discovers an enormous enchanted peach. After rolling into the sea inside the buoyant fruit, James, accompanied by a crew of friendly talking insects, sets sail for New York City.
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James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach

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Critics Consensus

The arresting and dynamic visuals, offbeat details and light-as-air storytelling make James and the Giant Peach solid family entertainment.

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Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek Dahl himself thought his book would be impossible to translate into film, and for all the ingenuity that's been thrown at the screen, perhaps he was right. This overgrown peach never ripens. Feb 23, 2018 Full Review Dave Kehr New York Daily News The film is a technical tour de force, featuring a wealth of inventive design ideas. But James never develops the emotional dimension that Nightmare possessed. Rated: 3/4 Nov 11, 2014 Full Review Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune A snappy, fun adaptation that entertains young viewers without speaking down to them. Nov 11, 2014 Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight As such, the film is a strong piece for youngsters, but doesn’t quite resonate on other levels. Rated: 3/4 Dec 4, 2022 Full Review Rachel Wagner Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) Underrated animated film from director Henry Selick Nov 14, 2021 Full Review Zaki Hasan Zaki's Corner ...valiantly attempts to convey the amazement and childlike sense-of-wonder so characteristic of the late Dahl's books, and while it does succeed occasionally, more often than not it falls flat. Rated: C Apr 12, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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TROY S There is sooo much I like with this movie. It has imagination, a sense of wonder and characters you either love or hate. And the blend of live action and stop-motion animation is a delight. The songs incorporated in this story is not very memorable but sweet and fit their purpose. And you simply have to love to hate Margoyles and Lumley in their parts as the aunts from hell. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Jeremiah D it so cool hope for the james and the giant peach 2 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/12/24 Full Review Dale R This is a live action and stop-motion animated film based on a 1961 novel by the same name. The animation was done by the same studio that did The Nightmare Before Christmas and is once again produced by Tim Burton. Burton’s influence can be seen in the early live action segments. Paul Terry plays the live action James and voices the animated James. Acting he does a nice job, but this is also a musical and his voice is too airy for my tastes. Music wise, this movie has a few decent songs, but most of them are forgettable. This is the first Disney film to employ Randy Newman as the song writer and it isn’t his best work. The other voice actors include: Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Susan Sarandon, David Thewlis and Miriam Margolyes who all do a great job. There are a few darker moments in the film that younger audiences might be scared of. The movie did feel rushed to get to plot points and not much time to breathe. Some of the visuals, however, are great! I’d recommend at least one viewing. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review Teddy B A very noble and commendable effort whose technical accomplishments are outstanding, but the added elements whose purpose it is to flesh out the story are quite egregious and mostly just serve to stall the runtime. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/24/24 Full Review Noe G James and the giant peach is my second favorite Tim Burton, animated film I give this film a 10/10 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/06/24 Full Review J A This was a movie I really wanted to watch as a kid. I recently read a copy of the book and thought the book was quite good, so I had high expectations for this film. The animation looked incredible in all the previews that dazzled me as a kid. Unfortunately, it seems that my idea of James and the Giant Peach was much better than the film itself. I see a lot of user reviews mentioning Tim Burton. As far as I know, he didn't do this film. And it shows. It doesn't have Burton polish. The child actor absolutely sucks and makes the weirdest and most awkward faces— I may just hate this kid's face, I don't know; either way he's a feeble excuse for an actor. The songs were very cringeworthy (to be fair, so are Dahl's). The movie deviates from the book's far more interesting and imaginative sequence of events. (WHY?) The ending sequence when they switch back to live action was way too long. There's a lot of bad overacting in the live action parts of this movie. The voices of the insect characters can also get on your nerves. I was glad I read the book before watching this piece of garbage. It was so bad I almost turned it off before it finished. There's this waxen campiness that pervades the film that was just not there in the book. This film, unlike the adaptation of Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate factory (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory), fails to retain that characteristic Dahl feel. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/22/24 Full Review Read all reviews
James and the Giant Peach

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Featuring stop-motion animation and live action, this inventive adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's tale follows the adventures of James (Paul Terry), an orphaned young British boy. Forced to live with his cruel aunts (Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes), James finds a way out of his bleak existence when he discovers an enormous enchanted peach. After rolling into the sea inside the buoyant fruit, James, accompanied by a crew of friendly talking insects, sets sail for New York City.
Director
Henry Selick
Producer
Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi
Screenwriter
Roald Dahl, Karey Kirkpatrick, Jonathan Roberts, Steve Bloom
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co
Walt Disney Pictures, Skellington Productions
Rating
PG
Genre
Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 12, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$28.9M
Runtime
1h 20m
Sound Mix
Surround
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