James and the Giant Peach

• Directed by Henry Selick
• April 12, 1996 (US) / August 2, 1996 (UK)
• Based on the 1961 novel James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Voices in animated portion

• James Henry Trotter-Paul Terry
• Mr. Grasshopper-Simon Callow
• Mr. Centipede-Richard Dreyfuss
• Mrs. Ladybug-Jane Leeves
• Miss Spider-Susan Sarandon
• Mr. Earthworm-David Thewlis
• Mrs. Glowworm-Miriam Margolyes

An orphan living with his cruel aunts befriends anthropomorphic bugs living inside a giant peach as they take a journey to New York City.

There is something almost entertainingly cliché about the orphaned child living with relatives that don’t like them. It is one of those things older Disney films are practically known for! Such a thing is common in the fairytales that were once their bread and butter. The story of James and the Giant Peach opens with young James (Paul Terry) after the death of his parents stuck with his aunts Sponge and Spiker (Miriam Margolyes and Joanna Lumley respectively) who treat him like crap.

The aunts are cartoonishly dark in their portrayal with the first live action scenes taking place in an impressionistic environment filled with greys and blacks and a distinct lack of anything living. It is the kind of creepy place a child might imagine for a horror film with James’ spirit never truly being crushed. The contrast serves to make his spirit seem even brighter.

I had not seen James and the Giant Peach until viewing for this writing and was always under the impression it was entirely animated. I had no idea it contained any live action elements which bookend the film. I believe this is part of the quirky magic that has caused this movie to be treasured by many. It creates an environment where anything is possible and you will believe it when you see it no matter how outlandish whatever preaented may be. James spills a bag of magic things that cause anything they come into contact with to grow. Here it is a peach whose novelty causes his greedy aunt to turn it into a moneymaking opportunity.

This soon leads into an adventure to NYC for the young. The film then switches back to live action with the inevitable arrival of James in New York though it also seamlessly blends in animation for the insect characters.

Though it has a dark fairytale edge to it in the opener, James and the Giant Peach takes a much more fanciful turn once you get to the stop motion animation which occurs in a way that traditional 2-D animation could never accomplish. It primes your mind to accept things that it otherwise could or would not. The designs for the characters look reminiscent of wooden marionettes.

This is a much shorter film than I thought it would be. I don’t know why, but I thought it was longer than the 79 minutes it is. Not that I’m complaining, but I’ve heard about it so much over the years I was expecting almost a grand epic of stop motion animation, but I would say a third is live action with the rest being the classic form of storytelling that isn’t really used that much anymore.

Given the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas and the connection of those involved in this with that classic it was a given that Jack Skellington would make an appearance. It occurs in an underwater moment because the characters are in need of a compass and he acts as a ghostly pirate rather than as a cheap gimmick. It is done in a way that if you did not know that TNBC existed you would not be confused.

It’s a very light film with humorous though not generally comedic dialogue that still manages to be for everybody. It is never condescending nor is it inappropriate for any age. Yet I find myself NOT among those heaping praise upon it. I liked the animation and strangeness and general story, but I felt it moved too swiftly. It needed to take its time which in its short runtime did not do. The animated portion of the film was the most important part but never got the growth it needed.

While I appreciate the animation, James and the Giant Peach moved too quickly. It needed to take some more time to develop overall. Not a bad time but not the greatest time.