Rating: - AMAZING BOOK, HORRIBLE MOVIE
As a mother of two kids (ages 8 and 6), I have read nearly all of the Roald Dahl books multiple times in the past few years. We all love his writing - his stories are usually quite dark and yet offer a lot of humor, warmth and love as well. James and the Giant Peach is a wonderful story and well worth reading with your children. Mind you, there is the usual dose of Dahl meanness and nastiness but it is great story with many wonderful characters, budding relationships, and ultimately a very happy ending.

I was thus incredibly disappointed when we borrowed this DVD from our local library. The screenwriter took far too much liberty in changing things. I found it crude and insulting to the memory of Roald Dahl. If you have read the book, you know, for example, that the two horrible aunts are "disposed of" by the peach quite early in the story. In this movie, the aunts live on and actually follow poor James and his friends to New York City. Unbelievable.

Do read or listen to James and the Giant Peach (along with Matilda, the BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) but skip this movie. If you do want to see a Roald Dahl movie, you would be much better off with either Matilda or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mind you, neither of these is as good as the books they portray, particularly the latter, but they are still pretty good movies.

James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition)