The BFG (2016)

An orphan little girl befriends a benevolent giant who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Melissa Mathison (screenplay by), Roald Dahl (based on the book by)

Stars:

Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton

4 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Rylance	...	BFG
Ruby Barnhill	...	Sophie
Penelope Wilton	...	The Queen
Jemaine Clement	...	Fleshlumpeater
Rebecca Hall	...	Mary
Rafe Spall	...	Mr. Tibbs
Bill Hader	...	Bloodbottler
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson	...	Maidmasher / Cook (as Olafur Darri Olafsson)
Adam Godley	...	Manhugger / Lout #1
Michael Adamthwaite	...	Butcher Boy / Danish Driver (as Michael David Adamthwaite)
Daniel Bacon	...	Bonecruncher / Lout #2
Jonathan Holmes	...	Childchewer / Pub Landlord
Chris Gibbs	...	Gizzardgulper / Late Night Walker
Paul Moniz de Sa	...	Meatdripper / Lout #3
Marilyn Norry	...	Matron

Storyline

Ten-year-old Sophie is in for the adventure of a lifetime when she meets the Big Friendly Giant. Naturally scared at first, the young girl soon realizes that the twenty-four-foot behemoth is actually quite gentle and charming. As their friendship grows, Sophie's presence attracts the unwanted attention of Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater, and other giants. After travelling to London, Sophie and the BFG must convince Queen Elizabeth to help them get rid of all of the bad giants once and for all.

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Plot Keywords:

orphan | giant | dream | queen | london england | 

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Taglines:

The world is more giant than you can imagine.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action/peril, some scary moments and brief rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Roald Dahl Website

Country:

USA India UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Valley

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$140,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,775,350, 3 July 2016

Gross USA:

$55,483,770

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$195,243,411

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, Weta Digital's Joe Letteri said: "Janusz is someone who sees light in a way that is unlike anybody I have ever encountered, and in a way that I certainly don't fully understand. Our conversations as to what to bring to this movie are on levels that allow him to see into the darkness, and then to see its relationship to light and to then find the nuances between the two as to where the light and shadows truly interact with one another. Janusz really paints with light, and once everyone saw the sets fully lit, it was truly magical. They were better than we could have ever imagined."

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Goofs

[French version only] The tags on the dream bottles are translated in French. However, after Sophie comes back to Giant Country, we see a close-up shot of the bottles with French dream titles and a couple of shots later, the titles seen in the background are in English.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Sophie: Never get out of the bed. Never go to the window. Never look behind the curtain.
[Sophie does so, and spots a giant. She rushes back to bed, but the giant comes for her... ]
Sophie: And that is where our story begins...

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Crazy Credits

"For our Melissa."

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Underrated Live Action Disney Movies (2017)

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Soundtracks

Rule Britannia
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne (uncredited)
Performed by The Central Band of The Royal British Legion
Courtesy of Clovelly Recordings Ltd.

User Reviews

Needs Better Editing But There's a Number of Positives Here

I'm also quite surprised by all the negativity thrown at this film. Yes, it does have its slow spots and could certainly use better editing, but it can be quite wondrous, humorous, and has some important messages to relay as well.

I thought the scenes with the Queen (Penelope Wilton) were highly imaginative, funny, and warm-hearted. Both Mark Rylance and young Ruby Barnhill were excellent in their lead roles.

As others have noted, this is not the best Spielberg film ever, but perhaps over time it will gain more favor. The late Melissa Mathis wrote the screenplay, as she did for Spielberg's classic "E.T.". It's based, of course, on the great Roald Dahl book.

All in all, I agree with those that don't think this movie deserves the pummeling it's getting, and I feel there's lots to like here, for those that want to give it a chance.