Search - James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) on DVD

Fun But Creepy

Jim O'Brien | Franklin, PA | 11/10/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This movie takes us deep into the imagination of Roald Dahl (the author of the original story) and it is quite a trip.

It's a story about James, a boy 8 or 9 years old, who, by a strange occurrence, finds himself orphaned and in the care of (prisoner of actually) his two evil aunts. James' life is one of toil and suffering, but he holds onto his dreams and manages the best he can.

One day James encounters an odd gentleman who gives him some magic glowing worms. These magic worms cause three things to happen: 1)A tree long thought to be barren produces a single peach that grows to an enormous size 2)Six bugs (a centipede, a grasshopper, a spider, a ladybug, an earthworm, and a glow worm (no relation to the magic worms)) grow to human size and are given the ability to speak, and 3)James is transformed into an animated version of himself.

James crawls into the middle of the giant peach, where he meets the six bugs, and they all become friends. This intrepid group then uses the giant peach as a vessel ... first as a boat, then as a plane ... to escape from James' wicked aunts and then to travel to New York City (across the ocean from England) to fulfill James' dream of seeing the Empire State Building.

Quite a story ... with no lack of imagination, that is for certain. But what "James and the Giant Peach" really has working for it is the decency of the character James. He remains upbeat and hopeful despite his difficult circumstances, and this holds the movie together and keeps it on course. The bugs are all right ... they're helpful and fun ... but they're always arguing with each other. The bad guys of the movie, the two evil aunts, are pretty bad. They look like ghouls and they act like sadists. It is a very dreary situation indeed until our little hero manages to escape from their clutches.

I guess this could be called a musical, as there is some singing (of songs written by Randy Newman) and the songs are pretty good. The animation is computerized and it is top-notch. The actors and actresses who provide the voices for the bugs do an excellent job, and, like I mentioned already, there is no shortage of imagination (that is used) throughout the picture. The final scene (in NYC) is carried out exceptionally well, and the ending is a happy one.

"James and the Giant Peach" is entertaining and it is fun, but it is also quite creepy (and likely scary for young children) in parts. This "dark humor" gives the movie and overall feeling that has ... creepiness and ... dirt in it ... and it holds the film back ... keeping it (I believe) from being the type of movie we would want to watch again and again.
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