Movie · 1996 · Family, Animation, Adventure, Fantasy · 1h 19m · PG · English
Curator score: 5.3/10 (269.1K ratings)
Adventures this big don't grow on trees.
Overview
When the young orphan boy James spills a magic bag of crocodile tongues, he finds himself in possession of a giant peach that flies him away to strange lands.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.3/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.39/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Metacritic: 78
TMDB: 6.6/10
Director
Henry Selick
Production
Allied Filmmakers, Walt Disney Pictures
Cast
Paul Terry, Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite, Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Susan Sarandon, David Thewlis, Steven Culp, Susan Turner-Cray, Cirocco Dunlap, Kathryn Howell, Mike Starr, Michael Girardin, J. Stephen Coyle, Tony Haney, Mario Yedidia, Jeff Mosley, Jeff Bennett
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A visually inventive stop-motion fantasy with a dark, whimsical streak, James and the Giant Peach is one of the more distinctive family films of the 1990s. Its story is simple, but the tactile animation, eerie charm, and offbeat humor make it memorable well beyond its kid-friendly premise.
Best for
Fans of stop-motion animation and handmade visual craft
Viewers who like whimsical stories with a slightly creepy edge
Families with kids who can handle some darkness and oddball humor
Fans of Roald Dahl adaptations and surreal adventure
Skip if
You want a fast-paced or plot-heavy adventure
You prefer bright, conventional Disney-style family movies
You are looking for a purely cheerful or comforting children’s film
You dislike grotesque character design or mildly unsettling fantasy imagery
Overview
James and the Giant Peach is a small story given a wonderfully strange shape. Henry Selick’s stop-motion direction turns Roald Dahl’s orphan-fantasy into something tactile, eerie, and playful, with every insect and setting feeling hand-built and alive. The result is less a polished studio adventure than a lovingly weird dream you can almost touch.
Worth noting
What lingers most is the film’s tone: melancholy at the edges, but buoyed by absurd humor and a genuine sense of escape. It understands childhood loneliness without becoming heavy, and it gives its oddball ensemble enough personality to make the journey feel communal. The movie’s visual invention is the main attraction, but its emotional simplicity is part of the charm.
Bottom line
It’s not the deepest family fantasy, and some viewers may find the narrative thin. Still, as a piece of craft and atmosphere, it’s a standout. If you like your children’s movies a little spooky, a little sad, and very imaginative, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Branson Reese · 2620 likes
Me, age 8 whenever the centipede was onscreen: I love you. You are my God. I am a soldier in your army and would gladly lay down my life for you.
Me, age 8 whenever the grasshopper was onscreen: You, vile pretentious beast. I hate you. I will see you burnt to ash, and scattered in the wind so you can never be reassembled.
Me, age 8 whenever the centipede and grasshopper were singing and dancing together about how they were family: an interesting thought experiment, but certainly not canon.
Griffin Newman · 1986 likes
Miss Spider step on me with all eight legs.
Erin 🍺 (4★) · 1655 likes
Susan Sarandon playing a goth French spider made me the person I am today
☽ (3★) · 879 likes
ya I probably shouldn’t have watched this right after cmbyn
1986 · Adventure, Family, Fantasy · 1h 41m · PG · Curator 6.1/10 (643.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Hulu, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Night Flight Plus, Netflix Standard with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A surreal quest fantasy with memorable creature design, strange humor, and an outsider child at its center.