The BFG (1989)

Director:

Brian Cosgrove

Writers:

Roald Dahl (novel)
John Hambley (adaptation)

Release Date:

17 December 1992 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

Sophie is snatched from her orphanage early one morning by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), whom she witnesses engaged in mysterious activities...

Plot Keywords:

Giant | Dream | Surrealism | Acronym In Title | 2d Animation

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

David Jason	...	The BFG (voice)
Amanda Root	...	Sophie (voice)
Angela Thorne	...	Queen Of England (voice)
Ballard Berkeley	...	Head Of The Army (voice)
Michael Knowles	...	Head Of The Air Force (voice)
Don Henderson	...	Bloodbottler / Fleshlumpeater / Sergeant (voice)
Mollie Sugden	...	Mary (voice)
Frank Thornton	...	Mr Tibbs (voice)
Myfanwy Talog	...	Mrs Clonkers (voice)
Jimmy Hibbert	...	Additional voices (voice)

Directed by
Brian Cosgrove

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Roald Dahl		novel
John Hambley		adaptation

Produced by
Brian Cosgrove	....	producer
Mark Hall	....	producer
John Hambley	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Keith Hopwood
Malcolm Rowe

Film Editing by
Nigel Rutter

Production Management
Chris Phillips	....	production manager

Art Department
Terry Brown	....	props: live action reference
Beverly Bush	....	designer
Brian Cosgrove	....	designer
John Geering	....	designer
Stephen Hanson	....	designer (as Steve Hanson)
John Millington	....	designer
Nick Pratt	....	designer
Andy Roper	....	designer
Andy Roper	....	storyboard artist
Keith Scoble	....	designer
Keith Scoble	....	storyboard artist
Ben Turner	....	designer

Sound Department
Chris Anderson	....	dialogue recordist
Trevor Barber	....	assistant dubbing mixer
Ray Gillon	....	consultant: Dolby
John Iles	....	consultant: Dolby
Howard Lanning	....	sound effects editor
Billy Mahoney	....	foley recording engineer
Beryl Mortimer	....	foley artist
Steve Rogers	....	additional dialogue recordist
Michael 'Golly' Russell	....	location sound effects engineer (as Mike 'Golly' Russell)
Ted Swanscott	....	foley artist
John Wood	....	dubbing mixer

Special Effects by
Noel Baker	....	model fabrication
Colin Batty	....	model fabrication
Liz Fitzgerald	....	model fabrication
Peter Saunders	....	model fabrication

Visual Effects by
Phil Atack	....	vortex effect
Bob Burrows	....	coordinator: camera crews
John Cousen	....	special effects animator
Neil Culley	....	title model camera
John Geering	....	vortex effect
Martin Goldsmith	....	aerial image
Roy Huckerby	....	special effects artist
Jackie Mitchell	....	special effects artist
Les Newstead	....	special effects animator
Nigel Rutter	....	vortex effect
Stephen Simpson	....	special effects artist
Brian Smithies	....	title pyrotechnic special effects
Peter Tyler	....	motion control camera

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Atack	....	video line tester
Frank Hardie	....	animation camera
Peter Kidd	....	animation camera
Wendy Senior	....	animation camera
Mark Sutton	....	animation camera

