Roald Dahl’s The BFG is being adapted by Steven Spielberg, and if this teaser trailer is anything to go by, it’s going to be magical.
It’s been a while since we had a good, solid kids adventure movie along the lines of Narnia, Harry Potter or Hugo, but it looks like Steven Spielberg’s take on The BFG is gonna be one for the ages.
Based on Roald Dahl’s children’s novel of the same name, The BFG follows the young girl Sophie, who meets the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), who sweeps her away to help him fight other, evil giants. See the teaser trailer below:
Although this is definitely a children’s film, it’s a little bit scary, too — that giant hand reaching through the window is enough to give anyone nightmares!
The BFG stars Mark Rylance as the titular giant, with newcomer Ruby Barnhill as Sophie.
The official press release for The BFG reads:
Directed by Spielberg, Disney’s “The BFG” tells the imaginative story of a young girl and the Giant who introduces her to the wonders and perils of Giant Country. The BFG (Mark Rylance), while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumber and Frobscottle.
Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams. Having both been on their own in the world up until now, their affection for one another quickly grows, but Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasingly more bothersome.
Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see Queen Victoria (Penelope Wilton) and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen and her maid, Mary (Rebecca Hall), that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.
The fact that Disney is adapting this story is particularly heart-warming as Walt Disney himself worked with Roald Dahl; Dahl wrote the children’s book The Gremlins specifically for Disney, as part of a promotional campaign for a film that unfortunately was never made.
Here, Dahl and Disney are hard at work in 1942:
Are you a fan of Roald Dalhl’s The BFG? Do you think Steven Spielberg and Disney will do the story justice?