- “The world is more Giant than you can imagine”
- ―Tagline
The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) is a 2016 fantasy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison, based on the 1982 children's book of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, and Bill Hader. Principal photography on the film began on March 23, 2015. The film was co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, and Walden Media, and was released by on July 1, 2016.
Plot[]
Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), an orphaned young girl, lives in a London orphanage. One late evening, she is awake and looks out the window, where she sees an elderly-looking giant (Mark Rylance). The giant captures her and takes her into Giant Country. There, he explains that Sophie must stay with him for the rest of her life because she saw him and must not be allowed to reveal the existence of giants. The giant introduces himself as the "Big Friendly Giant" (or BFG for short). That night, the BFG gives her a nightmare about her trying to escape, only to be eaten by an even bigger giant.
When Sophie awakens and realizes the BFG gave her the nightmare, the BFG says that it would not be safe for her if she tries to escape, as the other giants (who are much larger than even the BFG) eat humans. Just then, the infantile leader of the man-eating giants called the Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), enters the BFG's home. Sophie hides in a gruesome vegetable called a snozzcumber. She is almost eaten, but the Fleshlumpeater leaves upon the BFG stating that his group does not like vegetables.
The BFG then explains that he catches dreams. The BFG puts Sophie inside a treehouse and starts working on his dreams. Sophie eventually convinces the BFG to take her to Dream Country. But first, they must pass Fleshlumpeater and his fellow man-eating giants Bloodbottler (Bill Hader), Bonecruncher (Michael David Adamthwaite), Gizzardgulper (Chris Gibbs), Manhugger (Adam Godley), Childchewer (Jonathan Holmes), Meatdripper (Paul Moniz de Sa), Maidmasher (Ólafur Ólafsson), and Butcher Boy (Daniel Bacon), who are asleep. They accidentally wake up the man-eating giants, who decide to bully the BFG and play a game with him. Sophie narrowly evades their detection, but accidentally drops her blanket. Eventually, the pair escapes. Sophie tells the BFG that he should not allow the other giants to bully him. Meanwhile, the other giants find Sophie's blanket and set out to look for her.
The pair arrive in Dream Country and manage to catch two dreams: a good dream about Sophie and a nightmare about committing unforgivable crimes. The two then head to London to spread the good dreams to sleeping children. As they do so, Sophie realizes that she has lost her blanket. The BFG realizes that the other man-eating giants know about her. He explains that the last human child he took and raised was discovered and eaten by the other giants. Not wanting any harm to come to Sophie, the BFG drops her off at the orphanage. Sophie instead convinces him to allow her to stay. When they return to the BFG's home, the other giants barge in and upend the place looking for Sophie. Sophie again evades detection and the enraged BFG finally stands up to them and drives them off with a hot fire iron.
Sophie devises a plan to forge a nightmare and give it to Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom. The nightmare consists of giants eating the children of England, the British Army fighting the giants, and Sophie appearing on her windowsill. They head to Buckingham Palace where they meet the Queen, her maid Mary (Rebecca Hall), and her butler Mr. Tibbs (Rafe Spall). Upon waking from her nightmare, the BFG and Sophie inform the Queen that the child-eating beasts in her dream are indeed real and must be stopped at all costs before they cause any more harm to her subjects. After a large breakfast they all enjoy, the Queen soon dispatches soldiers to Giant Country.
Before they could capture the man-eating giants, the BFG plans on giving them the nightmare Sophie had caught before. The BFG's trumpet was forgotten at the Palace, so Sophie smashes the jar. Almost all of the man-eating giants are immediately consumed by guilt, but the Fleshlumpeater awakens and intercepts the dream before it can affect him. As the Fleshlumpeater is about to kill Sophie, he is stopped by the BFG. The soldiers then capture the nine giants and drop them off by helicopter on a remote island far away from civilization where they will have nothing to eat but snozzcumbers.
