Film

The BFG

Name: The BFG
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Released: 2016
Cast: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Rebecca Hall, Jemaine Clement, Bill Hader

Other titles called The BFG: the 1990 film.

Spielberg's 2016 adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved novel. A lonely orphan finds friendship with the Big Friendly Giant and ventures to his world to save humanity from man-eating giants. It's a film of genuine wonder and unexpected tenderness, built around an impossible central relationship. For viewers of any age who miss the particular magic of Dahl's storytelling.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love Roald Dahl's gentle, slightly subversive children's fantasy, where a lonely girl and a kind giant talk through the night about dreams and wonderfully made-up words.

Skip it if you want brisk plotting and constant incident, since this one lingers on quiet conversations, whimsy and a long run of giant-related mischief before it gets going.

What it asks of you: It runs about two hours of patient, dreamy storytelling, mostly at a gentle pace, with light peril and a warm, unhurried attention to small, strange details.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The NeverEnding Story1984

A fantasy about a child using imagination to save a dying world, with the same sense of enchanted longing and a protagonist who learns the true power of belief and connection.

But It's a bit slower and stranger than modern family films, and some of the creature effects feel decidedly 1980s, which might pull you out of the magic.

Matilda1996

Roald Dahl adapted by a director who understands his particular blend of whimsy and darkness. An isolated child finds safety and power through an unlikely friendship with an adult who sees her truly.

But The tone shifts between comedy and genuine peril can feel uneven if you're not in the mood for Dahl's fingerprints all over it.

My Friend Dahmer2017

Another story about connection between an unlikely pair, built on Mark Rylance's gift for playing gentle men with hidden depths. Quiet, character-driven, and unexpectedly moving.

But It's entirely different in mood—darker, more psychological—and based on a true story about a serial killer. Not a family film, and unsettling rather than comforting.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The BFG

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

Both are Dahl-adjacent children's books adapted with reverence for emotional truth over plot, and both feature characters learning that kindness and connection are acts of rebellion in a harsh world.

An animated adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's novel about a mouse and a princess, made with the same gentle intelligence as The BFG. It trusts its audience and dwells in quiet moments of grace.

But It flopped commercially and was overshadowed by Pixar. The animation is older CGI, and the gentle pacing will test anyone expecting mainstream thrills. It's genuinely obscure.

How to Train Your Dragon2010

A boy and a creature no one else understands form a bond that changes both their worlds. Visually stunning, funny, and genuinely touching without ever feeling saccharine.

But It's animated rather than live-action, and the first half moves quickly through typical animated-film beats before it finds its heart.

Charlotte's Web2006

A faithful adaptation of White's novel about a pig and a spider, with the same reverent approach to childhood friendship and mortality. Captures the bittersweet magic of a beloved book.

But It's quite slow and melancholy for a family film, and some find the animation style dated now.

The Shape of Water2017

Guillermo del Toro's dreamy tale of connection between a mute woman and an amphibious creature. Visually gorgeous, deeply romantic, and surprisingly tender about loneliness and acceptance.

But It's a very adult film with sexual content and violence. The pace is deliberate; if you want plot momentum, you'll find it slow.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial1982

Spielberg's masterpiece about a boy and an alien, built on the same foundation of wonder and emotional truth. A film that understands childhood and loneliness with profound compassion.

But It's forty years old and moves at a seventies-eighties pace. If you've never seen it, the style might feel glacial compared to contemporary family films.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children2016

Tim Burton's fantasy about orphans finding safety and belonging in a magical place. Gorgeously imagined, weird in the right ways, and centered on the idea that the unloved can become extraordinary together.

But It's visually dense and narratively complicated, and the tone is quirky-dark rather than warm. Might feel cold compared to what you're looking for.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children poster

Pete's Dragon2016

Released the same year, also about a lonely child and a magical creature. Quieter than expected, with genuine atmosphere and a focus on how damaged people heal through connection.

But It took the Disney remake approach, which means some found it overwrought. The dragon is CGI, and the sentimentality doesn't always land.

The Company of Wolves1984

Both explore what happens when a young person meets a creature the rest of the world fears, but with opposites: The BFG is comfort and safety; this is danger and transgression. Same story, inverted.

Neil Jordan's baroque fairy-tale film about a girl and a werewolf, steeped in myth and desire. It's a fever dream of a film, visually intoxicating and completely singular—nothing else feels like it.

But It's slow, symbolic, and genuinely weird. Based on a Angela Carter short story, it's far more concerned with atmosphere and metaphor than plot. You have to surrender to its logic completely.

Okja2017

Both center on a child's unwavering loyalty to a massive, gentle creature society wants to destroy, but Okja uses that story to ask furious questions about capitalism and cruelty where The BFG asks about friendship and courage.

Bong Joon-ho's wild genre-bending film about a girl protecting a giant creature from corporate exploitation. Funny, thrilling, heartbreaking, and genuinely original—it moves from children's-film logic into something far stranger.

But Tonally it's all over the place by design: cute one moment, grotesque and violent the next. The politics are explicit and leftist. Some find the tonal whiplash brilliant; others find it exhausting.