‘Peach’ A Storybook That Comes To Life
“James and the Giant Peach” is a tasty visual treat. Made by many of the same folks who brought us “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” this eye-popping adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book may be a little on the weird side, but its imaginative design elements always charm, even when the eccentric story fails to.
The “Nightmare” team of co-producer Tim Burton and director Henry Selick once again presents a kiddie fantasy as bizarrely as possible. They’re clearly not as interested in scaring the tykes in the audience this time around, and although they’ll still probably frighten a few, “Peach” lends itself to an exuberant ickiness that, though crawly, is not aggressively creepy.
Combining stylized live-action, cutout collage, cool computer graphics and Selick’s specialty, stop-motion puppet animation, “Peach” sure looks like a storybook come to life.
James, played by newcomer Paul Terry, is a young boy suffering classic English orphan travails at the hands of his mean aunts (Miriam Margolyes and “Absolutely Fabulous”’ Joanna Lumley).
One day, a magical giant peach grows out of their rocky, seaside cliff. The aunts are quick to turn it into a tourist attraction, but one night James sneaks inside and discovers it’s inhabited by intelligent mutant bugs. The peach inevitably rolls into the ocean, setting James on his way to the land of dreams his missing parents often told him about. Sardonically, it’s New York City.
Once inside the peach, the film switches from live action to stop-motion, and it proves a particularly good medium for depicting talking insects. Of course, excellent voice work helps the illusion. Brits Simon Callow, David Thewlis and “Frasier’s” Jane Leeves effectively portray an erudite Grasshopper, an easily upset Earthworm and a Mary Poppins-ish Ladybug, respectively.
Richard Dreyfuss often resorts to shtick as the untrustworthy Centipede. But recent Oscar winner Susan Sarandon gives a, well, Oscar-worthy performance (if they had a category for this kind of thing) as a seductive Spider with Garbo-esque hauteur.
As mentioned, these multilimbed mirth-makers are perfect stop-motion subjects. It’s a treat to see their cleverly choreographed body parts wriggling around. But “Peach’s” glaring visual weak point is the James puppet who, like the human characters in the computer-animated “Toy Story,” doesn’t come close to resembling a real boy. It damages, though not fatally, the movie’s visual integrity. And with its tiny eyes and shiny surfaces, the James puppet is not nearly as expressive as its insectoid companions.
Dahl purists - and there are a bunch out there who cherished the 1961 book from their own childhoods - are already complaining about the liberties the film takes. For the rest of us, it’s hard to tell whether newly added plot developments undercut or enhance the story’s mildly subversive wit. However, the addition of an underwater battle between our heroes and some “Nightmare”-ish pirate skeletons is rousing fun even the most doctrinaire book fans should appreciate.
Randy Newman’s songs are about on the level of his “Toy Story” work, and the whole thing, for some reason, appears to be set in the 1940s. Some will appreciate these qualities, others won’t. But it’s hard to imagine anyone, of any age, not coming out dazzled from “James and the Giant Peach.” The effort, humor and cracked, visionary ingenuity that went into it all is impossible to resist.
xxxx “JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH” Locations: East Sprague, Newport and Showboat cinemas Credits: Directed by Henry Selick; with Paul Terry, Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley, Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Pete Postlethwaite, Susan Sarandon and David Thewlis. Running time: 1:20 Rating: PG