Customer Reviews

James And The Giant Peach

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

Great Movie to have for the cheap price. Disney code not in the case so if you try to get the point rewards do take a pic of your online receipt with the movie barcode and uploaded to Disney rewards. Great fast delivery.

I was so excited about this release! GatGP seems to always be the movie everyone forgets, and I was so happy it was getting the Disney Blu Ray treatment... then I read a bunch of bad reviews about the transfer quality online and was too scared to pay the $20+ for it. After renting it from blockbuster, though, I am proud to say that the nay sayers have greatly exaggerated, or maybe even invented, the transfer flaws.

There are admittedly a few scenes that look a little grayish and dingy, but my only explanation for that is that must have been the way Henry Selick envisioned it, because the rest of the movie looks absolutely stunning. The live action and animation are equally beautiful. I'm truly shocked that anybody could rate the video quality anything less than 4/5 stars. I'm also disappointed in myself for not trusting Disney to deliver a quality Blu Ray release. So far they are always on the money and take high definition very seriously.

About the extras, I rarely watch special features on any dvd release, so it doesn't bother me that the Giant Peach doesn't have anything new. Hardcore fans will probably be disappointed by that, and understandably, but my biggest concern was the video and audio quality and since they both excelled my expectations I feel confident in my 5 star rating.

Overall, if you've never seen this movie before then buying or renting the blu ray is a great way to experience it. I will say, though, that not everybody is crazy about the movie and since Disney doesn't want to hand it out out cheap, I wouldn't recommend getting it as a blind buy unless you just have to have everything by Disney. If you've seen it before and know you'll love it, I think this HD upgrade is worth getting, probably even if you own the DVD. Maybe 10 years down the road we'll get another transfer that will blow this one out of the water, but if so it'll be remarkable because I think this release is extremely faithful to the original look and feel of the movie while still offering the shiny perfection of 1080p.

If you buy this combo pack. Just to let you all

know! The blu-ray disc HD is not that good for remaster of

"JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH". It"s better if you buy the DVD only.

In recent years we have seen novels by author Roald Dahl receive an adaptation for the big screen. From the 2005 film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to the stop-motion animated film "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in 2009, back in 1996, another stop-animation film adapted from a Dahl novel, titled "James and the Giant Peach", was released by Buena Vista Pictures, produced by Tim Burton (director of "Alice in Wonderland", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Corpse Bride", "Beetle Juice", "Batman") and Denise Di Novi ("Heathers", "Edward Scissorhands", "Batman Returns", "Ed Wood", "The Nightmare Before Christmas") and directed by Henry Selick ("Coraline", "The Nightmare Before Christmas").

The film would feature a cast of well-known talent which include actress Joanna Lumley ("Absolutely Fabulous"), Miriam Margolyes ("The Black Adder", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"), Simon Callow ("Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Howards End"), Richard Dreyfuss ("Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "American Graffiti", "Jaws"), Jane Leeves ("Frasier"), Susan Sarandon ("Dead Man Walking", "Thelma & Louise"), David Thewlis ("Harry Potter" films) and Pete Postlethwaite ("Inception", "Clash of the Titans").

The film is a live-action film in which the live action portions are used for the beginning and ending of the film but primarily utilize stop-motion animation. The film also is a musical as there is a good amount of singing throughout the film. Also, the film is adapted from Dahl's movel, it's important to note that this film is easily accessible for children (although there are some scenes that may be a bit frightening for younger kids) but story-wise, the film is much more light-hearted than the original novel.

Originally released on VHS, the film was also released on DVD back in 2000 and with usual Disney re-releases taking place every 8-10 years, "James and the Giant Peach: Special Edition" receives its HD treatment with a 2-disc combo pack which includes both the Blu-ray and DVD edition.

VIDEO:

"James and the Giant Peach" is a film that holds up quite well considering the animation was circa 1996. The film is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:66:1). The live-action portion of the film does show its age a little and there is a good amount of grain presented in the film. The stop motion animation is well done and some portions are vibrant with colors and blacks are nice and deep. Although a 16-year-old film, I felt the stop motion animation still holds up well today.

As for the DVD, the DVD is presented in widescreen (1:66:1) and is enhanced for 16×9 televisions and has been modified from its original version and formatted to fill your TV.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"James and the Giant Peach: Special Edition" is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. The lossless soundtrack is fantastic as the center channel is clear for dialogue, the fronts do a good job in showcasing Randy Newman's music (note: the film is also like a musical in which James and his friends are often singing) and with the film having its share of action scenes as the peach is rolling through the town or the group trying to survie in the ocean, there is a good use of the surround channels and LFE.

As for the DVD, the DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with French and Spanish language tracks.

Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"James and the Giant Peach: Special Edition" comes with the following special features:

* Spike the Aunts Interactive Game - New BD Exclusive! Inspired by the game that plays after the end movie credits, try your hand at spiking the evil aunts with the rhino and ring up major points!

