Roald Dahl's modern classic tells the story of James, an orphan who is treated cruelly by his aunts, until one day a benevolent stranger gives him some magical crocodile tongues -and then marvelous things begin to happen! With new friends, James discovers that he is resourceful and loyal. He learns to believe in himself and trust in others.This terrific story is given the treatment it deserves by director Henry Selick and producer Tim Burton (who also made Nightmare Before Christmas together). Stop-motion, live action and special effects combine to bring this incredible story to life, and the effort is dazzling, even though the work is almost a decade old.
The dvd features are marginal at best. While it's nice to have the option of DTS or Dolby Digital sound, the other features do not merit calling this a special edition. You can hear the dialogue in English, French or Spanish, and subtitling is available in Spanish or for the hearing impaired. There is also a 4-1/2 minute featurette, a trailer and a Randy Newman music video. Still photos are categorized as Concept Art (9), Puppets (9), Behind-the-Scenes (36) or Live Action (18), and they can be seen as thumbprints or enlarged. There are trailers for NBX, Toy Story 2 and Lady and the Tramp 2. Menus are a bit clunky.
Great film. Mediocre DVD edition.
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!
Buy James and the Giant Peach (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (1996) Now
I am really shocked that anyone could find this film "horrific"! It is far from horrific. I think the aunts are the most entertaining part of the movie. I guess you need a bit of a sense of humor to appreciate it.It wasn't incredibly entertaining for my husband or me, but we did both enjoy watching it. My five year old son, on the other hand, thinks that it is a movie masterpiece. He has watched it about eight times in the week since he first saw it. He loves to sing the songs from the movie. He is moved by James' plight for freedom from the mean aunts and sympathizes with him as much as a carefree five year old can. He finds the obstacles of James' journey with his bug friends very exciting. He really likes bugs so I guess that a movie about a journey with giant bugs is pretty appealing concept for him.
I agree with a previous reviewer that the movie portrays a good lesson about facing hardships and overcoming them.The Roald Dahl novel "James and the Giant Peach" made it to the big screen 35 years after it was published, thanks to Disney Pictures and Director Henry Selick (also Director of "The Nightmare Before Christmas").
The simple story is about James (Paul Terry), a young boy who is orphaned at a young age when his parents are eaten by a dark rhino! He is forced to live with his evil aunts, Spiker and Sponge (Joanna Lumley and Miriam Margolyes). They beat him, starve him, and use him to do all of the work on the deserted island that they live on. Just as he reaches the pit of despair, having nothing to hope for, he is given a great gift by a mysterious stranger. A magical peach begins to grow, and with a group of new friends that James makes, he is able to face his fears and go after the dream he and his parents shared together: to visit New York City and The Empire State Building. Definitely a family-friendly movie, although there are some dark parts, especially with the orphaning of James and the evil treatment he receives from his Aunts (no worries...they get their retribution!).
It took 22 soundstages and 3 years to make it, and now it has been released in High Definition on Blu-ray for the first time. How does it look? There does appear to be a high amount of noise/grain that has been added. It doesn't really detract from the heavily stylized movie, but in some scenes it is more noticeable than others. The colors are vivid, and just like in the theater, the cinematography evokes a bygone art deco era. Sound is dynamic where it needs to be (especially the scenes with the Rhino and when the peach begins to grow!). Sadly, other than the game included, the rest of the special features on this disc are not in high-def.
AUDIO: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio * French 5.1 * Spanish 5.1
SUBTITLES: English, French, Spanish
SPECIAL FEATURES:
* Games & Activities: Spike the Aunts Game. The goal is to score as many points as possible by "spiking" Aunt Sponge and Spiker with a rhinoceros as they spin around on a rotating wheel. It's a difficult game to get right, and I found myself bored very quickly. The Aunts don't even resemble the characters from the movie.
* BDisneyLive! The Disney BD Live Network is your portal to a community suite of online content that enhances your movie viewing experience.
* Sneak Peaks:
1. "Beauty & The Beast" on Blu-ray
2. Disney Movie Rewards
3. An anti-piracy message, encouraging people to buy actual Disney Blu-rays & DVD's rather than pirate them
4. "Prince of Persia"
5. Disney Nature: "Oceans" & "The Crimson Wing"
6. 60th Anniversary Edition of "Alice in Wonderland" on Blu-ray
7. "A Christmas Carol," the CGI version with Jim Carrey
8. "The Lion King" Diamond Edition on Blu-ray, Fall 2011
9. Disney Parks
10. An ad for Disney Blu-ray movies and how your family can enjoy them together.
11. "Tangled," formerly known as "Rapunzel" has a short and mysterious ad for its Fall 2010 release; so mysterious, that they don't even name the movie they are plugging!
12. "Tinker Bell and The Great Fairy Rescue" on DVD/Blu ray Fall 2010. It's a shame this one is also going straight to video, as the premise and quality of animation seem good.
Special Features carried over from the previous DVD edition:
1. Production Featurette (4:34): A short look at the making of this movie. It truly is amazing how much work goes into a stop-motion movie; only 1 minute of useable film is produced in a week's time. Director Henry Selick thought that using stop-motion animation for the miracle world and then mixing it with live action at the end was a great way to bring Roald Dahl's novel to life. Actress Susan Sarandon (voice of Miss Spider) felt that this movie was "empowering for kids, telling them that fears won't have any power unless you give it to them." Jane Leeves (best known from "Frasier") was excited to do this movie (the voice of Ladybug) because it was her little sister's favorite book, and she often read it to her when they were growing up. Selick loved the book because like Dahl's other stories, it teaches children how to solve their own problems. Unlike other Tim Burton films, this one uses Randy Newman for the music.
2. Theatrical Trailer: shown here in a regular 1.33:1 ratio, it is interesting to hear the music from "Nightmare Before Christmas" underscoring it.
3. "Good News" music video sung by Randy Newman. This music video goes from 1.33:1 and low def for the Newman segments, and then up to 16:9 and high def when showing clips from the movie.
4. Learn how to take your favorite movies on the go: Disney File Digital Copy a brief lesson on how to download your movies from the included disc to use on your computer and wherever else you wish to watch them.
Want James and the Giant Peach (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (1996) Discount?
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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