Roald Dahl’s book The Big Friendly Giant will be getting the silver screen treatment at the hands of Steven Spielberg.
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Like many kids I grew up loving the books of Roald Dahl. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach where some of the first real books I read as a kid and still hold a place of endearment in my memories. The BFG holds its own against those more often remembered books, and is one I can’t wait to read to my kids one day. I was cautiously happy when it was announced earlier this week that the Friendly Giant will be coming to the big screen sometime in 2016.
It seems like an odd choice as The BFGÂ doesn’t quite strike me as being able to easily make the transition from page to film. Obviously Spielberg will have the funding to do it well, but it will be up to some wonderfully talented writers and animators to flesh this book into a feature film for the modern generation of children. His books have become films before with varied success so only time will tell if The BFG film is one to treasure or forget.
Mostly I hope that we aren’t seeing the beginning of a menagerie of movies based on his books that are only mediocre, as we saw with several Dr. Seuss stories this past couple of years. I want this to get the proper respect that the story and the author deserve, and not treated as just another source of easy money.
–Photo: The BFG book cover (edited)
