James and the Giant Peach

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Fabulous adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic book.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Kids say

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.

  • May inspire kids to pick up the classic book that nspired this movie.
  • Positive messages include facing your fears and finding people who love you for you.
  • James uses his imagination to survive scary situations. He's brave and courageous in the face of great difficulties.
  • 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.

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?

 

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?


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

  • 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?


This review was written by Heather Boerner
Parent of 11 year old
February 2, 2011
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
August 28, 2009
 
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!

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 9 and 11 year old
March 13, 2010
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
June 14, 2010
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
May 17, 2010
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
November 26, 2009
 
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

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 8, 9, and 11 year old
October 27, 2009
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
February 2, 2009
 
Okey, but not Great.
This movie is okay, but nothing to write home about.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Heather Boerner
Topics:magic and fantasy, adventures, book characters
Studio:Walt Disney Pictures
Director:Henry Selick
Cast:David Thewlis, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon
Genre:Family and Kids
Run time:79 minutes
Theatrical release date:January 1, 1996
DVD release date:August 28, 2001
MPAA rating:PG
MPAA explanation:thematic intensity

This review was written by Heather Boerner
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you see James and the Giant Peach?


Already seen it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it