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Director Henry Selick doesn’t always get the credit that he deserves. Instead, frequent collaborator and producer Tim Burton is often mistakenly credited for his work. Of course, it doesn’t help that the Blu-ray release of Selick’s James and the Giant Peach is touted as “From the Creators of Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas and the Acclaimed Director of Alice in Wonderland.” True—just a bit misleading. But, of course, Disney didn’t release Selick’s Oscar-nominated Coraline—and Burton’s Alice made them a boatload of money—so the confusion continues.
Still, it’s no wonder that people so often confuse the two—because Selick’s James and the Giant Peach has the kind of dark and eerie stop-motion animation that you’d expect from producer Burton. Based on the children’s novel by Roald Dahl, it’s a grim little fairy tale about a poor little orphan boy who goes on a magical adventure.
James (Paul Terry) once had the perfect seaside life with his loving parents—until they were killed by a rhinoceros. Now, he’s forced to live a cheerless existence with his abusive, slave-driving aunts, Spiker (Joanna Lumley) and Sponge (Miriam Margolyes).
One day, while James is out in the yard, a mysterious old man (Pete Postlethwaite) offers him a bag full of magic crocodile tongues that will keep him from being miserable. But on his way back to the house, James trips and falls, and the bag spills out onto the ground—and there, in the garden, sprouts a gigantic peach.
The aunts decide to capitalize on their good fortune—but while James is doing his chores, he takes a small bite of the peach and finds himself pulled inside. He meets a group of friendly insects—and, together, they head out on a journey across the world.
Like Selick’s other animated adventures, the part live-action, part stop-motion James and the Giant Peach tells a peculiar little story—complete with hideous characters, eerie settings, and unlikely heroes. So don’t expect the usual bright, cheery, happy-go-lucky Disney fairy tale. After all, Roald Dahl’s work (like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is typically more The Brothers Grimm than Walt Disney—and Selick presents it all with the perfect balance of gloom and hope.
On one hand, James tells a scary story—with nightmare-inducing threats like evil, grotesque villains and giant mechanical sharks popping up around every corner. The settings are often rather bleak and murky, and the journey is often perilous.
On the other hand, though, it’s also surprisingly whimsical and imaginative. After all, a large part of the film follows a boy and a bunch of talking bugs as they travel by giant peach to a magical place called New York City. Though it seems a bit aimless at times, it’s still an exciting journey, led by a strangely lovable cast of pests—like the musical Grasshopper (Simon Callow), the globetrotting Centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), and the matronly Ladybug (Jane Leeves). And, throughout their journey, they sing songs and learn valuable lessons about courage, honesty, and friendship.
James and the Giant Peach doesn’t have the same haunting charm of Selick’s other animated films, but its dark, whimsical style and its motley cast of creatures make it an unusual adventure that’s worth sharing with your family.
Blu-ray Review:
The two-disc Blu-ray release of Disney’s James and the Giant Peach may include both Blu-ray and DVD versions of the film, but the extras are pretty scarce. In fact, with the exception of a new Spike the Aunts game (which is frustratingly difficult to play), the Blu-ray extras are the same as the original DVD extras: a theatrical trailer, a still frame gallery, Randy Newman’s “Good News” music video, and a short making-of featurette.
Though the film’s special features menu isn’t exactly impressive, animation enthusiasts (and fans of the movie) will enjoy the production featurette, which offers a quick look at the filmmaking process, the story, the music, and more.
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