The BFG (1989 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The BFG
Directed by	Brian Cosgrove
Produced by	Brian Cosgrove Mark Hall
Screenplay by	John Hambley
Starring	David Jason Amanda Root Angela Thorne Ballard Berkeley Michael Knowles Don Henderson Mollie Sugden Jimmy Hibbert Frank Thornton
Music by	Keith Hopwood (music and score) Malcolm Rowe (lyrics and score)
Editing by	Nigel Rutter
Studio	Cosgrove Hall Films
Distributed by	ITV
Release date(s)	25 December 1989 (1989-12-25)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£3,000,000

The BFG is a British animated film from 1989. It was made by Cosgrove Hall Films. The movie is based on the famous book The BFG by Roald Dahl, which came out in 1982. Brian Cosgrove directed the film, and John Hambley wrote the story for the screen. It first aired on Christmas Day, December 25, 1989, on ITV in the UK.

This film was specially dedicated to George Jackson, an animator who worked on many Cosgrove Hall projects before he passed away in 1986. It was also the last role for Ballard Berkeley, who voiced the Head of the Army and died in 1988.

The Story of The BFG

The film tells the exciting story of Sophie, a young orphan girl. She lives in an orphanage run by the grumpy Mrs. Clonkers. One night, Sophie wakes up and looks out her window. She sees a huge, cloaked giant blowing something into a bedroom window with a trumpet. The giant spots Sophie and quickly snatches her away to a place called Giant Country!

Meeting the Big Friendly Giant

Inside his cave, the giant introduces himself as the Big Friendly Giant, or BFG for short. He explains that he blows good dreams into children's bedrooms at night. The other nine giants in Giant Country are very mean and eat people! The BFG is different; he refuses to eat humans or steal food. Instead, he eats a disgusting vegetable called a "Snozzcumber," which is the only thing that grows in Giant Country. He tells Sophie he took her so she couldn't tell anyone about him and cause a giant hunt.

Sophie and the BFG quickly become good friends. However, Sophie soon faces danger when the Bloodbottler Giant arrives. This giant suspects the BFG is hiding a human. The BFG cleverly tricks the Bloodbottler into eating a Snozzcumber to make him leave. During this, Sophie is almost eaten! The BFG then makes her a new dress from her blanket. When Sophie says she's thirsty, the BFG gives her a special fizzy drink called "Frobscottle." Its bubbles go downwards, which makes the drinker "whizzpop" – a giant's word for flatulating, causing them to float around!

Adventures in Dream Country

The next morning, the BFG takes Sophie to Dream Country to catch more dreams. On their way, they are bothered by the other giants, especially the Fleshlumpeater Giant. He is the biggest, scariest, and ugliest of them all.

In Dream Country, the BFG shows Sophie how he catches dreams. He also teaches her how to fly! But by mistake, the BFG catches a terrible nightmare. Back at his Dream Cave, the BFG shows Sophie all the dreams he has collected. He locks the nightmare away in a tiny chest in his lava cavern.

The BFG then takes Sophie to watch him blow dreams. But their trip is cut short. They see the Fleshlumpeater about to eat a little boy who had just received a nice dream from the BFG. Sophie tries to help, but the BFG quickly grabs her and escapes to keep her safe from the Fleshlumpeater. After this scary event, a sad Sophie tries to convince the BFG to stop the evil giants.

Sophie's Big Plan

At first, the BFG is scared and doesn't trust humans enough to help. But Sophie comes up with a clever plan: they will tell the Queen of the United Kingdom about the evil giants!

Using dreams from his collection, the BFG creates a nightmare. He blows this nightmare into the Queen's bedroom. The dream includes Sophie being there, so the Queen believes her story. Sophie stays on the Queen's windowsill to confirm the dream, and the BFG hides in the palace gardens. The Queen talks with the BFG, and after a lot of effort from the palace staff, the BFG gets a huge breakfast!

Stopping the Giants

Once everyone is ready, the army and air force follow the BFG to Giant Country. They use a fleet of RAF Chinook helicopters. When they arrive, the nine giants are tied up and taken prisoner. The Fleshlumpeater is the only one not there. He attacks the BFG for betraying them and then chases Sophie. After a long chase, the BFG stops him using the nightmare he caught earlier. He reveals it was a nightmare about Jack and the Beanstalk, which all giants, even the BFG, are afraid of.

The tied-up giants are then flown by helicopters to London. They are put into a deep metal pit and forced to eat Snozzcumbers for the rest of their lives. The orphanage where Sophie lived is closed and sold. The children move into the palace, and Mrs. Clonkers gets the job of feeding the giants. Unlike the book, the BFG stays in Giant Country. Sophie becomes his helper in distributing dreams. People think they will visit Buckingham Palace sometimes.

Meet the Characters

Here are the main actors who lent their voices to the characters in the film:

• David Jason as the BFG
• Amanda Root as Sophie
• Angela Thorne as Queen Elizabeth II
• Don Henderson as the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, and the Sergeant
• Frank Thornton as Mr. Tibbs
• Mollie Sugden as Mary
• Michael Knowles as Head of Air Force
• Ballard Berkeley as Head of Army
• Myfanwy Talog as Mrs. Clonkers
• Jimmy Hibbert as Additional voices

Music from The BFG

The music for The BFG was created by Keith Hopwood and Malcolm Rowe. It was released on July 11, 2016, by Pluto Music Limited and FremantleMedia. The album includes all the music you hear in the film, played in the same order.

In June 2016, Keith Hopwood shared how they made the music: "In 1986, Malcolm Rowe and I were asked by Cosgrove Hall to create the music for Roald Dahl’s The BFG. We had worked well with Mark Hall and Brian Cosgrove before. This was an exciting two-year project. We got to score the world of Giant Country, with its frobscottle, snozzcumbers, and whizzpoppers. We also scored the adventures of the Big Friendly Giant and his new friend Sophie. The music was a mix of electronic sounds and big orchestral parts for the action scenes."

Track listing

Awards for The BFG

The film The BFG received some special recognitions. Here are the awards and nominations it got: