Bundle of cinematic joy

When we heard that Steven Spielberg was coming out with a new film, “The BFG,” we made a special mental note to catch it when it opened in town.

Spielberg is one of filmdom’s best storytellers, but he doesn’t make movies often these days, so he deserves the special attention—and anticipation.

After watching “The BFG,” which is based on fantasy yarn-spinner Roald Dahl’s stories, we’re happy to report that Spielberg’s latest big-screen “baby” is a bundle of cinematic joy.

Whimsically winning tale

It tells the whimsically winning tale of a little orphan, Sophie, whose unhappy life in a “home” for unwanted children is suddenly turned on its head and made magically exciting and adventurous when she’s—kidnapped by a giant!

—That’s right, the film title’s initials stand for Big Friendly Giant (voiced by Spielberg favorite, Mark Rylance). He takes Sophie to his ramshackle house situated beyond the known territorial limits of England, where he’s by far the nicest giant around. The others are horrid, forever hungry monsters who love to bite into and digest hapless little morsels like—Sophie!

So, Sophie’s giant has his work cut out for him just keeping her hidden, safe and undigested!

Loving bond

But, he somehow manages to do that—and, in the process, he and Sophie quite unexpectedly forge a loving bond that eventually transforms their lives in beautifully magical ways.

Granted, the film’s first half is a bit of a drag, even with Spielberg’s famous golden touch for child-friendly storytelling.

Perhaps it’s the scraggly, snaggly cast of horrid giants who initially drag the movie’s “whimsy quotient” down?

Turn for the bette

Not to worry, however—when Sophie finally gets to meet the Queen of England (yes, she does!), the proceedings take a lovely and lilting turn for the better, and it’s fun and frolic all the way to the film’s upsy-daisy denouement!

Kudos to Ruby Barnhill as Sophie and Rylance as the BFG for turning the movie’s “fun-tasticating” fortunes around—and the actress who plays the Queen (Penelope Wilton) deserves a pat on her tiara, too, you bet (nice work, Queenie)!

But, the heartiest plaudits of all should go to Spielberg and his Santa’s Workshop of digital toysmiths and cartoon image fabrication. They are able to deftly combine reality and fantasy so seemlessly well that we forget that we’re watching a “mostly animated” feature!

Visual delights

Best of all, the film’s many visual delights don’t distract from its key thematic points about friendship and love even between a tiny human and a humongous giant—creatures so drastically different that you’d think they couldn’t even tolerate each other!

But, in “The BFG,” despite their initial disagreements and outright conflicts, that’s exactly what they do! There’s a love-ly lesson somewhere in there for us, too, right? —All right!