Roald Dahl Retrospective Episode 9: James and the Giant Peach

In this episode of the Roald Dahl Retrospective, Patricia, Arun,
and special guest Eli "The Hero of Tomorrow" Stone discuss about
the 1996 animated Disney film James and the Giant Peach based on
the 1961 book of the same name. It stars Paul Terry, Joanna
Lumley, Miriam Margoyles, Pete Postlewaite, Simon Callow, Richard
Dreyfuss, David Thewlis, Jane Leeves, and Susan Sarandon. The
story focuses on a young boy named James Henry Trotter living a
happy life with his parents having dreams of moving to New York
City. However, his parents died by being eaten by a rhinoceros
that escaped the zoo and James is forced to live with his mean
aunts Spiker and Sponge. A mysterious old man gives James a bag
of magical crocodile tongues to help James out of his troubles,
but he accidentally dropped it and a small peach grows giant.
James enters the giant peach and meets up with giant bugs who
also want to get away from Spiker and Sponge. Together, they
escape the aunts and partake in a journey to go to New York City.
 


When the movie premiered in theaters, it was a box office failure
making only $28 million dollars out of a $38 million budget
despite getting good reviews from critics and releasing with
little to no competition with other animated films. Even Roald
Dahl's widow Liccy Dahl loved the movie and its depiction of
James. Nonetheless, Disney wouldn't make another adaptation of a
Roald Dahl book until 20 years later with The BFG (2016) directed
by Steven Spielberg. The movie has become a cult classic for fans
of Roald Dahl, Tim Burton, and Henry Selick. What do Patricia,
Arun, and Eli think of the film? Listen and find out.