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James and the Giant Peach (1996) Rank 3 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give James and the Giant Peach (1996) a score of 2.7829 out of 4
based on (66) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Excellent
4
Excellent
(6)
Very Good
3
Very Good
(48)
Good
2
Good
(11)
Fair
1
Fair
(1)
Poor
0
Poor
(0)
Reviews by Score:
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.28 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)
The five songs performed in the movie were written by Randy Newman. ``James'' features brief live-action sequences that book-end the major, animated portion of the movie. The live action does not enchant nearly as much as the animation, but it succeeds ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.28 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)
The prickly, dark tone of Roald Dahl's quirky 1961 children's book ``James and the Giant Peach'' is captured with a mesmerizing glow in the film version, coming out on video this week. ``James and the Giant Peach'' is frequently so alluring that ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.28 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Examiner (Barbara Shulgasser)San Francisco Examiner (Barbara Shulgasser)
ROALD DAHL'S great children's story, "James and the Giant Peach," has been beautifully transformed into film by the team that animated "The Nightmare Before Christmas," producer Tim Burton and Bay Area director and animator Henry Selick. With Randy ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at San Francisco Examiner (Barbara Shulgasser)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.25 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Lemme tell ya, this was the most unusual screening I've been to in a long time. After all, what better way to spend a Saturday morning than with 200 hyperactive children, all of whom are fawning over a guy dressed up in a giant, fuzzy, grey bat suit, ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com eats a Giant Peachfilmcritic.com eats a Giant Peach
Lemme tell ya, this was the most unusual screening I've been to in a long time. After all, what better way to spend a Saturday morning than with 200 hyperactive children, all of whom are fawning over a guy dressed up in a giant, fuzzy, grey bat suit, ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at filmcritic.com eats a Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.08 out of 4 stars for A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
"James and the Giant Peach" is the second film from the creative team of Tim Burton and director Henry Selick. Although it's not as successful or stunning as the duo's first effort(1993's wonderful "Nightmare Before Christmas), it's still enjoyable in ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Cinematter (Matt Williams)Cinematter (Matt Williams)
An imaginative combination of animation styles makes this unique film a visual treat. James is a young orphan (his parents were killed from above by a supernatural rhino), forced to live with his cruel aunts, Spiker and Sponge (Joanna Lumley and Miriam ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Cinematter (Matt Williams)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Almost all Disney animated films involve dead or absent parents whosedeparture frees their little heroes to become independent adventurers. But``James and the Giant Peach'' wipes out the ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
This movie may be too scary for kids under six, but older children and their families, particularly fans of the Roald Dahl book, will love this spectacular musical fantasy. James has a blissful life with loving parents until they are both killed by a ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Audio Revolution Audio Revolution
In 1993, the delightful, unique "A Nightmare Before Christmas" briefly re-established stop-motion animation as a major story-telling technique. Even before that film was released, its director Henry Selick had reunited much of the movie's crew to begin ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Audio Revolution
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Almost everything that was true of 1993's Nightmare Before Christmas holds for 1996's James and the Giant Peach. Based (rather faithfully) on Roald Dahl's children's story, this movie uses a combination of live-action sequences and stop-motion animation ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Steve RhodesSteve Rhodes
One day he crawls inside the peach and is transformed into a claymation figure. Inside he meets a great bunch of bugs. The Grasshopper (voice by Simon Callow) is an intellectual, The Ladybug (voice by Glynis Johns) is a sweet older lady, The Spider ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Steve Rhodes
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
James is a lonely, 9-year-old orphan who is sent to live with his wicked aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Forced to perform menial labor and left to his own devices, James escapes into a fantasy world all his own. When a mysterious old man presents him with a ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Dorothy, accompanied by a dog, a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion, followed the yellow brick road. James, along with a pack of oversized bugs, follows his dreams. Both reach their destinations, and, once there, discover that it's ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
An ambitious project combining classic fiction, imaginative computer imagery and animated live-action footage, "James and the Giant Peach" is a stylized film with something for everybody. The story is based on Roald Dahl's hugely popular children's novel ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.91 out of 4 stars for Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
A charming fable from the creators of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Based on the Roald Dahl children's classic, the story follows the adventures of the title boy and his friends (all gigantic bugs) on a huge peach. The boy, James, wishes to get away ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.89 out of 4 stars for Mike D'AngeloMike D'Angelo
I'm almost always disappointed by film adaptations of books that I've enjoyed, but since I hadn't actually read Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach in close to twenty years, I didn't entirely trust my feeling that essential elements of the original ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Mike D'Angelo
