Sophie und der große freundliche Riese

I had just finished reading the original Roald Dahl novel (which I thought was brilliant), and at the video store I found the DVD of an animated version. Curious to see if it would be as good as the book, I checked it out.

I can't say I wasn't a little let down with it. The animation bothered me a little in some scenes (jerkiness, etc.), though in general it wasn't too bad (I really liked some of the backgrounds). And it could have done without the songs, which really got on my nerves. Thankfully there's only two, so it could have been worse.

I thought the BFG was very much in character, but the Queen and Sophie were a bit more interesting in the book. The evil Giants also had a lot more to them in the book, and were even more sinister, yet a bit funny too. That was lacking in the cartoon adaption.

All in all, not a terrible cartoon, just not very good. I very highly recommend the book, and once you've read it, you might want to check out this cartoon, but you may be let down (or you may not. No one has the same tastes). I just feel something's missing here.

This film is a real 80's delight. I rediscovered it while watching it with my kids. It's so much of it's time. There's an innocence in the animation and story. Nobody questions why a big creepy giant would want to hang around with a little girl. Which is is great!! The times we live in are so paranoid this film makes us remember why we all need a granddad figure of out own.

David Jason's performance as the BFG is remarkable. At first I didn't realise it was him. I think he gives it that extra something that really shines through.

The beginning was really Richard William's like, with the cloaked giant running through the streets. It makes me realise how good Cosgrove Hall could be. It would be fun to check out more of their stuff again. Especaily Danger Mouse.

When I first saw this film I must have been about eight and loved it! It made me laugh and due to the fantastic writing talents of Roald Dahl I can still remember the storyline. The film remains faithful to the book, something most Dahl adaptations fail to do, (eg. the witches in while being a great film has a different ending to the book) and the animation, while not being up to todays standards, doesn't interfere with the viewing of the film. David Jason's unique voice (Count Duckular) is memorable in this role as the BFG. Overall I would say this was a fantastic family film, definately aimed at children but true to the book which is something any 5-12 year old Dahl fan will love.

All I can say is that i used to love this film when I was little! I thought it was brill! Watching it a couple of months ago I spoiled it cos it's not that good when you're older. It's based on the book by Roald Dahl and the book is much better but I think you could say that about most films which are based on books! Worth watching if you're a small child (which I very much doubt you are)(he he), otherwise i'd read the book (whatever age you are!)

It's hard to actively dislike this adaptation but compared to the funny and grotesque novel by Roald Dahl, there's a definitely a lack of energy to the film. It's all very well scrubbed and nicely behaved, lacking the bite that the best versions of his children's books have, such as "Matilda" or "The Witches". The film was originally made for TV and sadly the animation has a decidedly flat look. There's no real sense of danger, even when the brutish man eating giants are on screen. Vocal work is effective but no one stands out. A pity because the Cosgrove Hall company has produced some of the funniest, most iconoclastic cartoons ever put on UK TV. So watch some Count Duckula or Dangermouse instead to appreciate their talents.