Product Details

• Actors: Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes
• Directors: Henry Selick
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Live, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Home Video
• VHS Release Date: October 15, 1996
• Run Time: 79 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304155972
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Roald Dahl's modern classic for children becomes a delightful combination of live action and stop-motion animation by the team that made The Nightmare Before Christmas: director Henry Selick and producers Tim Burton (Batman) and Denise Di Novi. The story concerns young James (played for real and through voice-overs by Paul Terry), who is orphaned and left in the charge of two cruel aunts (Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley). Rescued by a mysterious fellow (Pete Postlethwaite), James ends up inside a giant peach, drifting over the Atlantic Ocean in the company of a gentleman grasshopper (voiced by Simon Callow), a fast-talking centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), an anxious earthworm (David Thewlis), a matronly ladybug (Jane Leeves), and a sexy spider (Susan Sarandon). The collection of actors and their creepy-crawly alter egos are a delight, especially when some of the song-and-dance numbers (tunes are written by Randy Newman) get everyone going. --Tom Keogh

From The New Yorker

Adapted from Roald Dahl's surreal adventure story, Henry Selick's short, spiky movie is pretty adventurous itself. James (Paul Terry), a young orphan, goes to live with a brace of loathsome aunts (Miriam Margolyes and Joanna Lumley). His chance to flee their Dickensian gloom comes with the appearance of a magic peach in the garden: he crawls inside, where he finds a posse of insect friends, and travels by air and sea to an improbably benign New York. The film opens and closes on live action, with rubbery stop-motion animation in between. The bugs, designed by the children's illustrator Lane Smith, are enlivened by voice-overs from, among others, Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon. The movie, like the peach, offers a bumpy ride, and the level of invention dips and soars without warning, but Selick's feeling for texture-for the climates of bliss and apprehension-is so sure that you gradually come to relish the oddity of the whole enterprise. As a tribute to the cranky genius of Dahl, it's both fond and, in the best sense, fruitful. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I don't think special edition means what they think it does, March 22, 2003

By	audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) (DVD)

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.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars wonderful film.. but not 'special' enough...., June 26, 2002

By	P. S. Rouse "catmom, reader, traveler, and so... (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) (DVD)

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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie, March 8, 2004

By	grumbling_goat "djs884" (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) (DVD)

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.