James and the Giant Peach (1996)

An orphan with terrible aunts for guardians, befriends human like bugs who live inside a giant peach, who take the boy on a journey to New York City.

Director:

Henry Selick

Writers:

Roald Dahl (based on the book by), Karey Kirkpatrick (screenplay),

Stars:

Simon Callow, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simon Callow	...	Grasshopper (voice)
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Centipede (voice)
Jane Leeves	...	Ladybug (voice)
Joanna Lumley	...	Aunt Spiker
Miriam Margolyes	...	Aunt Sponge / Glowworm - (voice)
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Old Man
Susan Sarandon	...	Spider (voice)
Paul Terry	...	James
David Thewlis	...	Earthworm (voice)
J. Stephen Coyle	...	Reporter #2
Steven Culp	...	James' Father
Cirocco Dunlap	...	Girl with Telescope
Michael Girardin	...	Reporter #1
Tony Haney	...	Reporter #3
Kathryn Howell	...	Woman in Bathrobe (as Kathrine Howell)

Storyline

James' happy life at the English seaside is rudely ended when his parents are killed by a rhinoceros and he goes to live with his two horrid aunts. Daringly saving the life of a spider he comes into possession of magic boiled crocodile tongues, after which an enormous peach starts to grow in the garden. Venturing inside he meets not only the spider but a number of new friends including a ladybug and a centipede who help him with his plan to try and get to New York.

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Plot Keywords:

peach | spider | aunt | centipede | orphan | 

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Taglines:

Climb aboard for the adventure of your life!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some frightening images

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dev seftali

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

JPY 5,530,500 (Japan) (13 December 1996)

Gross:

JPY 22,491,500 (Japan) (3 January 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Allied Filmmakers, Skellington Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The lyrics for the song "Eating the Peach" were written by Roald Dahl.

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Goofs

When the peach goes rolling down the hill, it rolls along the top of a fence, getting the fence stuck in its sides in a counter-clockwise descending spiral. Once the peach hits the water, though, every scene after shows the fence in a clockwise descending spiral, when viewed from above.

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Quotes

Ladybug: I crave the tasty tentacles of octopi for tea/I like hot dogs, but I love hot frogs, and surely you'll agree/A plate of soil with engine oil is a super recipe. I hardy need to mention that it's practically free!

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Crazy Credits

Spider Wrangler - Steven Kutcher

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Connections

Referenced in Enemy of the State (1998)

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Soundtracks

"My Name Is James"
Written by Randy Newman
Performed by Paul Terry
Additional vocal by Drew Harrah

User Reviews

Utterly delightful and a must-see!!

There is sooo much I like with this movie. It has imagination, a sense of wonder and characters you either love or hate. And the blend of live action and stop-motion animation is a delight. The songs incorporated in this story is not very memorable but sweet and fit their purpose. And you simply have to love to hate Margoyles and Lumley in their parts as the aunts from hell. They treat poor James so horribly that I thought that "Cinderella had it easy"! Compared to "nightmare before Christmas" I actually liked this movie better. It has more of a heart even if the story itself may be just a bit less interesting and inventive. There are so many good scenes but among the highlights is the arctic adventure and the New York sequence. But, mind you, the opening is very deceptive and might scare younger parts of the audience. Otherwise, a must-see!!!