Nowadays, the concept of stop-motion animation is quite unpopular. Thankfully it hasn't died but it is unfortunately not resorted to that often anymore. During the early 1990s, this classic and unique animation technique began getting dropped from film projects because of its "next best" replacement - CGI. With the demonstration of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), that CGI could be controlled and used correctly, many movie studios want it to be in their upcoming projects. For that reason alone, stop-motion animation was left behind when it came to live-action films. But there were others who thought differently. Also in the early 1990s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) was released to the public and became one of the greatest holiday films of its decade. Behind the wheel of this vehicle was a small time filmmaker named Henry Selick. Since then his filmography has been quite small but to this day has made sure his films contained stop-motion in it. His second feature would be just as memorable to kids who grew up during this time and that was this.Based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, the story is about a English youth named James (Paul Terry) who looks to visit New York City but lives under the strict rule of his aunts Sponge and Spiker (Miriam Margolyes & Joanna Lumley) after the death of his parents. Then, unbeknownst to him, a stranger (Pete Postlethwaite) appears and gives him magical trinkets that'll help make his dreams come true. This arrives in the form of a giant peach that harbors future insect friends. These characters are Mr. Grasshopper (Simon Callow), Mr. Centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), Mrs. Ladybug (Jane Leeves), Ms. Spider (Susan Sarandon) and Mr. Worm (David Thewlis). The adaptation of Dahl's book was written by Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run (2000)), Jonathan Roberts (The Lion King (1994)) and Steve Bloom (Jack Frost (1998)) and for the majority of the film, it's practically the same. Plus, the character development and overall message of the story is well thought out and optimistic.The character development focuses on learning to accept one's differences and understand how each individual brings unique benefits to certain situations. The overall message in the story is to never stop believing and always look on the positive side of things. These are life lessons that everyone needs to know about no matter how old you are when viewing this film. For acting, although Paul Terry quit the profession not long after this film, for a child actor he's not bad (or annoying). His appearance is innocent and feels genuine in physical form and voice work. Miriam Margolyes and Joanna Lumley as James' aunts are quite the opposite and they do it well. Being gross and greedy is their shtick. The supporting cast of voice actors who bring James' bug friends to life are enjoyable too. Simon Callow as Mr. Grasshopper plays quite the upperclassmen that isn't snooty enough to talk to someone below his level. Richard Dreyfuss as the wisecracking centipede has a number of funny lines either when it comes to himself or certain situations he's in.Jane Leeves as Mrs. Ladybug is sweet and also shows feminine strength when called for. David Thewlis as Mr. Worm plays with a Scottish accent and sometimes fears the worst but too learns to cope. Lastly Susan Sarandon as Ms. Spider uses a Russian accent and although she's a bit colder than her counterparts, she too has a charming attitude. However even with these positives the writing isn't perfect. One of the screenplays biggest blunders is its continuity. There were moments where claims are made about certain dangers and yet a minute later, the labeled danger will no longer be a threat for unexplained reasons. Another example is how James and co. weren't able to find their way to NYC without a compass, yet a map that James has clearly shows them which direction they are traveling as they move. Seems a little pointless to go find something that'll help you when you already have what you need. The other problem is that the way this story was written is the strange reality that James' lives in feels illogical.For this, there are certain things that should have an expected facial reaction but the exact opposite is portrayed. It just doesn't look right. For animation, as mentioned before stop-motion was used and it looks great. The jagged and tangible like edges to the characters give them a likable visual appeal. The live-action is also well done too. This also goes hand-in-hand with both live-action and animated cinematography provided by Hiro Narita and Pete Kozachik respectively. Narita's work efficiently shows the contrast between James' past and current life and how all the fun was sucked out of it. Kozachik on the other hand effectively conceals the illusion of various matte painting backdrops to help make the animated world feel bigger than life. Lastly Randy Newman composed the film score a year after the massive success of his work on Disney's Toy Story (1995). Here Newman's music feels like his, but also has bits that sound like Danny Elfman got in on a few areas too. Either way it is fun to listen to and with its catchy songs.The script has decent character development and has important life lessons for people to reacquaint themselves with despite it having some noticeable continuity errors. Also some characters react oddly to certain implausible situations as if they were entirely acceptable. This aside, the characters are charming, the music is enjoyable and the visuals are delightfully engaging with the help of stop-motion animation.

