Parent reviews for James and the Giant Peach

I have seen this abomination of a stop motion flick several times throughout my life and even as an adult I get weird dreams for days after seeing just a minutes of it. The movie is just weird and creepy and I still have no idea what the plot is supposed to be because I get so distracted by the weirdness and ugliness of the movie. I wouldn't say that I have nightmares but it does give me dreams that are weird and the bugs that are in the peach with James look so ugly that it's scary. I know that stop motion isn't known for cutesy characters and that even those old Christmas shows like Rudolph are weird. But this is in a whole different class of weirdness. It's ugly and that ugliness is distracting as well as leaving a lasting unsettling feeling in it's wake. Please don't show this to your kids. If they aren't scared they will still be wondering what the point of the movie was supposed to be.

I am 28 years old, and now a huge horror movie fan (the more disturbing, the more into it I am). To this day, James and the Giant Peach is the scariest movie I have ever seen--mostly because of the age at which I watched it. It made a lasting impression (maybe sent me down the horror movie road once I was better able to process such themes), and I still solidly despise stop-motion/claymation animation. The artistic style, themes of child abuse, and characters terrified me. Though I no longer really remember the movie, I remember my fear watching it. Granted, I was a sensitive child, but have long since burned that out of myself, though the memory persists.

This movie TERRIFIED my son. He had NIGHTMARES for WEEKS afterward. He is an 8-year-old boy with no siblings and after seeing this he was CONVINCED that a Rhino was going to come and kill Mom and Dad at night while he was sleeping so he ended up in our room for about a month after he saw this horror. Is this based on a good story? Yes. Is this probably fine for older kids or kids with siblings? Yes. But I personally would recommend that if you have a sensitive child, particular if it is your only child, you should stay away from this one for a while. Note: It might have been better if we had been with him, to calm him down, but he watched it at school so he was on his own in terms of emotional support. Bottomline : The reviews on this site are VERY subjective. This is my opinion. If you REALLY want to judge if a movie is right for YOUR kids, watch it first yourself.

This was one of the most depressing film experiences I've had in a long time. The entire film is dark, literally very dark scenes, with creepy musical bouts between more dismal scenes. I regret watching this with my kids.

My younger son and I HATE this film. It is our least favorite Disney movie of all time. Although I haven't seen it in a long time. Overall: 0/10

Seriously... this movie is for families?? Well its not for kids ages 6 and 4 unless you like staying up all night. i didn't read the book.. so not sure about that side of it but its a creepy movie. The aunts freak ME out and my kids were extremely scared of them. So if you want to stay up all night with your kids due to nightmares... then this movie is for you.... RECOMMENDATION: Pass on it and watch UP! or E.T. Hope it helps. Matt ;)

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.

Within the first 10 minutes of this movie kids will be exposed to witchcraft, multiple verbal and physical child abuse situations, the death of main characters parents, kids talking to strangers who show up at the end of their driveway - of course making it look appealing to kids. The abusive aunt's literally look like characters from a horror movie. There is a lot of desensitization going on here in regards to abuse, strangers and witchcraft. This is a terrible movie - no wonder I didn't like it as a kid!! There are plenty of other good movies for children to watch out there.

Sad with a shade of uplifting. Mean with a dash of revenge that comes from the Dahl universe. I remember this film vividly when it was released and remember it as a hit, but reading about the film realize that I was mistaken. This film did not really take off with audiences which now just boggles my mind. It was clearly ahead of the zeitgeist. The audiences are now finally on the film's level and this world can be embraced generation after generation of people who have ever felt alone and let down by those around them and needed some insect cheerleaders.