In the aftermath, Sophie begins living in the Queen's palace which means she's a princess now. The BFG returns to Giant Country where he begins growing a wide variety of vegetables and still delivers dreams to which he was introduced during his visit with the Queen. He also receives proper education and begins to write a book about his experiences. The film ends with Sophie whispering "Good Morning" to BFG, which he happily hears from his friend.
Cast[]
- Mark Rylance as The Big Friendly Giant
- Ruby Barnhill as Sophie
- Penelope Wilton as The Queen of the United Kingdom
- Rebecca Hall as Mary
- Jemaine Clement as Fleshlumpeater
- Bill Hader as Bloodbottler
- Rafe Spall as Mr. Tibbs
- Daniel Bacon as Bonecruncher
- Michael David Adamthwaite as Butcherboy
- Chris Gibbs as Gizzardgulper
- Adam Godley as Manhugger
- Jonathan Holmes as Childchewer
- Paul Moniz de Sa as Meatdripper
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Maidmasher
Development[]
In September 2011, DreamWorks announced that they had picked up the film rights to the book; Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall are slated to produce, and screenwriter Melissa Mathison will adapt the story.[1] In April 2014, it was announced that Steven Spielberg will direct the film, shooting in 2015 with plans for a 2016 release.[2] Spielberg stated, "The BFG has enchanted families and their children for more than three decades. We are honoured that the Roald Dahl estate has entrusted us with this classic story."[3] The film was released on July 1, 2016.[4]
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed the film worldwide, except for territories in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where the film's distribution rights were sold by DreamWorks' international partner, Mister Smith Entertainment, to independent distributors[5] while DreamWorks' financial partner, Reliance Entertainment released the film in India. Entertainment One released the film in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2016.[6] It was announced at the end of October 2014 that three-time Tony Award-winning actor Mark Rylance will star in the title role. Spielberg was quoted as saying of him that "Mark Rylance is a transformational actor. I am excited and thrilled that Mark will be making this journey with us to Giant Country. Everything about his career so far is about making the courageous choice and I’m honoured he has chosen The BFG as his next big screen performance."[7][8][9][10][11][12] On March 5, 2015, according to Deadline, it was announced that Walden Media has joined to co-finance and co-produce the movie.[13] Sam Mercer would also be producing the film.[14] In April 2015, The Walt Disney Studios—which was already under agreement to distribute the film through its Touchstone Pictures banner—joined the production as a co-producer and co-financier, and switched the film as a Walt Disney Pictures release instead.[15] Consequently, The BFG is the first Disney-branded film directed by Spielberg; though he has previously produced several films for the studio.[16] The film also marks the first Walt Disney Pictures production since Dragonslayer, to be co-produced by another major studio.[15]
Casting[]
On October 27, 2014, Mark Rylance was cast in the title role of the film.[17] In the mid-November 2014, it was revealed that a ten-year-old student of Crackley Hall School, Ruby Riley had auditioned for the film where she had to learn six pages of dialogue in preparation for a possible role as orphaned Sophie.[18] After a lengthy search on the role Sophie, on December 16, the director cast 10-year-old British actress Ruby Barnhill for the role, on which Barnhill said, "I feel incredibly lucky and I'm so happy." Spielberg stated that they "have discovered a wonderful Sophie in Ruby Barnhill."[19] Bill Hader was set to star in the film for an unspecified role on March 27, 2015.[14] On April 13, 2015, more cast was announced, which included Penelope Wilton, Rebecca Hall, Jemaine Clement, Michael David Adamthwaite, Daniel Bacon, Chris Gibbs, Adam Godley, Jonathan Holmes, Paul Moniz de Sa, and Ólafur Ólafsson.[20]
Videos[]
Trailers and Clips[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is actually the second adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG, as an animated feature film had been released in 1989 by the British animation studio Cosgrove Hall Films.