Animation Department
Barbara Alcock	....	additional background artist
Dino Athanassiou	....	directing animator
Maggie Beamer	....	cel painter
Adrian Bell	....	assistant animator
Claude Bony	....	assistant animator (as Claude Bonney)
Eric Bouillette	....	animator
Juan José Bravo	....	assistant animator
Les Brooksbank	....	animator
Carmelo Buitrago	....	assistant animator (as Carmel Buitrigo)
Beverly Bush	....	background artist
Brian Cosgrove	....	background artist
Brian Cosgrove	....	key animator
Laura Cosgrove	....	cel painter
Alain Costa	....	key animator
Arthur De Cloedt	....	animator
Ken Duncan	....	animator
Mike Eames	....	assistant animator
Meryl Edge	....	key animator
Ken Emmett	....	assistant animator
Marc Eoche-Duval	....	key animator
Alastair Fell	....	assistant animator
Joyce Flowers	....	cel painter
Jean Flynn	....	key animator
Gary French-Powell	....	assistant animator (as Garry French Powell)
Manuel J. García	....	assistant animator (as Manuel Garcia Pozo)
John Geering	....	background artist
Stefania Giani	....	cel painter
Paul Greenall	....	animator
Claire Grey	....	assistant animator
Sue Halliwell	....	tracer
John Hambley	....	animation director
Stephen Hanson	....	background artist (as Steve Hanson)
Lynn Hardie	....	cel painter
Denise Heywood	....	animator
Karen Heywood	....	assistant animator
Andrea Hough	....	cel painter
Yasodha Huckerby	....	tracer
Arthur Humberstone	....	key animator
George Jackson	....	key animator
Lisa-Ann James	....	additional cel painting services (as Lisa James)
Daniel Jeannette	....	assistant animator
Trevor Keen	....	animator
Jennie Langley	....	assistant animator
Michael Lannigan	....	cel painter
Carol Leslie	....	additional cel painting services
Dave Livesey	....	key animator
Matias Marcos	....	key animator
Tony McAleese	....	xerographer
Joe McCaffrey	....	assistant animator
Malcolm McGookin	....	assistant animator
Andrew McLoughlin	....	xerographer
Phil McMylor	....	animation checker
Phil McMylor	....	assistant animator
Helen Michael	....	cel painter (as Helen Michaels)
John Millington	....	background artist
Phil Morris	....	key animator
Katie Nutter	....	cel painter
John Offord	....	key animator
Garry Owen	....	animator
Beverly Phillips	....	tracer
Judy Pilsbury	....	animation color stylist
Mark Povey	....	animator
Michelle Povey	....	cel painter
Nick Pratt	....	background artist
Samantha Reynolds	....	additional cel painting services
Margaret Riley	....	additional background artist
Sue Robson	....	cel painter
Andy Roper	....	assistant animator
Andy Roper	....	background artist
Weston Samuels	....	cel painter
Murti Schofield	....	assistant animator
Karl Scoble	....	cel painter
Keith Scoble	....	background artist
Keith Scoble	....	sequence director
Stewart Selkirk	....	animator
Joan Simmons	....	xerographer
Helen Smith	....	cel painter
Joan Storey	....	tracer
Lainé Thomas	....	trace and paint supervisor
Stephen Thomas	....	key animator (as Steve Thomas)
Ben Turner	....	background artist
Gloria Vassiliou	....	cel painter
Lesley White	....	cel painter
Craig Whittle	....	cel painter
Kay Widdowson	....	animator
Andy Wilson	....	animator
Diane Wren	....	additional background artist

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sue Hunting	....	costumes: live action reference

Editorial Department
Jane Hicks	....	assistant editor
Terry Lee	....	negative cutter
Stephen Perry	....	assistant editor
Frank Reid	....	color timer

Music Department
Phil Bush	....	music recording engineer
Richie Close	....	musician: synthesizer
David Cullen	....	orchestral arrangements
Chris Dibble	....	music mix engineer
Mark Hall	....	music supervisor
Keith Hopwood	....	music producer
Keith Hopwood	....	musical director
Brian Ibbetson	....	orchestral arrangements
Steve Pigott	....	musician: synthesizer
Andy Richards	....	musician: synthesizer
Malcolm Rowe	....	music producer
Sharon Campbell	....	singer (uncredited)

Other crew
Julie Barter	....	production secretary
Peter Gluckstein	....	live action reference: "The BFG"
Sian Hopkins	....	production secretary
Jane McCooey	....	production secretary
Zinnia Mitchell	....	live action reference: "Sophie"
Mike Robinson	....	general manager (as Michael Robinson)
Julia Salt	....	accounts assistant
Phil Slattery	....	production accountant
Simon White	....	production coordinator
Carmel Wilson	....	production secretary
Brian Wynne	....	laboratory liaison

Thanks
George Jackson	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Cosgrove Hall Films (as Cosgrove Hall Productions)

Distributors

• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (1996) (Canada) (VHS)
• Independent Television (ITV) (1989) (UK) (TV)
• Thames Television (1989) (UK) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1992) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Annie Mate  additional cel painting services
• Troubadour Music  musical direction
• Pluto Studios  music recorded at
• CTS Studios  music recorded at
• Lansdowne Studios  music mixed at
• John Wood Studios  additional dialogue recording
• World Wide Sound  sound track re-recorded at (as World Wide Sound Studios)
• Westbury Design & Optical Ltd.  title model camera
• Peerless Camera Company  model footage

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Dolby (theatrical print)

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U | USA:Not Rated (video release)

Company:

Cosgrove Hall Films

Trivia:

In the original storyboards, the newspapers the Queen held were named after real English newspapers, The Times and The Sun. While the names were changed, the two newspapers could still be seen as the type of newspaper that they were based upon. i.e. a serious broadsheet and a red top tabloid.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Following an altercation with the other Giants, just before he shows Sophie 'dream country', the BFG states that "human beans" (sic) are the only animal to kill each other. In actuality, there are a vast number of animals which kill other animals of the same species.

