Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 17:29:07

Very Funny! :3

I love "James and the Giant Peach" movie becuase there are little jokes and retorts I think only a teenager (like myself) or an adult would understand. I also think the Centipede is the best (of course) and I love how he and the spider constantly pick on eachother (there's a kissy scene at the end nothing...bad...but yeah know..it's kina different..I think in a good way...nnnyeah). Anyway, it's a good movie. I would like to read the book sometime and see how similar the characters are. Go watch it! NOW! *gets up and goes to watch the movie because she has no life and my friends are always busy* :D X3

2012-05-25 04:10:50

great

This review is from: James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) (DVD) This DVD was better than I expected. It arrived very quickly and came in perfect tact.My kids enjoy it so much more now that we have it on Dvd instead of vhs!

pixie-32 2012-05-25 00:55:07

I was a little disappointed, but it wasn't bad

Being a hardcore Roald Dahl fan, I had extremely high expectations for themovie. I think I would have liked it more if I had not spent so much timenoticing the differences between the movie and the book. I was entertainedby the movie anyway. I recommend watching the movie as if you have neverread the book to avoid the disappointment I had.

2012-05-24 16:39:18

James and the Giant Peach

This review is from: James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) (DVD) The movie was cute, I had never seen it before and I purchased it because my Grandaughters are in the play at college and I wanted to see their parts, and compare the play to the movie.

BansheeCreature 2012-05-23 21:56:56

Well done, just about the way I would have wanted.

Like all Roald Dahl novels, this one had a very specific way it wouldrequire were it to be adapted to a movie. Like such stories of this,Tim Burton used his specialty, fantasy. His style of such formula hadproved to be successful in the previous years "The Nightmare BeforeChristmas". So why not do it again? With colorful characters andimagery to be seen only while using the imagination, Stop-Motion was agood idea, especially for films like this.Young James is orphaned when a terrifying rhino storm takes away hisparents. He is then left to defend for himself as he lives with hisagonizing Aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Soon enough, a mysterious man giveshim a sack of magical worms that will allegedly change his world,forever. After time goes by, a peach begins to grow on a blackenedtree, drawing attention and money to his money-hungry aunts. After achance encounter with a green worm, James is then transformed into aworld with a few new friends. Escaping his evil aunts, James, and hisnew family begin a journey for a better life in the city where dreamscome true! Before they reach this dream, they must face fears andmonsters to challenge the dream.The acting and voicing is very warm, and young Terry is convincible, asopposed to many other child actors who never had the right moment.Richard Dreyfuss, Simon Callow, Susan Sarandon, and Jane Leeves offertender voices to the lovable creatures in whom James finds a newmeaning to the word 'family'. Miriam Margoyles and Joanna Lumley arehysterical, if not over the top as the orphans wise cracking, crabby,and creepy aunts. Good direction and some often pleasing musicaccompany the actors as they compliment this journey of courage.The imagery is remarkable. Tim Burton has always had a unique talentfor a style of imagery and picture. The story and events are almostsurreal at moments, but that is a wonderful thin g. Most films todayare too nice, or way too family friendly, and the dark touch to suchstories as this are well needed. I would say that this adaptation isthe right type of film this novel could have to serve its' justice asfar as visionary techniques are concerned. As for the rest, the filmcan speak for itself. It's just a fun little movie for all ages.

ccthemovieman-1 2012-05-23 07:20:16

Colorful, Inventive Dahl Adaptation

Here's another inventive film, based on a book by the famous author ofchild books, Roald Dahl, who wrote "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory."The animation, featuring stop-action stick figures, is outstanding, asare the colors. Each character is unique, like none I've seen before inother animated flicks. Not only the characters, but how they aredressed. (i.e. long gloves and stockings on a spider). The aunts inhere are a real hoot to look at, particularly the one with thepronounced teeth.The storyline is simple and there is absolutely nothing offensiveincluding no typical Disney New Age baloney. The only warning I wouldgive is there is a bit too much violence for very small kids and theending is a bit silly for adults.This is a musical, which I did not expect, and the songs are nothingspecial. There are not a lot of them: five to be exact. In all, goodentertainment and a good visual and audio film for a nice DVD system.

