Movie Review: The BFG

      When Timmy was in 2nd grade, his teacher, Mr. G, read The BFG by Roald Dahl out loud to the class. When he came home talking about it, I was reminded how much I liked this book as a child too. This year, when David has Mr. G, The BFG came out again. When we saw the trailers for the movie, we knew we had to see it as a family. So, that's what we did.

     If you have never read The BFG, it is about an orphan named Sophie who is snatched from her bed at the orphanage after spotting a giant outside. The BFG (Big, Friendly, Giant) takes her to giant country so she will not tell other humans. Sophie soon learns the The BFG is quite different from all of the other giants, who prefer to have children as snacks rather than as friends. The 2 work together to come up with a plan to stop the giants from stealing other children.  If you didn't know, Roald Dahl was the author of Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory too.

Photo property of Walt Disney Studios

    Here are my general impressions of the movie:

      I enjoyed this movie a lot. At times I found it a little slow and was slightly annoyed by the actress playing Sophie, but there were other aspects of the movie that kept me interested. First of all, Roald Dahl stories are wonderful. The way that the BFG speaks and jumbles up all of his words has always been endearing to me. ("Vegeterribles" for vegetables might be my favorite, but maybe that's just because I don't like many vegetables.) The BFG was quirky and very lovable.  Secondly, the set and scenery were beautiful. I loved all of the scenes with the dreams.  

Photo property of Walt Disney Studio

    Third, the music score was written by John Williams. (As a music teacher, you notice these things.) John Williams also wrote the music for most of the Harry Potter films, Star Wars, Jaws, Indiana Jones, and Jaws. His music is very recognizable and always adds a lot to a film. (This score reminded me a lot of some of the Harry Potter music in places.) Lastly, this movie actually made me laugh audibly at one point. This is not a regular event for me; perhaps it's because I'm a middle school teacher or a mom of boys, but there was one point where all 4 of us were really laughing,

     If you have really young kids who are fearful, there are a few things that could freak them out (The giants that eat children- not too scary looking, but the concept of being eaten, a giant who comes and blows dreams to you while you are sleeping, and the possibility of being taken in the middle of the night.) but my kids, who are 8 and 10 didn't find anything to be scary.  In general, I thought the movie was great.  I think this is one that we will definitely watch again as a family.