* Production Featurette - (4:34) A look at the making of the film featuring director Henry Selick and the cast of "James and the Giant Peach" who talk about taking part in the film and some being fans of the original book.

* "Good News" Music Video performed by Randy Newman - (2:27) Presented in standard definition, the music video for "Good News" sung by Randy Newman.

* Still Frame Gallery - With your remote, viewers can cycle through the various stills from the film.

* Original Theatrical Trailer - (1:27) The original theatrical trailer and (1:25) "Tim Burton's The Night Before Christmas" trailer.

Note: On the DVD, all special features are included except the "Spike the Aunts Interactive Game" and "Still Frame Gallery".

JUDGMENT CALL:

"James the Giant Peach" is a musical fantasy film that brilliantly combined a live-action story with stop motion animation when it was released back in 1996. A film that would entertain not only children and adults but also bringing the characters from Roald Dahl's novel to life.

For many viewers today, it was wonderful to see how stop motion animation had evolved with another Roald Dahl novel to screen adaptation for "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in 2009 and director Selick managed to achieve a major animated hit that same year with "Coraline" but in 1996, many wondered if Henry Selick and producer Tim Burton can pull of another hit with "James and the Giant Peach" like they did with "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" back in 1993.

Back in 1996, I've felt that Selick was able to successfully bring "James and the Giant Peach" to the big screen an come up with an enjoyable family film aimed at children but I also felt that "James and the Giant Peach", although entertaining, was short of being thought of as a classic and also despite being a stop motion fantasy film, I admit that at the time, I was comparing this film to "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" and felt underwhelmed.

While other reviewers at the time felt that the live action segments took away from the film, I was more impatient when it came to the musical numbers.

Where a viewer hopes to be pulled into a film by its musical numbers, I felt impatiently waiting for the musical segments to be done and get right back to the storyline. I don't think I enjoyed one song from the entire film and that's hard for me to say since I really do enjoy Randy Newman's music and what he has brought to many other films in his career. I felt at the time that the musical numbers just took away the potential from the film which could have really used that time in developing the stop-motion animated characters and developing the characters even more.

With that said, it's nearly 15-years later since I watched this film and now this time around, I have a young son who can watch it along with me and because this film is targeted more for the children, I can get an idea of how the film would be appreciated by a child versus through an adult's eyes.

And sure enough, my son absolutely loved the film. The concept of a boy and his friends riding a giant peach through the Atlantic Ocean and finding innovative ways of traveling captured his attention. And through my son's eyes, he felt more confused during the live-action segments as he didn't understand why James' parents were killed and why would a strange man give him a bag of "crocodile tongues". As for me, watching the film this time around, I actually enjoyed the live-action scenes much more because of Joanna Lumley's role as Aunt Spiker and Miram Margolyes as Aunt Sponge. Creepy characters but as actresses, I am now familiar with their work and it enhanced my appreciation for the film's live action scenes a lot more.

As for the Blu-ray release, it's great to see this film given the HD treatment and as mentioned in my video review, the film does show its age just a little and there is a good amount of grain which will please most HD fans but for those expecting more features versus its 2000 DVD counterpart, outside of just a BD-exclusive game that can be played on your remote, there is nothing else that is new. It would have been great to have a director's commentary by Henry Selick or even to have producers Tim Burton or Denise Di Novi chime in about the film many years later. But unfortunately we are left with the original standard definition DVD features from 2000 and for a Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment release on Blu-ray, I was a bit surprised that nothing else new was included.

Overall, "James the Giant Peach" still manages to be a wonderful family film. Granted, some children may be frightened by the pale and lifeless look at James' mean aunts but other than that, I'm quite confident that if my seven-year-old enjoyed the film, many children out there will enjoy it as well. And also you do get that bonus DVD included, so if your traveling this summer, you have another DVD for those long commutes.

"James and the Giant Peach: Special Edition" may not be appreciated by all grown ups but if you are looking for a new and fun family film for the family, definitely give this Blu-ray a chance!

I had an old vhs of this movie and have been wanting to get a dvd copy for years but couldn't find it anywhere. The dvd copy I bought is a high quality conversion. Often old movies don't make the switch to dvd from vhs well. I believe this is Tim Burton's first stop motion film. A wonderful story that the whole family can enjoy.

After reading the book with my son, we were disappointed that the movie did not follow the story line very well. The animation was ok, but overall it was a disappointment.

Was pleased with my purchase and the promptness of receiving it. It made the intended very happy. Amazon has never let me down.

This is such a great movie. My older children loved it so much that the tape got worn out. My youngest son had never seen it so we got the DVD for him and he loved the movie. Of course we do love Tim Burton movies.

Glad i was able to buy this for my niece with this great price & nice fast shipping thanks amazon for being a great seller website

I really like buying stuff for you !