Roald Dahl's THE BFG -- the animated movie

 ** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **

This year The Roald Dahl Literary Estate is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the beloved children's book author who gave the world with wonderful stories such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and The BFG, with Roald Dahl Day on September 13, 2016.  Joining in the celebration PBS has recently released a digitally restored version of the 1989 animated movie, ROALD DAHL'S THE BFG on DVD.  This cartoon version of the popular children's book would be a nice to treat to include in your family's own Roald Dahl Day party or a similarly themed event at a school or your local public library.  To help you join in this year's worldwide celebration of the author's life on September 13th, a FREE downloadable party pack is available to download from the official Roald Dahl website.  Pick up a copy of ROALD DAHL'S THE BFG from the Shop PBS online store and download the Roald Dahl Day party pack to host your own fun event.

In ROALD DAHL'S THE BFG, little orphan Sophie is snatched from her bed one moonlit night by a giant who whisks her away on a magical, thrilling, and funny adventure.  Unlike scary giants, the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) is a good giant who blows sweet dreams into the bedroom windows of children as they slumber.  When Sophie learns that a monstrous band of not so nice giants is off to England to gobble up innocent boys and girls, she sets out to stop them once and for all with the help of her new, rather large, friend.


If you grew up enjoying Hanna-Barbara cartoons on Saturday morning television like I did, this heart warming animated movie will bring back memories of those types of cartoons which aren't as common anymore. Parents can enjoy this cartoon experience with their kids by watching this film together.  Produced by British animation studio Cosgrove Hall, the UK's equivalent of Hanna-Barbara for children's programming, the fantastic world of Roald Dahl comes to life in this classic animated feature about the amazing power of friendship between a little girl and a big-hearted Giant.  My kids really enjoyed spending an evening munching popcorn while watching this family friendly movie on the living room television set with Mom and Dad.

In addition to the re-released movie, the DVD also includes a never-before-seen Roald Dahl documentary.  In the documentary, Roald Dahl talks about several of the well-known books he has written including The BFG, The Witches and Matilda.  It also includes excerpts from these books read by renowned British stage and voiceover actor Sir Michael Hordern.  By purchasing this entertaining movie from Shop PBS you are also supporting PBS ability to provide interesting and informative television programming as the proceeds support America's largest public media enterprise.

The BFG -- Movie Review + Coloring Sheets

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Roald Dahl, the author who has delighted generations of children with books such as Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Matilda.  Of all the wonderful stories that Dahl wrote before he passed away in 1990, his personal favorite was The BFG, which tells the tale of a ten-year-old orphan and her encounter with a big friendly giant.  Making his directing debut for Walt Disney Studios, Steven Spielberg has created a movie adaption of The BFG that is a touching tribute to the beloved children's author during this special commemorative year celebrating his life.  My son was exuberant about going to see The BFG and he obviously was not disappointed in the film as he left the theater with a GIANT smile on his face.  To share his jubilation with our A Geek Daddy readers please enjoy these fun The BFG coloring pages:



The movie begins with a young orphan named Sophia lurking around her orphanage alone during the "witching hour" late at night after everyone else has fallen asleep.  Peaking out a window she notices a large, cloaked shadow blowing what appears to be a trumpet into a second story window down the street.  The shadowy figure notices he is being watched and suddenly gigantic fingers pluck the girl from the window of her orphanage bedroom.  Afraid that this little girl will tell adults of what she saw which will lead to them hunting down the creature, Sophia is smuggled away to Giant Land.  While initially afraid that her giant captor will eat her for dinner, she soon finds out that he is a Big Friendly Giant (BFG) who doesn't eat children but rather subsists through eating a foul smelling, nasty looking vegetable known as a snozzcumber.  Though BFG's Gobblefunk language may be a bit odd, Sophia discovers the giant to be a gentle, kind soul who strives to improve children's lives during his visits to the land of humankind.



