Roald Dahl Wiki
Register
Advertisement


The BFG is a 2016 fantasy adventure film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall and Bill Hader.

Synopsis[]

The BFG, 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 and Fleshlumpeater on the other hand, are twice as large 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. Says Spielberg, “It’s a story about friendship, it’s a story about loyalty and protecting your friends and it’s a story that shows that even a little girl can help a big giant solve his biggest problems.” Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see Queen Elizabeth II and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen and her maid, Mary, that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.


Plot[]

Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), an orphaned young girl, lives in a Londonorphanage. 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[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • This is 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.
Advertisement