By Fred Topel | Image property of respective holders
James and the Giant Peach
I had issues with James and the Giant Peach when it first came out. I thought the bookending live-action sequences were a real cheat. They wanted to get another stop-motion animated movie out as quickly as possible after Nightmare Before Christmas so didn’t spend the time to animated the WHOLE movie.
James and the Giant Peach on Blu-Ray
The Blu Ray release seems to validate my original opinion by showing the live-action sequences as a crappy, grainy fog where you can barely see any of the lame acting anyway. It looks great when it goes to animation, though still not as clear as Nightmare. You can see all the texture in the figures and settings, but it doesn’t quite look like a world you can reach in and grab.
The best sequences is actually the 2-D part because it’s so surreal to see that in such clarity. The only redeeming part of the live-action is some of the texture in the giant peach prop. That’s at least a little old school, but I guess even in HD, Peach represents a second best effort after Nightmare. Now in between that and Coraline, it’s a Peach sandwich.
Add to Heffee!
