Entertainment

Was 'The BFG' Movie Based On The Book? Roald Dahl's Colorful Story Comes To Life

by Casey Suglia

Beloved children's author Roald Dahl has created so many stories that have been turned into movies and brought to the big screen. From Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory to James and the Giant Peach, legendary and whimsical cinema has forever been changed over the past 40 years, thanks to Dahl. The most recent of Dahl's books to be turned into a movie? The BFG, which opens on July 1. But was The BFG movie based on the book?

Of course, if it is named The BFG, just like the book is, they're going to be pretty similar in the more major aspects. However, as any devoted bibliophile will tell you, movie adaptations are never exactly like the books. But The BFG movie's summary seems pretty close when compared to the The BFG book's summary. Check it out for yourself. The book, according to Amazon:

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by a Bloodbottle, or any of the other giants — other than the BFG — she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice chiddlers, she decides that she must stop them for once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

... Versus the movie's summary (according to Moviefone):

Ten-year-old Sophie is in for an adventure of a lifetime when she meets the Big Friendly Giant. Naturally scared at first, the young girl soon realizes that the 24-foot behemoth is actually quite gentle and charming. As their friendship grows, Sophie's presence attracts the unwanted attention from the Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater and other giants. After traveling to London, Sophie and the BFG must convince Queen Victoria to help them get rid of the bad giants once and for all.

Take away all of the colorful, fun language from the book's summary and you've got practically the same summary for both the book and the movie. Therefore, The BFG movie was definitely based on the book.

However there might be some slight changes to the movie from the book. According to early reports about the movie from 2014 before filming started, some minor changes would be made in the book's details. This means new characters being introduced into the film and changes in location details. However, these reports were never confirmed.

In a recent interview with Disney's D23 site, the film's director, the iconic Steven Spielberg, claimed to be very familiar with the original book. "I've spent all my years as a father reading great children's books to my kids and 'The BFG' was one of them," Spielberg said. This familiarity with the story probably made the transition of its content into film a seamless one.

While The BFG book may be one of my favorite childhood stories, I cannot wait to see it on the big screen. Roald Dahl was such a fantastic storyteller and Steven Spielberg is one of the best visual storytellers of our time. The combination of the two is sure to bring the book's words to life effortlessly, ensuring that the film becomes an instant family classic.