James and the Giant Peach (film)
Encyclopedia
James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film
directed by Henry Selick
, based on the 1961 novel of the same name
by Roald Dahl
. It was produced by Tim Burton
and Denise Di Novi
. The film is a combination of live action
and stop-motion animation.
and visit the Empire State Building
, the tallest building in the world. However, his parents are killed by a ghostly rhinoceros
from the sky and finds himself living with his two abusive aunts, Spiker and Sponge. He is forced to work all day and they threaten him with beatings and the mysterious rhino if he tries to leave. While rescuing a spider from being squashed by his aunts, James meets a mysterious man with a bag of magic green "crocodile tongues", which he gives to James to make his life better. The soldier warns him not to lose the "tongues" and disappears. When James is returning to the house, he trips and the "tongues" escape into the ground.
One peach is soon found on a withered old tree, and it grows to immense proportions. Spiker and Sponge use the giant peach as an attraction, making lots of money as James watches from the house, not allowed to leave. That night, James is sent to pick up the garbage. While doing so, he grabs a chunk of the peach to eat as one of the "crocodile tongues" jumps into it. A large hole appears inside the peach and James ventures inside, were he finds and befriends a group of life-size anthropomorphic bugs who also dream of an ideal home (Grasshopper, Centipede, Earthworm, Miss Spider, Ladybug, and Glowworm). As they hear the aunts search for James, Centipede manages to cut the stem holding the giant peach to the tree and the peach rolls away to the Atlantic Ocean with James and his friends inside it.
Remembering his dream to visit New York City, James and the insects decide to go there, They use Miss Spider's silk to capture and tie a hundred seagulls to the peach stem, while battling against a giant robotic shark. They escape just in time. While flying, James and his friends eventually find themselves hungry and soon realize that "their whole ship is made out of food". After gorging most of the inside of the peach, Miss Spider, while using her web to tuck in James, reveals to him that she was the spider he saved from Spiker and Sponge. James then has a nightmare
of him as a caterpillar
attacked by Spiker, Sponge, and the rhino. When he wakes up, he and his friends find themselves in Antarctica, lost and cold. The Centipede has fallen asleep while keeping watch, resulting in them further away from their destination than ever. After hearing the Grasshoper wishing they had a compass, Centipede jumps off the peach into the icy water below and searches a sunken ship. He finds a compass but is taken prisoner by a group of skeletal pirates. James and Miss Spider rescue him and the journey continues.
As the group finally reach New York City, a storm appears. A flash of lightning reveals the rhino approaching towards them. James is terrified but faces his fears and gets his friends to safety before the rhino strikes the peach with lightning; The strings keeping the seagulls attached to the peach are cut and the peach falls to the earth, taking James with it. James coughs up the crocodile tongue as he reawakens, and emerges from the peach realizing it has landed right on top of the Empire State Building. As he is rescued by the police and fire department, his aunts appear (apparently driving their car all the way across the ocean) and attempt to take back James and the peach. James stands up to his aunts, revealing their abusive behavior towards him and refusing to leave. The aunts fly into a rage and attempt to kill James when the bugs return, landing on the peach thanks to the remaining seagulls. They tie up Spiker and Sponge, using Miss Spider's silk. The police arrest the two while James introduces his friends and allows the children of New York to eat up the peach. The peach stone is made into a house in Central Park, where James lives with the bugs and has all the friends he could wish for. It is then revealed that the narrator is the mysterious man.
The final scene shows newspapers of the bugs' careers: Centipede runs for New York mayor
, Grasshopper becomes a professional violin
ist, Earthworm becomes a mascot
for a new cream, Ladybug becomes a nurse (now delivering her 1000th baby), Glowworm lights up the Statue of Liberty
, Miss Spider owns a club
called "Spider Club", and James celebrates his 8th birthday with his new family.
In a post-credits scene
, a new arcade game
called "Spike the Aunts" is shown, featuring the rhino.
reports that 93% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 58 reviews. Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
gave the film a positive review, praising the animated part, but calling the live-action segments "crude." Writing in the New York Times, Janet Maslin
called the film "a technological marvel, arch and innovative with a daringly offbeat visual conception" and "a strenuously artful film with a macabre edge."
). It won Best Animated Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
.
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
directed by Henry Selick
Henry Selick
Henry Selick is an American stop motion director, producer and writer who is best known for directing The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline...
, based on the 1961 novel of the same name
James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The original first edition published by Alfred Knopf featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. However, there have been various reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael...
by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. It was produced by Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
and Denise Di Novi
Denise Di Novi
Denise Di Novi is an American film producer.-Personal life:When she was three years old, Denise and her family moved to Los Angeles from New York, where her father Gene Di Novi - a musician - made music for the TV shows of Danny Thomas, Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith. Prior to that, Gene worked...
. The film is a combination of live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
and stop-motion animation.
Plot
James Henry Trotter is a young boy who lives with his parents by the sea. On James birthday they surprise him by telling him they're going to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and visit the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
, the tallest building in the world. However, his parents are killed by a ghostly rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
from the sky and finds himself living with his two abusive aunts, Spiker and Sponge. He is forced to work all day and they threaten him with beatings and the mysterious rhino if he tries to leave. While rescuing a spider from being squashed by his aunts, James meets a mysterious man with a bag of magic green "crocodile tongues", which he gives to James to make his life better. The soldier warns him not to lose the "tongues" and disappears. When James is returning to the house, he trips and the "tongues" escape into the ground.
