The BFG (1989 film)

The BFG
Directed by	Brian Cosgrove
Produced by	Brian Cosgrove Mark Hall
Screenplay by	John Hambley
Based on	The BFG by Roald Dahl
Starring	David Jason Amanda Root Angela Thorne Ballard Berkeley Michael Knowles Don Henderson Mollie Sugden Jimmy Hibbert Frank Thornton
Music by	Keith Hopwood Malcolm Rowe
Edited by	Nigel Rutter
Production company	Cosgrove Hall Films
Distributed by	Video Collection International (1990s) ITV (TV airing) Roadshow Home Video (Australia and New Zealand) Celebrity Home Entertainment (United States) Disney Channel UK (1998 TV airing)
Release dates	25 December 1989 (1989-12-25)
Running time	88 minutes[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The BFG is a 1989 British animated made-for-television film based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl, was directed by Brian Cosgrove and written by John Hambley. It was first shown on Christmas Day 1989 on ITV in the UK.^[2] It was the first and only full-length film made by Cosgrove Hall Films.

The film was dedicated to animator George Jackson, who had worked on numerous Cosgrove Hall productions before his death in 1986. This film is also the last and posthumous role of Ballard Berkeley (voice of the Head of the Army), who died in 1988.

Plot

Sophie is a young girl living with the cantankerous and abusive Mrs. Clonkers. One night, Sophie sees a cloaked giant blowing something through a trumpet into a bedroom window down the street; whereupon the giant notices her and carries her to the realm of Giant Country.

In his cave, the giant identifies himself as the Big Friendly Giant, who, at night, blows dreams into the bedrooms of children, while the other giants are vicious, child-eating beasts. Because the BFG refuses to eat people or steal food from humans, he subsists on a revolting vegetable known as a "Snozzcumber". Sophie and the BFG quickly become friends; but Sophie is soon put in danger by the sudden arrival of the Bloodbottler Giant, who suspects the BFG of harbouring a human. The BFG tricks the Bloodbottler into eating the Snozzcumber to repel him from his cave, during which Sophie is almost eaten. When Sophie announces she is thirsty, the BFG treats her to a fizzy drink called "Frobscottle", whose bubbles go downwards, which causes the drinker to flatulate; this is known as a "whizzpopper" to giants, and causes the drinker to soar.

The next morning, the BFG takes Sophie to Dream Country to catch more dreams, but is tormented by the other giants along the way; notably by the Fleshlumpeater Giant, who is the largest and most fearsome. In Dream Country, the BFG demonstrates his dream-catching skills to Sophie; but the BFG mistakenly captures a nightmare. Upon return to his Dream Cave, the BFG shows Sophie all the dreams he has captured already and throws away the nightmare in his cavern of lava in a tiny chest, and takes Sophie to watch him on his dream-blowing duties; but this is cut short when they spot the Fleshlumpeater about to eat a little boy whom the BFG had previously given a pleasant dream. When Sophie tries to intervene, the BFG flees with her and escapes, leaving the Fleshlumpeater to devour the unfortunate child. Afterwards, the grief-stricken Sophie tries to persuade the BFG to stop the evil giants.

At first, the BFG is reluctant to do so; but Sophie develops a plan to expose the evil giants to the Queen of the United Kingdom. Using dreams from his collection, the BFG creates a nightmare to this effect; blows it into the Queen's bedroom; leaves Sophie on the Queen's windowsill to confirm the dream; and retreats into the palace gardens. Because the dream included foreknowledge of Sophie's presence, the Queen believes her story, and speaks with the BFG. After considerable effort by the palace staff, the BFG is given a copious breakfast.

Once ready, the army and the airforce, in a fleet of RAF Chinook helicopters, follow the BFG to the giants' homeland, where the giants are taken prisoner. The only one to escape is the Fleshlumpeater, who immediately attacks the BFG and later pursues Sophie; but after a long chase he is stopped by the BFG, who subdues him with the nightmare he had captured earlier, which he later reveals was a nightmare about Jack and his beanstalk, both of which all giants, including the BFG himself, fear.