2012-05-22 23:11:39

wonderful film.. but not 'special' enough....

This is a wonderful & amazing adaptation of Ronald Dahl's classic book. A definite addition to anyone's dvd collection. the story as you many know, tells of James and how his wish to get away from his evil aunts comes true in the form of a giant peach. James floats away to NYC in a giant peach being carried by a flock of seagulls and lots of sticky spider web. He learns to stick up for himself... that he really can make a difference, that he indeed counts!The voice talent is great and the story ties up nicely at the end. Keep in mind, this Ronald Dahl, and anything can happen! =)As for the Special Edition features.. There isn't much here. A still-frame gallery, a short making-of piece, trailers for the movie, and "sneak peaks" (more trailers) for other movies that are already out on DVD. I was hoping they would have at least included a director's commentary (which is most often 'standard' with the Special Edition designation) but no such luck. It is still worth owning of course, but just don't expect much in the way of Extras. This film is definitely worth the repeated viewings!! Go now & get it!

2012-05-22 09:52:43

Hard to find but worth tha search

This movie is a hard one to find must have for all you disney collector's. Big Family fun for a movie night or just to entertain the children.

The juggler 2012-05-22 04:49:39

When so bad it's good became so awful it's amazing

Roald Dahl was my favorite author when I saw this movie, so I expected what I had to. This was nowhere near to my expectations. It was just boring a lot. It tries to be scary but is not. James was a little of a geek. ("I'm not afraid of you! I'm not afraid of you.") The animation was OK, and the voice talents were pretty good. But this movie added all sorts of stuff I wasn't eager to see. James as a caterpillar, the rhinoceros from the sky, fish heads, stuff like that. It was OK in the end. But this is superior advice: Do not watch this movie where I did, in a sleeping bag.

