The BFG

I remember this film from when I was very little; while some of the animation hasn't quite held up over time, the story is of course perfect and the acting is superb. David Jason is "my" BFG and I'll never forget how much I loved watching this film as a small child. The story really is brought to life and it doesn't feel sanitised - the 'eye' of the BFG's journey into Giant Country is still weird and eerie, while the nastier giants remain terrifying! The BFG's dream-catching remains enchanting and the smaller details such as the clocks used to make a table are so appreciated. While it looks a little worse for wear, you really can't beat this for a wonderful, true adaptation of the original story, with a lot of heart.

This is an animated film based on a Roald Dahl tale. It's nothing too special, nevertheless a decent alternative to other more popular animated movies.

The character Sophie is cute and endearing and the best drawn character of the movie. Most of the characters are ugly, particularly the giants. The "BFG" of the title means "Big Friendly Giant" and refers to the movie's only good giant. The others are vicious.

The BFG is like a giant "E.T.". Not that he looks any similar to E.T. but, just like E.T., his beauty is on the inside. Yes, because as for the outside...

The evil giants are horrifying and gross, being Bloodbottler the most extreme on this. Fleshlumpeater is the biggest and scariest, but somehow he doesn't gross me out as much as the other mean giants.

There is some nice soundtrack and the artwork is generally very good, with some magical special effects and some more special visuals in certain scenes.

The story, without being "solid as a rock", is however entertaining and involving. A rather decent story, fair to say that. And it's easy to sympathize with the BFG and especially Sophie. There are some rather touching moments with Sophie and her friend giant.

I rate this as a 6. I guess it's a fair rating.

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.

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.

Roald Dahl's books are often victims of horrible screen writing and I feared the BFG would be the same kind of movie but I shouldn't have worried. I've read The BFG several times but didn't see this movie until recently. I heard that Roald Dahl himself even liked this adaptation and I can certainly see why. It's very faithful to the book. Of course, it's a little campy since it's a product of the late 80s but somehow that adds to its charm. I found this film highly enjoyable, keeping a similar tone to Dahl's writing and adapting it for the screen very well. I would definitely recommend this movie to those who had read the book but if you haven't, it's still a decent movie. There's talk of a remake which I think could also be good and I'm glad for it because it might make people notice this movie. Like I said in the title, it's not a perfect film but it's good.