World Famous Comics: James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition)
James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition)
Starring: Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes Directed By: Henry Selick Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Live, Special Edition, NTSC Label: Walt Disney Video Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 03, 2000 Running Time: 79 minutes Theatrical Release Date: April 12, 1996
Product Description: Wonderful adventures abound after James escapes from his fearful aunts by rolling away inside a giant peach. No Track Information Available Media Type: DVD Artist: DISNEY Title: JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH Street Release Date: 08/28/2001 Domestic Genre: CHILDREN'S VIDEO
Amazon.com essential video: Roald Dahl's modern classic for children becomes a delightful combination of live action and stop-motion animation by the team that made The Nightmare Before Christmas: director Henry Selick and producers Tim Burton (Batman) and Denise Di Novi. The story concerns young James (played for real and through voice-overs by Paul Terry), who is orphaned and left in the charge of two cruel aunts (Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley). Rescued by a mysterious fellow (Pete Postlethwaite), James ends up inside a giant peach, drifting over the Atlantic Ocean in the company of a gentleman grasshopper (voiced by Simon Callow), a fast-talking centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), an anxious earthworm (David Thewlis), a matronly ladybug (Jane Leeves), and a sexy spider (Susan Sarandon). The collection of actors and their creepy-crawly alter egos are a delight, especially when some of the song-and-dance numbers (tunes are written by Randy Newman) get everyone going. --Tom Keogh
AMAZING BOOK, HORRIBLE MOVIE As a mother of two kids (ages 8 and 6), I have read nearly all of the Roald Dahl books multiple times in the past few years. We all love his writing - his stories are usually quite dark and yet offer a lot of humor, warmth and love as well. James and the Giant Peach is a wonderful story and well worth reading with your children. Mind you, there is the usual dose of Dahl meanness and nastiness but it is great story with many wonderful characters, budding relationships, and ultimately a very happy ending.
I was thus incredibly disappointed when we borrowed this DVD from our local library. The screenwriter took far too much liberty in changing things. I found it crude and insulting to the memory of Roald Dahl. If you have read the book, you know, for example, that the two horrible aunts are "disposed of" by the peach quite early in the story. In this movie, the aunts live on and actually follow poor James and his friends to New York City. Unbelievable.
Do read or listen to James and the Giant Peach (along with Matilda, the BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) but skip this movie. If you do want to see a Roald Dahl movie, you would be much better off with either Matilda or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mind you, neither of these is as good as the books they portray, particularly the latter, but they are still pretty good movies.
Please Release This On Blu-ray ! I really enjoyed this movie
However since I upgraded to a widescreen TV, this letterboxed edition just doesn't cut it anymore. The picture only fills a tiny little area in the middle of the screen.
Disney, please remaster this great movie and release it on Blu-ray. With extras...
Roald Dahl and Tim Burton When I first heard Tim Burton was making a film of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, I knew the mesh of styles was a very natural fit. The same thing applies here.
However, I believe this was based on a short story. So the folks responsible for this film padded it with musical numbers -- I hate singing in my movies -- and still wound up with only 80 minutes.
And that is the ONLY reason I dropped this down to three stars. Everything works, and quite well.
Great Innocent Fun I saw it twice in theaters when it first came out. This is a wonderful story of courage that should be read to a child first then show them the DVD to bring their imagination alive.
Roald Dahl is the greatest! This dvd is excellent for all ages. Roald Dahl is the best story teller and the dvd does a good job staying in sync with the book, as movies go. I am showing this to my Kindergarten class 15 min per day. They are loving it. Dont hesitate to purchase this if you are young at heart and enjoy the lighter side of life.
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