2012-05-21 16:58:09

James and the Giant Peach great movied to view on dvd

james (paul terry) is a nice and quite moral little boy who has two loving parents. while near the beach, he and his mom get killed (although this is not shown since it's a pg film) by a rhinoceros. yes this is a fantasy film in part and there are many magical elements in the film. james custody then is then taken over by two ugly aunts: aunt spiker (joanna lumley from "absolutely fabulous" fame) and aunt sponge (miriam margolyes) who are classic examples of adults who abuse their children. they are the classic example of the trash and evil nature that exist in all wretched adults who seek exploit others for their wealth. in fact, james's aunts use him as basically a slave to work around the house. they starve him and feed the breadcrumbs that are in the trash. they yell at him when james wants to make new friends and talk to kids who he can't relate to. nah it doesn't get much lower than quality of life aunt sponge and aunt spiker have on james. one day a mysterious man gives james a mysterious bag full of crocodile tongues I believe, which he says are magic and can make James dreams come true. In this case, James dream was to go to New York City and see Empire State Building. It was actually both James parent's dreams and James dream. However, even though James parent's are long gone, James still wants to go to New York an accomplish the dream he and his parents set out to do. This is one impressive kid, he has a big heart and the kind of determination that almost no adults have nowadays. That's one lesson of the film right there , which is not to give up on one's dream, it's literally embodied in this great kid. So this special bag of magic combines with a small peach to grow into a gigantic peach which Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker capitalize for their own selfish profits!!!! Now if you think this made James's life any easier youd be wrong. Nope James's life continues as before, even wore as his rich selfish Aunt have become greedier and more manipulative and more vindictive. It's hard to believe that these "aunts" are the blood relative of James. Now before I go on, I couldn't help but think of James and Harry Potter. Sure Harry Potter was an orphan, but he and James are taken in by their slimy relatives who basically want to exploit and abuse them without any rights whatsover. Potter eventually escapes his vile relatives and so does James. Potter becomes one of the most loved characters at Hogwarts and James also near the end (without revealing too much) becomes one of the most loved kids in the world. Anyhow James interests in the peach grows huge to the point with the aid of the magic bad of tongues , James becomes magically converted to small size and invades the beach. Inside the beach, James discovers a group of zany characters all symbolizing common day insects who have now made James the center of attention. James meeting the characters of Mr. Grasshopper (Simon Callow), Mr. Centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), Ms. Ladybug (Jane Leeves from Frasier), Ms. Spider (Susan Sarandon), learns that they have been watching him as he is mistreated by his aunts and know that James dreams of going to New York City. Eventually James learns that the characters not only want to go with him but they are going to help him on his journey as well. This is a great movie about friendship as well. Let's face facts it's not likely James would have gone to New York on his own, but these group of wonderful friends give the help and encouragement to do it, when he needs it. When James and the group decide on a plan to go to New York City, they're journey is stalled by several dangerous adventures which include a metallic shark, dead caribbean pirates, and the hazardous condition which threaten to end their journey. However that isn't stopping anyone and James and his friends, as a group are determined to make it New York and James is determined to make his and his parents dream come true.... As you can see you can describe the movie any better than better, and the movie itself is loaded with amazing special effects that elevate this entertaining fantasy world that James has now come into contact with. In fact when I first looked at the effects, I thought I was watching another classic fantasy film like in "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and guess what both films were directed by the same great director, Henry Selick. I was success and an eye for greatness embodied in fantasy is a signature for Selick. He really outdoes himself here. Sony Imageworks and a trio of great animators provide the stop motion technology and animation that make the world of James and The Giant Peach so fantastic. Speaking of fantastic the voice talents in this film are all great with Sarandon, Dreyfuss , Leeves, and David Thewlis as Mr. Earthworm are great, you can tell that they captured the characters really well, but the person who outshines them is Paul Terry as James, he give's quite a performance and I couldn't think anyone better to do the role he did. So as you can see James and The Giant Peach is far from being just a kids flick, it's that kind of stupid attitude that shows the true ignorance of so called critics who we'll miss out on the many meanings of films like "James and The Giant Peach". In fact one critic even mentioned that the film brings up ideas by Karl Marx for example the relationship of the slave, and master which are true in some regard, but above this a film that really does capture the spirit of having a dream and not quitting until he or she achieves that dream, because as you watch the ending, you can see in the ending, that James's dream really affects many people, not just himself. I could go and on about how great "James and The Giant Peach" but I think I've nailed everything good about it, all that's left now is to recommend the film to those who haven't seen it. DVD Details: Ah, the DVD is excellent coming up with several extra features: *Commentary *Behind the scenes on the making of the movie * A special music video by Randy Newman who wrote several songs for the movie * A beautiful transfer of the movie shown in letterbox format. *Theatrical trailer * About 13 character sketches on the characters themselves giving a glimpse into the artistic process of the film * Dolby Digital Surround sound. As you can see a good DVD definitely worth checking out especially if you want more details about the film.

Tommy Nelson 2012-05-21 12:35:38

Visually stunning, mediocre adaptation of a great book.

James and the Giant Peach is a beloved book by Roald Dahl, andunfortunately, the love was not mutual for the movie. Henry Selick,director of the "Nightmare Before Christmas", did some good things andsome bad things with the story, luckily most were good.James is an orphan, after his parents were killed by an escaped rhinofrom the zoo. He lives with his awful Aunts Spiker and Sponge. Onenight, a strange man gives James some magic worm-looking things (Hesays what they are, but it's a long list), which escape and end upgoing into the peach tree. A giant peach is grown, which gives hisaunts the idea to charge people to see it. One night James goes intothe giant peach, becomes clay animated, and meets some big bugs whohave also become clay animated, and the adventure begins.Many translations from the book don't make sense. The rhino is in thesky, and the climax of the movie has James fighting the sky rhino,which was ridiculous. The mechanical shark is also quite bizarre. Theplot bounces around, never really going anywhere that's important. Butwith the negatives, comes the positives. This movie looks really great.The whole film is very stylish, from the dark beginning to the livelyanimated middle to the special effect heavy ending. James is also alikable kid, as are the bugs, so the characters are pretty good.Overall, this is a pretty good movie, that could've been a masterpiece.My rating: *** out of ****. 77 mins. PG for mild language.

