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.

Disney brings Roald Dahl's children's novel THE BFG to the big screen

Four of my favorite children's books growing up were James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory plus its lesser know sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator written by British author Roald Dahl. During his lifetime, Dahl wrote numerous books for both young audiences and adults that have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide and additionally wrote the movie screen plays for 1967's James Bond: You Only Live Twice, 1968's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory based upon his popular book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 2016 would have been the 100th birthday of the author who passed away in 1990.  In a touching tribute to the centennial anniversary of the author's life, Walt Disney Pictures is releasing on July 1, 2016 a movie adaption of a children's book Dahl wrote in 1982 titled The BFG that he had written in dedication to his daughter Olivia who had died at the age of seven from measles encephalitis.



The BFG - short for BIG FRIENDLY GIANT - tells the imaginative story of a young girl and a Giant who introduces her to the wonders and perils of Giant Country.  In this film directed by Steven Spielberg, a young orphaned girl in London named Sophie sees a mysterious figure outside her bedroom window and slips out of the orphanage to check it out.  Sophia encounters the Big Friendly Giant (BFG) who explains that he nightly travels the Earth blowing dreams into the bedrooms of children and then transports the young girl with him to Giant Country where he shows her the wonders and perils of his homeland.

While initially scared of BFG, the 10-year old girl soon realizes that the Giant is actually quite gentle and charming.  BFG refuses to eat people and primarily eats a foul-tasting vegetable known as snozzcumber to stay alive.  The same can't be said for Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater and the other inhabitants who reside in Giant Country that are twice as big and twice as scary as BFG and also have a particular taste for including children in their diet.  Sophie's presence in Giant Country entices these other giants to head to London to go upon a feeding frenzy.

BFG and Sophia head to London to head off the giants and warn the Queen of this precarious situation.  They must convince the Queen and her maid, Mary, that giants really do exist and come up with a plan to get rid of their threat once and for all.

I have to admit not having read The BFG before learning about the upcoming release of this new Disney film.  Based upon my fondness for Roald Dahl's other work and Steven Spielberg's great track record of creating tremendous motion pictures our family will absolutely be heading to the movie theater this summer to see The BFG.  We'll probably pick up a copy of Dahl's book after we've seen the movie to read with my kids and see how it compares to its film adaption.

For more information about Roald Dahl's children's books visit www.RoaldDahl.com which features a great "kids section" that includes a quiz on which Dahl children's character you most resemble ( I'm Willy Wonka! ), craft ideas, and interesting background information about all his books ranging from The Enormous Crocodile to Matilda.

For more information about Disney's The BFG, visit movies.disney.com/the-bfg