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.88 out of 4 stars for Ultimate Guide to Disney DVDUltimate Guide to Disney DVD
After his parents are killed by a rhinoceros, a young English boy named James Henry Trotter is forced to live with his two truly abhorrent aunts. There, he must work all the time and is left with just crumbs to eat. James dreams of leaving and ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.86 out of 4 stars for kids-in-mindkids-in-mind
A stop-motion animation version of the classic Roald Dahl story in which a young boy named James and several magically enlarged bugs escape life with James' two evil aunts and fly on a giant peach to New York City. With Paul Terry, Pete Postlethwaite, ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at kids-in-mind
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.85 out of 4 stars for The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)
As always, Cranky makes no comparisons to source material, in this case the classic children's tale by Roald Dahl. Thirty years and still going strong . . . Perhaps all great stories are meant to be told again and again. Perhaps that is what makes ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.84 out of 4 stars for DVD MovieGuideDVD MovieGuide
Take a bite out of Disney's delicious Special Edition of James And The Giant Peach, and celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the popular children's book by Roald Dahl that inspired this imaginative film. This amazing mix of live-action, ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at DVD MovieGuide
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.81 out of 4 stars for filethirteen.comfilethirteen.com
Imaginative, fun, musical and heart-warming, Tim Burton's second foray into stop-motion animation is everything the first is not. Once again helmed by Henry Selick (while Burton acts as producer), "James and the Giant Peach" outshines "The Nightmare ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at filethirteen.com
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
A magical musical fairy tale concerning a little boy, James Henry Trotter (PAUL TERRY), who finds himself living with his two aunts, Spiker and Sponge, after the death of his parents. Life with his aunts is hard and he dreams of a better place, ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.78 out of 4 stars for The Magic of the Movies (Alex Christensen)The Magic of the Movies (Alex Christensen)
...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at The Magic of the Movies (Alex Christensen)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.77 out of 4 stars for DVD Net (Amy Flower)DVD Net (Amy Flower)
It was no surprise to discover another of Roald Dahl’s delightfully trippy children’s tales wending its way to movie screens, after all, very few of us who saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as munchkins have ever been quite the same since. ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at DVD Net (Amy Flower)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.77 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Stop-motion animation is an intricate, agonizing process, so slow to produce results it can take six days to turn out 12 seconds of usable screen time. Its latest application in "James and the Giant Peach" makes you wonder why anyone bothered. ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.77 out of 4 stars for Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
Is the well-know children's book by Roald Dahl brought to the screen by the team who gave us "A Nightmare Before Christmas" two years ago. James has an ideal life with his parents, but once they're killed by a mysterious rhino, he's forced to live ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for Beatdown Magazine (Faran Thomason)Beatdown Magazine (Faran Thomason)
From the warped minds of Roald Dahl, Tim Burton and Henry Selick comes the latest "non-Disney" Disney animated film, James and the Giant Peach. (By non-Disney Disney film, this is a film financed by Disney, but seems to avoid the syrupy sweetness of most ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Beatdown Magazine (Faran Thomason)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Robert Faires)Austin Chronicle (Robert Faires)
Do you recall how the world looked to you as a child? Everything was so huge. Buildings, furniture, grown-ups -- they all dwarfed you, some of them so large as to seem monstrous. And as you had yet to master the pretzel logic of adults, much of this ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Austin Chronicle (Robert Faires)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for Mark R. LeeperMark R. Leeper
Tim Burton makes two types of films. One type has plots that are concatenations of really odd scenes, strong on visual composition, but without much story to glue the scenes together. His other type of films are the ones written by Caroline Thompson. ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Mark R. Leeper
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for Doug Pratt's Laserdisc ReviewDoug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
The first time we saw James and the Giant Peach , the stop motion animated follow-up to Nightmare before Christmas , directed by the director of Christmas , Henry Selick, we were enthralled by the film's magic and artistry. On subsequent viewings, ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for Time OutTime Out
Made by the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, this has an enchanting, at times ghoulish, appeal. An adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic story, Selick's film may not have made any spectacular technical advance on his previous work (the animated ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Time Out
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for The Tech (MIT) (Audrey Wu)The Tech (MIT) (Audrey Wu)
Although it seems we have stagnated in the too-quiet months before the movie industry releases its summer blockbusters, Disney has thankfully decided to fill the void with a bright little beacon named James and the Giant Peach. It's a smart move on ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at The Tech (MIT) (Audrey Wu)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.72 out of 4 stars for Rambles: Tom KnappRambles: Tom Knapp