Unfortunately for Sophia, the other inhabitants of Giant Country love to eat children and soon catch wind of her scent.  As they seek her out, Sophia witnesses BFG's brothers bully and brutalize him as the runt of their band of giants.  Plus Sophia learns that while BFG visits London and the other cities where humans live to blow dreams into sleeping children's heads with his magical trumpet, Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater, and other ferocious giants roam the world secretly snatching children in the dark of night to eat.  She comes up with a plan to ask the Queen of England for help in combating the brutish giants.  Can Sophia and BFG convince Queen Victoria to help them stop the bad giants from eating children once and for all?

Grade school children will definitely enjoy Disney's The BFG because Spielberg faithfully transforms Dahl's text from a book which has captivated young readers for more than 30 years to maintain the ambiance which has made it one of the most popular school age reading books of all time.  The movie is like watching the imagery from a grade school book pop out of its pages and play out in front of you and does a remarkable job of incorporating elements of The BFG's original illustrations by Quentin Blake into the film's live action sequences.  A nice touch to the movie is that it is set in 1982 which is the year the book was published.  Can you notice the details in the movie which highlight the era in which the story is set?

I'm not normally a big fan of 3D movies but The BFG is one that is worth wearing the glasses to see at the theater.  The 3D really helps subtly provide depth to the elements and special effects in a story where height and size play a crucial role in its plot.  The 3D doesn't provide any mind-blowing visual effects but it does enhance the overall viewing experience.

The BFG is rated PG.  The rating is due to younger audiences potentially being sensitive to a dream sequence involving a giant eating a child, scenes with the band of giants beating up and bullying BFG, scenes with the brutish giants searching for Sophia so they can eat her, and references to the bad giants stealing and eating children from around the world.  I would recommend the movie for children 6 to 12 years old which is the same audience for the book.  Younger children could be scared by some scenes and some teens and adults could be bored by the film which is based on a book meant for kids to read.  If your child enjoys Roald Dahl books, and you liked reading them yourself as a kid, this movie is well worth going to see.

The BFG has a run time of 117 minutes and began playing at movie theaters across the United States on July 1, 2016.  For more information on the movie, visit movies.disney.com/the-bfg.  Also visit, roalddahl.com for more information about the author and the Roald Dahl 100th Anniversary Celebration.

The BFG - Activity Sheets + Fun Facts

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and James and the Giant Peach were three of my favorite books to read in grade school and I read each of them multiple times during my youth.  So I'm excited the story by their author that was his favorite published work, "The BFG" has been made into a motion picture by Walt Disney Studios directed by Steven Spielberg. "The BFG" tells the tale of a ten-year-old orphan and her encounter with a big friendly giant and their battle with his brutish brothers in Giant Country. To share my excitement about The BFG arriving at theaters across the USA on July 1, 2016 here are some fun activity sheets and fun facts related to the movie.



FUN FACTS

Roald Dahl's "The BFG" was first published in 1982, the same year as Steven Spielberg's own story about an unusual and transformative friendship, "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial," captured the hearts and imaginations of children and adults.  Melissa Mathison wrote the screenplays for both films.

The BFG is 24 feet tall.  The biggest giant in Giant Country is Fleshlumpeater who is twice as big as the BFG.  If NBA basketball player Lebron James, a forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers who is 6 feet 8 inches tall was standing next to Fleshlumpeater, he would come up to his ankle.

Roald Dahl was exceptionally tall himself, measuring 6 feet, 6 inches in height. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of Dahl's birth. "The BFG" was Roald Dahl's favorite of all his stories and was originally created as a bedtime story for his grandchildren.  The character Sophie was named after his granddaughter and based upon his daughter Olivia who died at 7 years old from the measles.

Production on "The BFG" was a combination of live action and performance capture (the performance capture techniques were used to bring the story's fantastical characters to life).  Director Steven Spielberg filmed individuals in their performance capture suits acting on the same set with the film's totally human characters as he wanted to see the interaction between them.

ACTIVITY SHEETS 







The BFG is rated PG and has a run time of 117 minutes. It began playing at movie theaters across the United States on July 1, 2016.  For more information on the movie, visit movies.disney.com/the-bfg.