- It is also the second time one of Roald Dahl's books has been adapted into a movie twice, the first happening with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1971 and 2005, the first one being renamed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
- The BFG is the first Disney film to be co-financed and co-produced with Walden Media in 8 years since The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which was released in 2008.
- This is the second Disney film adaptation to be based on a Roald Dahl book in 20 years, the first being James and the Giant Peach released in 1996.
- This is Disney's first film to be co-produced with Amblin Entertainment since A Far Off Place, which was released in 1993.
- The BFG is the first Disney branded film to be directed by Steven Spielberg.
- This is the last film written by Melissa Mathison, since she passed away in 2015.
- The evil, child-eating giants in this adaptation are not as fearsome or threatening as they appear in the original book or the 1989 animated film. Neither are they as sadistic or abusive - during the scene in the book in which they bully the BFG, they not only throw him around but kick him and throw rocks at him.
- This is Disney's first live-action remake of a non-Disney animated film.
- This is the third Disney film that didn't get any box office from China because of China's film laws, after Bridge to Terabithia and Iron Man 3.
- In countries where Disney didn't distribute the film, Disney's logo is replaced with whoever is distributing the movie in the country. The presents screen will also omit Disney's name at the beginning.
- The closing Disney logo is not shown after the end credits.
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ Weinstein, Joshua L. (24 September 2011). "DreamWorks Is Still Buying – Picks Up Roald Dahl's 'BFG' (Exclusive)". Retrieved on 27 September 2011.
- ↑ Bullock, Paul (26 April 2014). "Steven Spielberg to direct The BFG". Retrieved on 26 April 2014.
- ↑ "Steven Spielberg to direct BFG film from Roald Dahl book". BBC News. Retrieved 29 April 2014
- ↑ "Tom Hanks-Steven Spielberg Cold War Thriller Set for Oct. 16, 2015", Variety (June 16, 2014). Retrieved on June 6, 2014.
- ↑ "David Garrett, Ralpho Borgos Hope to Take Mr. Smith Shingle to the Summit", Variety (May 8, 2015).
- ↑ "Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ Primed for U.K. Release With eOne", variety.com. Retrieved on 12 July 2014.
- ↑ "BBC News - Mark Rylance to play BFG in Steven Spielberg film".
- ↑ "Mark Rylance to be Spielberg's BFG".
- ↑ "The BFG: Jerusalem star Mark Rylance heads to Giant Country for Steven Spielberg's film - News - Films - The Independent".
- ↑ "Mark Rylance Is Human Bean Chosen To Play BFG".
- ↑ "Mark Rylance To Play ‘The BFG’ In Steven Spielberg’s Dahl Adaptation - Deadline".
- ↑ Tatiana Siegel. "Three-Time Tony Winner Mark Rylance Nabs Lead in Steven Spielberg's 'The BFG'".
- ↑ "Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ Takes Giant Step Forward As Walden Comes Aboard", Deadline (5 March 2015). Retrieved on 6 March 2015.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Bill Hader Joining Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’", thewrap.com (March 27, 2015). Retrieved on March 31, 2015.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Rainey, James. "Steven Spielberg Takes First Directing Turn With Walt Disney Studios". Variety. Retrieved on 13 April 2015.
- ↑ "Disney Joins Steven Spielberg’s 'BFG'", The Hollywood Reporter (April 13, 2015). Retrieved on April 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Mark Rylance To Play ‘The BFG’ In Roald Dahl Adaptation By Steven Spielberg", deadline.com (October 27, 2014). Retrieved on October 28, 2014.
- ↑ "Crackley Hall pupil auditions for role in Steven Spielberg's new film", coventrytelegraph.net (November 17, 2014). Retrieved on November 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Steven Spielberg Casts 10-Year-Old Ruby Barnhill as Lead in ‘The BFG’", thewrap.com (December 16, 2014). Retrieved on December 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Disney Signs On To Co-Fi Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’". Deadline.com (April 13, 2015). Retrieved on April 13, 2015.