Search - James and the Giant Peach on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Excellent For Children Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 10/03/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 19 mins Studio: Walt Disney Video Members Wishing: 78 Genres: Children's/Family, Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Comedy

A young boy's discovery of a gigantic peach triggers an eventful journey across the sea in this strikingly designed and surprisingly twisted animated adventure. A live-action framing device establishes the dark yet fanciful mood one might expect from an adaptation of a Roald Dahl story, as young British lad James (Paul Terry) is orphaned by the death of his parents and forced to live with two cruel, repulsive aunts (played by noted British character actors Miriam Margolyes and Joanna Lumley of British TV hit Absolutely Fabulous). The visit of a mysterious stranger provides a means of escape, however, through a magic bag of "crocodile tongues" that bring about the appearance of the giant peach. The curious James soon winds up inside the fruit, at which point his body changes, and the film switches to a combination of stop-motion and digital animation. The new James meets up with a group of talking, oversized insects, including a vampish spider (voiced by Susan Sarandon), a sarcastic centipede (voiced by Richard Dreyfuss), and a matronly ladybug (voiced by Jane Leeves). These creatures become his traveling companions when the peach rolls into the Atlantic Ocean, and James and his new friends must brave a variety of dangers to reach the shore. Director Henry Selick provides further proof of the visual skill he demonstrated in The Nightmare Before Christmas, creating a fascinating, often eerie alternate universe, while Randy Newman provides the upbeat musical accompaniment. Young children may be disturbed by the story's creepier overtones, but the mixture of remarkable visuals, oddball characters, and off-kilter fantasy will appeal to all other audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Joanna Lumley - Aunt Spiker
Simon Callow - Grasshopper
Richard Dreyfuss - Centipede
Pete Postlethwaite - Old Man
Jane Leeves - Ladybug
Miriam Margolyes - Aunt Sponge/Glowworm
Paul Terry - James
Susan Sarandon - Spider

Henry Selick's adaptation of Roald Dahl's -James and the Giant Peach comes to DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1. English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1, while Spanish and French soundtracks have been recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo. There are no subtitles, but the English soundtracks are closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include the original theatrical trailer, a making-of featurette, a gallery of puppet designs, and a music video for Randy Newman's "Good News." This is a great release from Disney/Buena Vista. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide