James and the Giant Peach (PG, 1996)

common sense media says

Fabulous adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic book.


parents & educators say
  • 30% say violence is an issue
  • 30% say there are positive messages

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that in this adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic story young James both loses his parents and is forced to live as a servant to abusive relatives. James risks his life in a trip across the ocean and there's one particularly scary encounter with a toothy shark. The video may inspire kids to build little hot air balloons with candles, as James does, and it may encourage bug-phobic kids to become even more enamored of their insect friends.

Educational value: May inspire kids to pick up the classic book that nspired this movie.
Positive messages: Positive messages include facing your fears and finding people who love you for you.
Positive role models: James uses his imagination to survive scary situations. He's brave and courageous in the face of great difficulties.
Violence & scariness: Scary situations in which James' parents die; James' aunts threaten to beat him. Some frightening characters -- including a many-toothed shark. Many perilous scenes where key characters are almost killed.
Sexy stuff: Flirtation between the Centipede and the Spider.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on James and the Giant Peach

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about parents or family members who have left a child's life through death or divorce, and how the film makes them feel.

  • How do we remember the ones we've lost? How does James find a family of friends that provide for him the love he doesn't get from his aunts?

  • What role does imagination play in James's story? How did imagination make him feel better? How do you use your imagination?

What's the story?

What's the story?

James (Paul Terry) has an idyllic life with parents who imagine taking him to New York City -- until they're killed by a charging rhino coming out of a cloud. James suddenly finds himself bunking in the attic of his aunts' home. He's a servant in their home, and the two women threaten that the rhino that killed his parents will return for him if he disobeys them. They also threaten to beat him regularly. James obtains some magical crocodile tongues spiced with "the fingers of a young monkey, the gizzard of a pig, the beak of a parrot and three spoonfuls of sugar" spills them on the roots of a petrified peach tree. Soon, the tree grows a giant peach, and James discovers inside it six insects that become his family.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

The characters in JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, unfortunately, come from central casting: the baffoonish Brooklyn centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), the elderly, hard-of-hearing lightning bug, the femme fatale spider (Susan Sarandon), the gentlemanly grasshopper, the twittering, lady-like lady bug, and the scaredy-cat earthworm. The Spider and centipede flirt with each other, but kids will take it as simple entertainment. The heart of this story, however, is in James, with whom kids who are struggling to find independence and security within their families will identify. The insect characters are mostly loveable, and also learn lessons along the way.

The only drawbacks are musical numbers that seem to only pad the short film's running time (the first is the worst, though later songs will have kids wiggling right along with the dancing characters), and animation that's unlikely to impress kids raised on Toy Story. When even Spider-Man has more realistic computer-generated graphics, kids may roll their eyes at clumsy animation scenes. One scene, in which young James has a nightmare about his aunts coming after him, resembles nothing so much as Monty Python animation on acid. James's head on a cardboard cutout of an insect? Uh, okay. But was it really necessary to throw in yet another form of animation?

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Henry Selick
Cast: David Thewlis, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 79 minutes
Theatrical release: January 1, 1996
DVD release: August 28, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: thematic intensity

This review was written by Heather Boerner
 
 

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What parents & educators say

7
Based on 10 parent & educator reviews:
  • 30% say violence is an issue
  • 30% say there are positive messages

Most useful reviews by all members

Soccercrazyteen
teen, 16 years old
 
Bad Movie
I first saw this movie when I was 6 and it scared me! I had nightmares for a long time. I recently saw it again and It isn't a must see for the family at all. The guardians of James are mean, the story line is uninteresting, there are creepy stuff in it, and it didn't teach me anything!

AndyB6
parent of 9 and 11 year old
 

mikeisawesome123
parent of 11 year old
 
Great Kids Movie!!!!!!!
I love this movie. It is great for kids. A lot of frightening situations. One use of ass. The centipede is usually scene smoking an object that looks like a cigar.

 
disappointing
My kids and I loved the book, but the movie is a disappointment. The filmed sequences are ok, but the animation is crude. But the worst part is that they changed the story so much and took all the fun out of it. We watched it once and I'll donate it to the library. My kids have no interest in ever seeing it again.

liligirl123
teen, 15 years old
 
Good Movie
It was an over-all good movie, and really good. If your child is easily scared, you should not watch this, due to some "scary" creatures.

smille
parent of and 8 , 9 , 11 year old
 
Close to the book, in spirit.
While the movie doesn't hew closely to Roald Dahl's book, it does keep the sense of wonder, both sinister and spectacular, alive.

4kidshater
teen, 14 years old
 
I love this movie. It has good messages. I like it. Its a fun movie. I would like common sense to change the messages face from sad to happy because it's positive messages, not negative messages. I don't like some people because they're so dopey and crazy about somethings. i recommeded it.

SCHMEEGLE98
teen, 14 years old
 
ANY AGE
ok, seriously! not apropriate for 6 yr olds??? Seriously!!!! so there is some yelling! kids will see yelling. there is no violence, no swearing, no sex talk! it is a giant PEACH for lords sake'!

oldmoviefan32
kid, 13 years old
 
I watched this when i was about 7 years old and those aunts were really creepy for me! I watched it again and I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't

mkalv
teen, 17 years old
 
Okey, but not Great.
This movie is okay, but nothing to write home about.

SuperGameReviewer
kid, 11 years old
 
OK
not a very good movie,alot of the scenes scared me when i was younger.

arthur16morgana
teen, 16 years old
 
the movie is good. but when i watched the movie as a kid the insect characters scared me and as did the movie in parts.

sk8r boy
kid, 10 years old
 
On for 7+
This is a good book. My teacher read it to us. They say three bad words. It is a--. They use it three times.

BlueCastle
kid, 10 years old
 
e.g.
This is good but the a word is used once. a few people and creatures smoke.so great movie.BUT the spider one scene smokes .so this good great but once you see it like 1000 times you get bored like first it was NO.1 THEN ANOTHER 1 beat it so i say this is good.so see it or rent it its like 79 mins longer than stuart little 2

Cristy01
parent of 2 and 4 year old
 
I am not a big fan of Tim Burton and I was not sure on letting my boys watch this movie but when I saw it I loved it. It teaches children that just because something is different does not mean that it is ugly or wrong also it teaches kids to love I love the music & my kids adore the movie my 2year old sings along to the music.

bfsmjanzen
parent of 6 and 9 year old
 
Perfect for 8 and up, but not for sensitive 6 yos or younger.
Roald Dahl in his usual funny, extreme writing style comes out clearly in this movie, but what is fine left to the imagination of young children becomes more extreme, more scary, more disturbing when seen in this movie. There were details in the imagery that my 6 year old would never have imagined himself and feel does not need to see. He is sensitive so I skipped over the very beginning and then had to skip the whole part with the aunties because of how evil the skinny aunt was. Otherwise, fun and entertaining. My 8 yo loved it.

mamarx2
adult
 
I left the room...
This movie is crazy. My mother bought it for my kids, and the oldest left the room and my youngest had nightmares that night. The violent tendencies of the two Aunts is disturbing. The animation was clearly last century. I don't recommend this movie to anyone.

KinbJune
teen, 13 years old
 
James and the Giant Fail
This was an ok movie, but it just worked out way too well. I can't really remember the movie, but I remember that I was kind've bored by it.

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