One peach is soon found on a withered old tree, and it grows to immense proportions. Spiker and Sponge use the giant peach as an attraction, making lots of money as James watches from the house, not allowed to leave. That night, James is sent to pick up the garbage. While doing so, he grabs a chunk of the peach to eat as one of the "crocodile tongues" jumps into it. A large hole appears inside the peach and James ventures inside, were he finds and befriends a group of life-size anthropomorphic bugs who also dream of an ideal home (Grasshopper, Centipede, Earthworm, Miss Spider, Ladybug, and Glowworm). As they hear the aunts search for James, Centipede manages to cut the stem holding the giant peach to the tree and the peach rolls away to the Atlantic Ocean with James and his friends inside it.
Remembering his dream to visit New York City, James and the insects decide to go there, They use Miss Spider's silk to capture and tie a hundred seagulls to the peach stem, while battling against a giant robotic shark. They escape just in time. While flying, James and his friends eventually find themselves hungry and soon realize that "their whole ship is made out of food". After gorging most of the inside of the peach, Miss Spider, while using her web to tuck in James, reveals to him that she was the spider he saved from Spiker and Sponge. James then has a nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
of him as a caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
attacked by Spiker, Sponge, and the rhino. When he wakes up, he and his friends find themselves in Antarctica, lost and cold. The Centipede has fallen asleep while keeping watch, resulting in them further away from their destination than ever. After hearing the Grasshoper wishing they had a compass, Centipede jumps off the peach into the icy water below and searches a sunken ship. He finds a compass but is taken prisoner by a group of skeletal pirates. James and Miss Spider rescue him and the journey continues.
As the group finally reach New York City, a storm appears. A flash of lightning reveals the rhino approaching towards them. James is terrified but faces his fears and gets his friends to safety before the rhino strikes the peach with lightning; The strings keeping the seagulls attached to the peach are cut and the peach falls to the earth, taking James with it. James coughs up the crocodile tongue as he reawakens, and emerges from the peach realizing it has landed right on top of the Empire State Building. As he is rescued by the police and fire department, his aunts appear (apparently driving their car all the way across the ocean) and attempt to take back James and the peach. James stands up to his aunts, revealing their abusive behavior towards him and refusing to leave. The aunts fly into a rage and attempt to kill James when the bugs return, landing on the peach thanks to the remaining seagulls. They tie up Spiker and Sponge, using Miss Spider's silk. The police arrest the two while James introduces his friends and allows the children of New York to eat up the peach. The peach stone is made into a house in Central Park, where James lives with the bugs and has all the friends he could wish for. It is then revealed that the narrator is the mysterious man.
The final scene shows newspapers of the bugs' careers: Centipede runs for New York mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, Grasshopper becomes a professional violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, Earthworm becomes a mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for a new cream, Ladybug becomes a nurse (now delivering her 1000th baby), Glowworm lights up the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
, Miss Spider owns a club
Club
A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.- History...
called "Spider Club", and James celebrates his 8th birthday with his new family.
In a post-credits scene
Post-credits scene
A post-credits scene is a short clip that appears after some or all of the closing credits of a film have run...
, a new arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
called "Spike the Aunts" is shown, featuring the rhino.
Cast
- Paul TerryPaul Terry (actor)Paul Christopher James Terry is an English actor, best known for playing James in the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's James And The Giant Peach. Apart from James and the Giant Peach he also appeared in the CBBC television series Microsoap in 1998...
as James Henry Trotter - Miriam MargolyesMiriam MargolyesMiriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
as Sponge - Joanna LumleyJoanna LumleyJoanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
as Spiker - Pete PostlethwaitePete PostlethwaitePeter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...
as Magic Man/Narrator
Voices
- Simon CallowSimon CallowSimon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
as Grasshopper - Richard DreyfussRichard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
as Centipede - Jane LeevesJane LeevesJane Leeves is an English film, stage, and television actress, comedienne and dancer.Leeves made her screen debut with a small role in the 1983 popular British comedy television show The Benny Hill Show. Leeves moved to the United States, where she performed in small roles until she secured a...
as Ladybug - Susan SarandonSusan SarandonSusan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
as Miss Spider - David ThewlisDavid ThewlisDavid Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
as Earthworm - Miriam MargolyesMiriam MargolyesMiriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
as the Glowworm - Jeff Bennett as Centipede (singing voice)
- Sally Stevens as Glowworm (singing voice)
Production
The film begins with normal live-action for the first twenty minutes, but becomes stop-motion animation after James enters the peach, and then live-action when James enters New York City, New York (although the mutated insect characters remained in stop-motion). Selick had originally planned for James to be a real actor through the entire film, then later considered doing the whole film in stop-motion, but ultimately settled on doing entirely live-action and entirely stop-motion sequences due to costs. Unlike in the novel, James' aunts are not killed by the rolling peach (although his parents' deaths takes place as in the novel), and the film also has James dream of going to New York instead of simply winding up there.Reception
Although Dahl turned down more than one offer to make an animated film of James and the Giant Peach during his lifetime, his widow, Liccy Dahl, consented to let this film be made. She said that, "I think Roald would have been delighted with what they did with James." James and the Giant Peach received near-universal acclaim from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 93% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 58 reviews. Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the film a positive review, praising the animated part, but calling the live-action segments "crude." Writing in the New York Times, Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
called the film "a technological marvel, arch and innovative with a daringly offbeat visual conception" and "a strenuously artful film with a macabre edge."
Awards
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (by Randy NewmanRandy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
). It won Best Animated Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
.