James and the Giant Peach

PG

Released Apr 12, 1996

1 hr. 20 min.

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Animation

List

91%

75 Reviews

Tomatometer

66%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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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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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

Pyroraptor p

My god this did not age well

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/24

Full Review

Queen J

The movie is wonderful it's mixed with real life and animation make it 10x cooler

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/14/24

Full Review

Felix B

A strange type of animation that made this film quite strange. It was not much different to the book but q apretty average film overall

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/30/23

Full Review

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Henry Selick

Director

Paul Terry

James

Joanna Lumley

Aunt Spiker

Miriam Margolyes

The Glowworm

Pete Postlethwaite

Old Man

Simon Callow

Grasshopper

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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

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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
Executive Producer: Jake Eberts
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
Sound Mix: Surround

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