It is mind boggling how much praise this film gets. The film is overblown with the only redeeming qualities being the animation and sets, and to a lesser extent, the acting. Everything else is done poorly, especially the songs and the acting from Paul Terry (James).This film has so much set up with no pay off and leaves things that are crucial parts of the story unexplained or illogical. For instance, what was that giant rhino and if it was just smoke and noise how did it eat the parents? What was the mechanical shark? Where did Pete Postlethwaite's character come from? See what I mean?In all honesty, the animation was fantastic and the sets did have a Tim Burton-esque feel to them, but that is about it. If you are looking for a clumsy, unorganized and not too thought out movie, than look no further than "James and the Giant Peach".

I remember when I was a kid and would slip in my Nightmare Before Christmas VHS tape, one of the trailers that was on it was James and the Giant Peach. I always wanted to see it, but my parents didn't buy the movie. I think because the film at the time had gotten Luke warm reviews, but over the years it seems like James and the Giant Peach got a cult following and an audience to boot. After all, we don't really get some of these great animated films that were from the 90's. Plus whenever there's a dark family film, a lot of parents tend to look down on it. I think today's parents have become a little too protective in my opinion. However, I had the opportunity to see the film yesterday and gladly watched it. I admit, my hopes were maybe a bit high, but I can see why the reviews were mixed on this one.James Henry Trotter is a young boy who lives with his parents by the sea. On James's birthday, they plan to go to New York City. However, his parents are later killed by a ghostly rhinoceros from the sky and finds himself living with his two cruel aunts, Spiker and Sponge. He is forced to work all day and they threaten him with beatings to keep him in line and taunt him about the mysterious rhino and other hazards if he tries to leave. While rescuing a spider from being squashed by his aunts, James meets a mysterious man with a bag of magic greens, which he gives to James to make his life better When James is returning to the house, he trips and the green beans escape into the ground. One peach is soon found on a withered old tree, and it grows. The aunts use the giant peach as an attraction, making lots of money as James watches from the house, not allowed to leave. That night, James is sent to pick up the garbage. While doing so, he grabs a chunk of the peach to eat. A large hole appears inside the peach and James ventures inside, were he finds and befriends a group of life-size anthropomorphic bugs who also dream of an ideal home and decide to travel to New York.I think if I saw this as a kid, I would've adored it. As an adult, I see that there scenes that lead to no where and there are some things that are not explained in the film that are explained in the book. I remember reading the book in elementary school and if you didn't read the book, I think you would be totally lost with the whole killer rhino ordeal. Also the aunts are so one note, first off, how is it this kid has the kindest parents in the world with the nastiest sisters who are extremely ugly and obviously hate kids? Yeah, I'm sure when the parents were writing their wills they said "Now, if something happens to us, who will take care of James"…"How about your parents who call and write letters daily and adore him?"…"No, I don't think they'll like him living with them"…"True, how about your 2 evil ugly sisters who hate him and love to beat him?"…"Perfect!". However, the animation is absolutely wonderful and really takes you back into Nightmare Before Christmas, in fact, there is even a cameo appearance by Jack Skeleton. The songs are charming and all of the characters are great too, even if not consistent. Like I don't get how the spider says she doesn't like socializing with anyone, but is clearly singing and dancing with them in the next scene without complaint. But for the kids, this is a great film that gives them hope to dream. I wish I would've seen it as a kid. But I still like it despite the flaws, considering that I think I'm just nitpicking at this point. I can understand why James and the Giant Peach found it's audience and where it will end up in the classics one day.7/10

I first saw this soon after it first came out, when I was about 11 or 12. I was really disappointed in it then - I couldn't get over all the changes from the book.Fifteen or so years later, I've rewatched it, having become familiar with Henry Selick's other work. And this time I really enjoyed it.The animation is high quality, despite being less ambitious than Selick's two other major films (the animated parts of James and the Giant Peach make up a film only about half the length of Coraline, and there aren't any of the huge crowds of characters that filled The Nightmare Before Christmas).The songs, however, are nowhere near as good as those of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The less said about James' solo song at the start of the film the better. The only really good song in the movie also happens to be the only one that takes its lyrics from a rhyme in Dahl's book.Now that this film has surprised me by being better than I remembered, despite its big changes from the book, perhaps I should give Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory another chance to do the same...