BLU-RAY REVIEW: THE BFG
11/30/2016

OVERVIEW: This month, the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Roald Dahl, beloved children’s author of family favorites like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “James and the Giant Peach,” “Matilda” and Dahl’s personal favorite, “The BFG,” as well as World Dream Day, an annual event honoring “the dreamer, visionary and innovator in all of us.” It seems a fitting time to announce the in-home release of “The BFG,” Disney’s fantasy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, on Nov. 29 on Digital HD, Blu-ray™, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand.

As dreamers around the globe gear up for Sunday’s World Dream Day, an annual holiday honoring “the dreamer, visionary and innovator in all of us,” it seems a fitting time to announce the in-home release of “The BFG,” Disney’s fantasy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring a dream-collecting Big Friendly Giant. This heartwarming tale for the whole family arrives home for the holidays on Nov. 29 on Digital HD, Blu-ray™, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand.

Families and fans will be swept away by this spectacular adventure and delight in extensive bonus features, including a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “The BFG” hosted by Ruby Barnhill and featuring Steven Spielberg; a charming, all-new short; a fun and whimsical tutorial on the Big Friendly Giant’s unique language of Gobblefunk; a touching tribute to screenwriter Melissa Mathison (“E.T. the Extraterrestrial,” “The Black Stallion”); and more.

SYNOPSIS: “The BFG” unites the talents of three of the world’s greatest storytellers – Roald Dahl, Walt Disney and Steven Spielberg – to bring to life the classic tale of a courageous little girl named Sophie (newcomer Ruby Barnhill) and a gentle and charming Big Friendly Giant (Oscar®-winner Mark Rylance) who introduces her to the wonders and perils of Giant Country. Spielberg employs a new, hybrid style of filmmaking blending live-action and performance-capture techniques, resulting in genuine, heartfelt performances and super-photorealistic animation.

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.39:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English, French  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.39:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
English 7.1 DTS-HDMA & 2.0 Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks

English, French & Spanish/English SDH, French & Spanish

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Bringing “The BFG” to Life – Ruby Barnhill (Sophie) hosts a phizz-whizzing journey through the making of “The BFG.” This behind-the-scenes documentary details the film’s progression through interviews with Roald Dahl’s daughter Lucy Dahl, screenwriter Melissa Mathison, executive producers Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Kristie Macosko Krieger, and numerous members of the talented cast and crew.

The Big Friendly Giant and Me – Sophie wasn’t the first “bean” in Giant Country—many illustrations were created as if drawn by a little boy who was there long before Sophie. This charming, in-world short will bring the drawings to life with animation and narration, recounting the friendship and the dreams shared between the boy and the Big Friendly Giant.

Gobblefunk: The Wonderful Words of The BFG/span> – A whoopsey-splunkers tutorial on the meaning of the gloriumptious gobblefunk in “The BFG.”

Giants 101 – Jemaine Clement (Fleshlumpeater) and Bill Hader (Bloodbottler) introduce us to the loathsome giants in “The BFG,” along with movement choreographer/motion capture performer Terry Notary, who collaborated with the actors and Director Steven Spielberg prior to filming to develop their movements and character traits.

Melissa Mathison: A Tribute – An homage to Melissa Mathison, the extraordinary, Oscar®-nominated screenwriter of “The BFG” and “E.T.,” whose talent and heart were as immense as the giants in “The BFG.”