This is a movie that I watched when it came out, and it was a lot of fun to come back to. Also, if you are in the UK, you will recognise that this specific version of The BFG has starred in the last two Sainsbury’s Christmas adverts. (Sainsbury’s is a major supermarket chain.)

Also, before I go on, I need to do a bit of housekeeping: next week, I will be reviewing Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, Sense and Sensibility and Monsters, as well as two different adaptations.

“Ten-year-old Sophie is in for the adventure of a lifetime when she meets the Big Friendly Giant. Naturally scared at first, the young girl soon realizes that the twenty-four-foot behemoth is actually quite gentle and charming. As their friendship grows, Sophie’s presence attracts the unwanted attention of Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater, and other giants. After travelling to London, Sophie and the BFG must convince Queen Elizabeth to help them get rid of all of the bad giants once and for all.”

This is a beautiful adaptation. I enjoyed the different things that they added to make the movie longer.

For this story, I have three thoughts.

Firstly, I would like to talk about something that was added to this movie: the giants have a fear of water. Now, on the one hand, it makes sense that the writers needed a weakness, especially because all of the other giants are at least twice as big as the BFG. On the other hand, it feels a bit silly. After all, they have been around for centuries but will run and hide when rain is coming.

Secondly, the first child. Ok, in the spoiler-free review you see that I referred to the fact that there are a lot of things that got added to make this movie longer. One of the things that they added was the fact that this was not the first child that the BFG kidnapped. In a way, it makes sense that Sophie was not the first child who had seen him. I find it sad the way that you see where he used to live and you know what happened to him.

Thirdly, the fact that you see more giants. In the book there is only one time that any of the giants is when Bloodbottler shows up, almost eats Sophie and then leaves. But in this movie, in connection with the previous point, we have a tense scene with 5 giants trying to sniff Sophie out. This makes the danger feel a lot more real.

Thank you for joining me on this look at The BFG and its adaptations. This has been a lot of fun to go over, and until next week in Norland Park.

Happy reading to all and to all a good night.