Roald Dahl Retrospective Episode 1: The BFG (1989) vs. The BFG (2016)

In the premiere episode of the Roald Dahl Retrospective, Patricia and Arun look back at all of the movie adaptations based on the British children's book author Roald Dahl in honor of the upcoming remake of The Witches in October 2020. The first adaptation they cover is a bit out of order and unorthodox looking at both adaptations of the 1982 book of The BFG. One is done by the British animation studio Cosgrove Hall in 1989 and the other is done by Disney and directed by Steven Spielberg in 2016.  Both versions are about a little orphaned girl named Sophie who is kidnapped by a giant after seeing him wandering around London in the middle of the night. Not wanting to be discovered by humans, the giant takes Sophie into his home in Giant Country where he tells her that she will stay with him forever. The giant is luckily a friendly giant who protects her from the other giants who eat humans. One day, a giant wanders around London kidnapping and eating children and Sophie comes up with an idea to stop them once and for all.   The 1989 Cosgrove Hall version was received with positive reviews in the box office making 3 million pounds ($3.7 million dollars) and is one of the few adaptations Roald Dahl himself loved. It was said that after the credits rolled, he gave a standing ovation to the film. The movie was unknown for most countries until it was released on VHS and DVD years later. It has since become a cult classic. The live action 2016 Disney version made over $180 million dollars out of a $140 million budget and received mostly mixed to positive reviews. Which version is better? Listen and find out.