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Movies / Upcoming / 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

US Box Office: $0

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]

Reviews for James and the Giant Peach

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A delight.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
10/18/08
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
10/18/08
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

This irresistibly mad plot and the superb animation is only slightly let down by some of Randy Newman's more forgettable compositions.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/03/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film's a technical tour de force, with flawless stop-motion animation and some imaginatively realized live-action sequences. What's surprising here is how much of Dahl's misogyny is allowed to surface.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/03/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An extraordinary achievement.

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

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

No review available.

comment Comment
02/29/08
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

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

A very satisfying movie.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
12/14/05
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

No review available.

comment Comment
09/21/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

The animated segments are wonderful, but they jar badly with the ill-conceived live-action pieces which open and close the film.

comment Comment
09/02/05
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

No review available.

comment Comment
07/01/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/16/05
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

The narrative is shallow

comment Comment
06/10/05
Douglas Pratt
Douglas Pratt
Movie City News

No review available.

comment Comment
05/16/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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

visually astonishing

comment Comment
04/06/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

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...

See All

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