JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Producer Tim Burton and director Henry Selick team up again as they did for 1993's THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Their latest film called JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH features their claymation, as known as stop-action, images that are their trademark. This time their vision is exuberant and only infrequently morose. Here, as in THE WIZARD OF OZ, the show begins and ends in a more traditional present. Roald Dahl's book as adapted by Steven Bloom, Karey Kirkpatrick, Dennis Potter, and Jonathan Roberts has the start and end as live action parts but with sets surreal and Dickensian.
James Henry Trotter (voice and in person by Paul Terry) is a happy English lad who lives an idyllic life with his parents by the seashore. On day a rhinoceros eats his parents, and he is taken in by his wicked Aunt Sponge (Miriam Margolyes) and Aunt Spiker (Joanna Lumley). They treat him miserably, but his salvation is a Giant Peach that grows in their yard. With a little advice from an old man played by Pete Postlethwaite, he manages to use the peach to get to New York.
One day he crawls inside the peach and is transformed into a claymation figure. Inside he meets a great bunch of bugs. The Grasshopper (voice by Simon Callow) is an intellectual, The Ladybug (voice by Glynis Johns) is a sweet older lady, The Spider (voice by Susan Sarandon) is reserved and misunderstood, The Earthworm (voice by David Thewlis) feels like he is always being used, and the best one of all, The Centipede (voice by Richard Dreyfuss), is laugh central. At first, James tells his new collection of friends, "I can't remember what fun is for," but soon he is into the swing of things.
At first the cinematography (Hiro Narita) is full of harsh and garish colors of purple, rose, and steel blues. As the jocular main part of the film picks up, the cinematography (Pete Kozachik) makes an abrupt transition and the colors switch to rich and lush oranges and blues.
The show is more than just fantastical sights like the giant mechanical shark that attacks them. It also has a plot and a clever boy to guide it. What would you do if a shark attached your giant peach? James and his companions figure out a way to lasso a flock of seagulls. Bet you didn't think of that one! His secret is that, "When I have a problem, my mom and dad taught me to look at it another way." Amazing. A show where parents are the good guys and even have advice worth pondering and even remembering.
The script is not only clever but funny. When asked about his alleged navigating knowledge as a world traveler, The Centipede confesses his experience is not much, "but I did live between two pages of The National Geographic." Later he tells his fellow bugs, "Why don't skeletons play music in church? Because they got no organs."
The show is full of musical numbers (Randy Newman), and this is the weakest part of the film. They are not especially good, and Paul Terry's voice is wonderful as James, but too weak and harsh for singing. The musical numbers are quite slow and may bore some of the more antsy kids in the audience.
This movie may not make headlines among all of the adults, but I predict it will among the kids. As the reporter in the show says, "Stop the presses. I got a new front page. Big Bugs in The Big Apple."
JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH runs just 1:20. It is rated PG for some potentially scary images of charging rhinos and creepy skeletons. I was in a large audience and none of the kids seemed the least bit scared; nevertheless, it could frighten kids under 5. Jeffrey and his friend Sam, both almost 7, both liked the film and were never scared. Like the much better TOY STORY, this film is highly imaginative and willing to take lots of risks. It should inspire creativity and joy in kids of all ages so I recommend it to everyone and award it ***.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: April 13, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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