Voices of Paul Terry, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, and Jane Leeves
Directed by Henry Sellick
Music by Randy Newman; Lyrics by Randy Newman and Roald Dahl
After the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993, director Sellick looked into other properties that could be done as stop-motion. The book was suggested as a possible animated film in the early 80's, but Disney didn't actually buy the rights until 1992. Sellick tossed around doing it as live-action, then all stop-motion, before finally hitting on a blending of the two. How does the bizarre story of a boy and his insect friends who travel to New York in the title fruit look almost three decades later? Let's start with James and his parents as they dream of a better life in the city and find out...
The Story: After his parents' death by rhino, he's sent to live with his abusive aunts Sponge (Miriam Margoyles) and Spiker (Joanna Lumley), who treat him like a servant. One day, after saving a spider from their insecticide can, he's given magical "crocodile tongues" by a strange old man (Pete Postlewaite). He accidentally drops most of the tongues, who burrow into the ground.
The next morning, an enormous peach grows on a withered tree. The aunts claim it for themselves and turn it into a tourist attraction. James sneaks out at night and finds one last tongue, which he eats along with part of the peach. The part he eats forms a tunnel into the pit, where he encounters a talking centipede (Dreyfuss), glowworm (Margoyles), spider (Sarandon), earthworm (David Thewlis), grasshopper (Simon Callow), and ladybug (Leeves). They face many dangers on their way to the Big Apple, but learn in the process about the importance of following your dreams, and that the family you find can be just as important as the one you're born into.
The Animation: While not as detailed as Nightmare, it has its own good qualities. The snow when they drift into the Arctic and the tense action sequence on the ocean with the mechanical shark are especially well-rendered, and the peach and everything in it is so nicely done, you can see the fuzz in places. The bugs...well, it's probably hard to do stop-motion bugs without making them look creepy. The clothes and accessories do help alleviate the nightmare fuel somewhat, especially with Mrs. Ladybug and Mr. Grasshopper.
The Song and Dance: Weird as this is, it has a certain charm to it, especially once they get into the peach. The voice acting is delightful, especially Terry as James, who is determined to get out of his aunts' shadow and find a place where he truly feels welcome, Sarandon as the sensual spider he rescued, and Dreyfuss as the cocky Brookyn centipede. Postlewaite brings the right amount of gritty strangeness to his role as the old peddler who starts James off on his adventure.
Favorite Number: The touching and sad "My Name Is James" kicks off the film as he wishes he could cross the ocean and see the city of his dreams, far from his uncaring aunts. "Eating the Peach" comes straight from Dahl...and it explains some of the more disgusting lyrics as the bugs compare the peach to their favorite delicacies from the garbage heap. "Family" has the bugs remind James that he's the one who brought them together right before they make it to New York - they've come too far to quit now.
What I Don't Like: The less-detailed animation and reliance on live-action for the first and last 10 minutes of the film makes it obvious that this was a lower-budget production than Nightmare. The oddball visuals, with their nightmarish cut-outs and mechanical sharks and Jack Skelleton-like pirate ghosts, makes this for older kids, as do Lumley and Margoyles' shrill performances as the worst aunts in the universe.
The Big Finale: Too offbeat to be for everyone, but if you or your older-elementary and pre-teen kids enjoyed other bizarre Dahl books-turned-movies like Matilda or The Witches, you'll want to follow this peach to the city and give it a try as well.
Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming (including Disney Plus with a subscription).
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