The tethered giants are then each transported by helicopter to London, where they are sealed in a metal pit and forced to eat Snozzcumbers for the rest of their lives. Contrary to the book's ending, the BFG stays in Giant Country instead of moving to England, and Sophie becomes his assistant at the distribution of dreams.

Cast

• David Jason as the BFG
• Amanda Root as Sophie
• Angela Thorne as Queen Elizabeth II
• Don Henderson as the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater and the Sergeant
• Frank Thornton as Mr. Tibbs
• Mollie Sugden as Mary
• Michael Knowles as Head of Air Force
• Ballard Berkeley as Head of Army
• Myfanwy Talog as Mrs. Clonkers
• Jimmy Hibbert as Additional voices

Production

According to Brian Cosgrove, the director and producer of the film, Roald Dahl was very supportive to the studio in production.

I painted a watercolour of how we saw him. I got a lovely note back from Dahl saying it was perfect, he was right behind it, and to just get on and do it. Sophie, the little girl who befriends the BFG, was easy. I had read that Dahl based her on his granddaughter, Sophie Dahl. At the time she wore John Lennon glasses, so we took it from there.^[3]

Possible deleted scene

Following its release, various children's books based on the film were published, one being a short narrative that featured printed still-shots of scenes from the film. However, two pages consisted of some from a scene which was not featured in the original cut.

Taking place before the BFG and Sophie arrive at his Dream Cave, the two are on their way back from Dream Country when they again approach the other giant's domain. Sophie is somehow separated and placed in peril when she accidentally sits upon a giant Dragonfly that flies off and drops her amongst the sleeping giants, who begin to stir from her scent. The BFG rescues her before they awake and begin scouring the land, convinced there is a human present.

The shot of the giants departing is later reused in the film as part of the Queen's nightmare of them and their heinous acts. As of yet though, no DVD release has ever featured this supposed deleted scene.

Reception

The film currently has a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 3.3 out of 5.^[4]

Writing in The Sunday Times before its broadcast, Patrick Stoddart called it a "delight", and wrote that it "puts its already celebrated British animators, Cosgrove Hall, into the Disney class".^[5] It has since gone on to be a cult classic.

In 2012, Louisa Mellor, of the Den of Geek website, stated that "Cosgrove Hall's twenty-seven year old animated feature may be less of a technical feat than the latter and was certainly made for a fraction of the budget, but that doesn't make it any less a whoppsy-whiffling, razztwizzling tribute to a terrific story."^[2]

Roald Dahl's reaction

This film was one of the few adaptations of Dahl's works to get praise from the author himself. Cosgrove said that after Dahl sat through a screening of the film, he stood up and applauded in delight.

When we finished, we ran a screening in Soho, and Dahl and his family came along. They were sitting at the back, and when the film finished they stood up and applauded. He could be quite vocal, Dahl, if he didn't like something. He didn't like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at all, the 1971 Gene Wilder one. So it was a real relief that he liked our film.^[3]

Media releases

The film was first released on VHS by Video Collection International in 1990, and again in 1995 and 1997 in the United Kingdom. Roadshow Home Video and ABC Video released the film on VHS in Australia in 1992, while its first video release in the United States was by Celebrity Home Entertainment in 1995.

In 2001, Pearson Television International Ltd released the film on DVD and VHS the same releases, followed by the Daily Mirror DVD. Other releases followed in 2008 by Fremantle Home Entertainment's release. The American DVD release was distributed by Celebrity Home Entertainment in 1999 and A&E Home Video in 2006.^[6]

In 2012, Fremantle Home Entertainment released a digitally restored DVD and Blu-ray Disc^[7] in widescreen; although premiering in 1.33:1 format on television, the film was originally made in 1.85:1.^[8]

In 2016, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment UK released a digitally restored DVD and Blu-ray Disc in widescreen.

Awards and nominations

See also

• The BFG, the 2016 live action feature

References

External links

• The BFG at the Internet Movie Database