Anyone with a fear of insects should probably leave James & the Giant Peach on the shelf. So, too, should anyone who has lost their sense of fun or their connection to a child-like fascination for magical possibilities. ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Rambles: Tom Knapp
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.71 out of 4 stars for Tucson Weekly (Stacey Richter)Tucson Weekly (Stacey Richter)
Eventually though, James' work begins, quite literally, to bear fruit. With the help of a little magic, James makes a giant peach grow on his aunt's property. The "peach" is in fact the metaphorical representation of the surplus value created by his ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Tucson Weekly (Stacey Richter)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.69 out of 4 stars for Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
When director Henry Selick made The Nightmare Before Christmas, he was under the shadow of Tim Burton. Audiences believed they were watching the vision of the man who created Beeltejuice and Edward Scissorhands. Now James and the Giant Peach is here to ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.66 out of 4 stars for Movierapture (Keith Allen)Movierapture (Keith Allen)
Based on Roald Dahl's book, Henry Selick's James and the Giant Peach is a lively, bewitching film that is sure to delight the viewer. The director has, in fact, crafted a genuinely enthralling, visually stunning movie filled with a variety of fascinating ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Movierapture (Keith Allen)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.63 out of 4 stars for Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
When his parents are killed by an angry rhinoceros, young James (Paul Terry) moves in with his tyrannical and abusive aunts. His life is one nightmare after another until an Old Man gives him a bag of glowing green crocodile tongues. Soon a magical peach ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.60 out of 4 stars for Edinburgh U Film Society (Alistair Harkness)Edinburgh U Film Society (Alistair Harkness)
Roald Dahl and Hollywood were never meant to be together. Dahl's books are too dark and twisted, capturing the nastiness of the world as seen through the eyes of under twelves; mutating grannies, bald-headed witches and infanticidal giants are the enemy. ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Edinburgh U Film Society (Alistair Harkness)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.59 out of 4 stars for Philadelphia City Paper (Vance Lehmkuhl)Philadelphia City Paper (Vance Lehmkuhl)
Dahl's wicked sense of humor is blunted by Disneyfication while his anxiety about female sexuality (the plot: a boy escapes his evil stepmothers by — ahem — climbing into a hole is a giant peach) is actually intensified by some bizarrely chosen ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Philadelphia City Paper (Vance Lehmkuhl)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.58 out of 4 stars for DVDRAMADVDRAMA
Disney nous refait malheureusement le coup de Nightmare Before Chrismas, autrement dit, cette édition spéciale ne bénéficie pas de compatibilité 16/9. Ce qui est d’autant plus regrettable que le pressage est d’une facture plus que convenable. ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at DVDRAMA
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.55 out of 4 stars for Film Scouts (Karen Jaehne)Film Scouts (Karen Jaehne)
James is one of those 9-year-old English orphans with nobby knees and a nob of a nose, who requires magic to overcome life's torments. Fortunately, along comes a man to give him some advice and, even better, some glowing green things with a post-atomic ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Film Scouts (Karen Jaehne)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.51 out of 4 stars for DVDRAMADVDRAMA
Etrangement, cette édition ne bénéficie pas d'un encodage 16/9. Ce qui entraine un certain manque de définition, essentiellement dans la partie Live du film (souffrant également d'un grain légèrement trop prononcé). Ce qui est d’autant plus ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at DVDRAMA
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
The Roald Dahl children's book comes to life in this partly animated, partly live action feature. This is a Disney-funded movie with songs by Randy Newman and directed by Henry Selick. It is strange and interesting, but doesn't quite deliver. James is ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for group29 Movie Reviewgroup29 Movie Review
Eat the Peach!! This movie is a faithful adaptation of the Roald Dahl book. Disney definitely proves that the musical is alive and well in the children's movie genre. The claymation that Tim Burton pioneered with Nightmare Before Christmas is pushed to a ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at group29 Movie Review
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Tim VoonTim Voon
As a great fan of any Roald Dahl work and adaptation to screen, I was greatly disappointed with the results of 'James', when compared to the other recent adaptation of 'Matilda'. Perhaps the stick-like animated figures used for the most part of this ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Tim Voon
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
Watching "James and the Giant Peach," Disney's and Tim Burton's celluloid incarnation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book, the seven-year-old in me was having a ball. The animation, by the same team that produced "The Nightmare Before Christmas," ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
James and the Giant Peach (1996) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Needcoffee.com - DVD ReviewNeedcoffee.com - DVD Review
Before he can be carried off to the nigh-mythical New York, young James is orphaned when his idyllic parents are both killed by a rhino in Africa. James is then taken in by his two cruel aunts, played by Lumley and Margolyes, who work him ruthlessly and ...read the complete James and the Giant Peach movie review at Needcoffee.com - DVD Review
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Movie Reviews: Animation
James and the Giant Peach (1996) Reviews
James and the Giant Peach (1996)

RANKINGS:

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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
2.8838
James and the Giant Peach (1996) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
2.7829
James and the Giant Peach (1996) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
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