The Big Friendly Giant
The BFG
Review by Ross Anthony

Soft, slow, dreamy, it's decidedly not the mile-a-minute, action packed, gag-riddled formula we've come to expect from animated films as of late. So, adjust your expectation.

To achieve the feel of a super-scaled human-esq. person, animators move the big friendly giant in a relative slowed motion causing the film to move at a somewhat lumbering pace. This unfortunate side-effect might have been countered with the score. While John Williams has many successes, I fear this is not one of them. Williams' music pokes and prods, searching for some way to make sense of this daringly slow pace. Sadly, Williams' score fails until a change in scenery (past the midpoint of the film) begs for baroque. Then, Williams finally finds some common ground with the visuals.

While imperfect, I found joy in some of the films' warm and dreamy moments. Spielberg takes his time with each scene, as if not concerned with the flow of the overall production. That can prove frustrating, unless and until the viewer succumbs to the moments.

Visually, it's quite beautiful. Dreams as wisps of light and energy are warm and inspiring. And the expressive giant himself makes for a curious silver screen friend, despite his convoluted language that would probably be cute on paper, but verbalized, is more of an annoyance than a charm.

Nonetheless, I still think a better score could have lifted this to an A-.

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  • The BFG. Copyright © 2016.
  • Starring the voices of Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Jemaine Clement. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Written by Melissa Mathison, Roald Dahl.

Grade..........................B (2/4)


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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.


Last Modified: Sunday, 21-Aug-2016 16:27:27 PDT