2012-05-21 04:11:39

My all time favorite

This is one of my all time favorite movies. That is why I purchased it. Enjoyed watching it over and over again.

MovieMarauder 2012-05-19 22:55:57

Enchanting, Imaginative Film for All Ages!

This is probably the best picture Disney has put out in the lastfifteen years. Nothing overly crude or offensive here (unlike many of theirlatest "modern" releases). The story is what immediately grabs you, and youfind yourself completely immersed in a really amazing story about a sadyoung boy who makes some great new friends under a set of very strangecircumstances. I'm almost twenty years old and even I could not resist themagical charm and innocent youthful appeal of this film. The animatedcharacters are funny, loveable and endearing, without being the typicalschmaltzy Disney creations that usually lack personality. The obligatorymusical numbers are fun and very catchy! Best of all, this film sends avery positive message about friendship and determination, even in the faceof great adversity. This is definitely one of the better Disney films, andin fact, one of the best family films you could see!

2012-05-19 11:10:46

James and the Giant Peach DVD

This review is from: James and the Giant Peach (DVD) The DVD won't play in this region. I didn't even know there were regions! However, "Hear and Now" has offered a full refund if I send it back.

2012-05-18 22:35:02

James entertains all ages

This review is from: James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) (DVD) I love this movie, my kids love this movie, my grandkids love this movie. It is a movie for all ages. Very entertaining and provides a strong positive message.

2012-05-18 07:22:19

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.

2012-05-18 04:08:36

I've always liked this movie

very good movie, used to watch it a lot when i was young, still watch it every once in a while. Recomend this for kids of any age

2012-05-17 11:56:48

One of the best movies made since "Nightmare."

I personally like "James and the Giant Peach" because it's a movie that has something in it for everyone. The animation is great and I like the songs. My siblings enjoy it too. One of my brothers can't even hear the title without going berserk, because he really likes the Centipede. I like it becuase Jack Skellington (The hero from "Nightmare Before Christmas") makes a cool cameo appearance in it. It doesn't surprise me. Tim Burton was one of the producers. Anyway, it is a cute story and has something evryone in the family can enjoy. "James" is also very detailed. Inside the peach, you can recognize everday items that are literally larger than life, like a spool of thread and a seed packet. The only reason I give four stars is because it isn't as detailed as it should be, and the animation could use a little bit of improvement.

2012-05-16 23:28:35

Dull

Young James led a perfectly happy life - that is, until his parents were killed by an evil rhinoceros stormcloud. Now he must escape his harridan aunts and journey to New York City in a giant magical peach to fulfill his and his parents' dream. Yowza.This is the sort of film where you realize that you are supposed to be entertained, but something isn't working. The whole thing is surreal and creepy, but there is far too much figurative language and imagery here - the thing screams "the world as seen through the eyes of an idealistic child". James' companions - Centipede, Ladybug, Grasshopper, Earthworm, Spider, and Glow Worm - are nicely characterized but completely flat parodies of the various social groups, but since most of the film is a passive journey, they have little to do but squabble. James faces a number of sophisticated dilemmas, including how to harness a flock of seagulls, and what there is to eat on a giant peach.A bit less metaphor, and it would've been so much better...

Toni Mc 2012-05-16 14:36:19

james the giant peach 2

please make another movies with the same actor. I know it might be hard for the real person who play james.But the movie was so great!!!!!