Quotes:

Fleshlumpeater:You... you show 'em the way?
The BFG:Yes! Yes, I showed them the way!
Fleshlumpeater:Why? W... why?
The BFG:Because, you is evil! And I've seen it now!
Fleshlumpeater:You... you is not giant! You is like... human bean!
The BFG:Human... being! And yes, I'd rather be like one of them than like you!
Fleshlumpeater:Then... I kill you!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sometimes, Secretly

A little disappointing compared to the book, with primitive animation for its time, but I still think it deserves some credit

This cartoon adaptation of one of Roald Dahl's children's novels was released when I was only three years old, seven years after the book was published and the year before the author's death at the age of 74. I first saw this film in the early 90's, probably when I was around six or seven years old, and remember seeing it a good number of times. When I first watched this adaptation of "The BFG", I was totally unfamiliar with the book, but remember some of it being read to me around 1993 or '94. I started reading it myself during the late 90's, but didn't get very far. I never got through the entire book until this month, and then I watched this 1989 film for the first time in maybe more than fifteen years, this time on DVD, a format which had probably not yet been introduced when I last saw the film. It certainly wasn't the same as it used to be for me, but it still wasn't bad.

Sophie is an orphaned child who lives in a cruel orphanage in England. One time, she is awake late at night, and looks out her window. She sees a mysterious giant outside, blowing something into another window on the street! After the giant sees her, she is abducted and taken far away to a cave in Giant Country! At first, the girl thinks she is going to be eaten, but luckily, it turns out this giant is the Big Friendly Giant, or BFG, the only giant who doesn't eat humans. While the other giants, all much bigger than him, go out at night to find humans to eat in different countries, he goes out to blow dreams into children's bedrooms. The reason why he abducted Sophie was because she saw him, and didn't want her telling others about him, or he could end up in a zoo. So, it appears she will have to stay with him for the rest of her life. Since the BFG refuses to eat people and steal food, he has no choice but to live off a repulsive vegetable called the snozzcumber, the only thing that grows in Giant Country. Now that Sophie is here, it's also all she has to eat, though she does get a tasty drink called frobscottle, which causes major flatulence. Disgusted by the way the other giants eat humans, the human girl in their land is determined to find a way to stop them once and for all, but first, she will have to think how this could possibly be done!

I never noticed this as a kid, but one flaw that stands out here is the animation. The backgrounds often seem like still paintings used as a backdrop for the two-dimensional drawn figures in the foreground, and these two elements do not go well together. During shots of landscapes in the film, it sometimes seems like a camera moving around a painting for a documentary about the person who painted it. Animation has become significantly more advanced in the past couple decades, but even for 1989 and probably long before then, it's pretty primitive here. Mind you, there are some nice backgrounds, such as the Dream Country one and the BFG's dream cave with all the colourful lights, and music that really fits these scenes. This intrigued me in a unique way as a kid, and I guess it still did during my most recent viewing to a certain extent. The voice acting is good for the most part (even if it's not great), and the BFG is a likable character, with David Jason providing a voice that fits him. The screenplay may seem a little rushed at first, but overall, it's an entertaining and sometimes exciting adventure. There's even a song about frobscottle and the flatulence it causes, and while this part is a little juvenile, I can't deny that the "Whizzpopping" song is catchy. There's another song in the film called "Sometimes, Secretly" featured in the flying scene in Dream Country. I felt that the movie could have done without this song. It's like a radio-friendly pop ballad, and as such, it seemed out of place to me, but fortunately, that's just one part of the film.

This piece of animation certainly isn't the most famous Roald Dahl adaptation, and it seems to be a polarizing one. It's fairly faithful to the book for the most part, but some parts are obviously left out, and some liberties are taken, especially with the ending. It has clearly disappointed some fans of the children's novel, and that often happens with film adaptations of books. However, even though I now think this adaptation of "The BFG" is inferior to the book it's based on, after reading it and watching this again (I know many people would agree), and it could have been better in more than one way, I certainly don't think the film is an insult to Dahl and his novel. Some viewers obviously wouldn't like this animated movie at all (I think it's more fun for kids than adults, judging by my latest viewing compared to the previous times I watched it, all over a decade earlier), and it might not help if they've read the book first, but even if that's the case, this adaptation still COULD be at least somewhat fun.