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Movies / On DVD / James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach

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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

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 3, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for James and the Giant Peach

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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A very satisfying movie.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
02/24/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

An ambitious project combining classic fiction, imaginative computer imagery and animated live-action footage.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

This weird story has been transformed into a playful, visually arresting experience with more than a few allusions to The Wizard of Oz.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The seven-year-old in me was having a ball.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Marvelously inventive fairy tale based on Ronald Dahl's 1961 children's book.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/27/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

This is a clever, enthralling little tale that, if the kids in the audience were a guage, should keep all but the youngest kids entertained through its 75 minute run time.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

We fully anticipate the wrath of several generations of possessive children when we declare that the new Disney film of James and the Giant Peach is an improvement on Roald Dahl's 1961 backyard fantasy.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
09/03/08
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

First-class family entertainment that will please everyone, particularly the young 'uns.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/01/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

It will, I think, entertain kids for whom stop-motion animation is the last thing they're thinking about.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I hope we don't have to wait another quarter-century for the next great Dahl adaptation, but for a film as good as this one, I'll wait.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert Faires
Robert Faires
Austin Chronicle

An extraordinary achievement.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/03/08
Jeremy Gerard
Jeremy Gerard
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite a lightness of plot, it most beautifully captures the book's free-floating, fantastic sense of adventure and wonder.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Time Out

The film is generally quite faithful, retaining the book's humor, familial spirit and even its darker edges.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The latest in an impressive string of first-rate movies for kids.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/03/08
Hal Hinson
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Christine James
Christine James
Boxoffice Magazine

The story, which I am told varies a great deal from the book, just is not a very good one.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment 2 Comments
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

James and the Giant Peach, the latest animated film from Disney, is a technological marvel, arch and innovative with a daringly offbeat visual conception. But it's also a strenuously artful film with a macabre edge that may scare small children.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Mrs. Ladybug sums it all up with one marvelous line, though: 'It's better than aphids.' Who am I to argue?

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

This movie may not make headlines among all of the adults, but I predict it will among the kids.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

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.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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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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