Skip to main content
James and the Giant Peach film image; cartoon boy and human-sized insects celebrating on a giant peach

James and the Giant Peach

Family Day | VIFF Kids Club

This event has passed

Join us on BC Family Day for a classic family matinee with fun activities! Arrive at 11 am to create your own bug antennae headband, have your favorite fruit or bug face painted on your cheek, and enjoy peachy snacks from concession before our noon screening of James and the Giant Peach.

Featuring stop-motion animation and live action, this inventive adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s tale follows the adventures of James (Paul Terry), an orphaned young British boy and his band of enchanted insect friends. Forced to live with his cruel aunts (Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes), James escapes his bleak existence when he is given a bag full of magic that creates an enormous enchanted peach. Climbing inside, he meets a group of friendly and caring insects who welcome him with open arms. Rolling into the sea inside the buoyant fruit, James and his new friends set sail for adventure and head for New York City to create a better life together.

James and his friends offer young audiences positive messages about friendship, bravery, acceptance, and teamwork. We see a strong role model in James, who’s courageous in the face of challenges, showing us the importance of facing your fears and finding people who love you for you. Directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton, the duo who brought us The Nightmare Before Christmas, this film took three years to produce, one animated frame at a time.

 

All tickets are just $10, including a film screening and family activities.

Preorder a James and the Giant Peach snack box for $5 + tax
Small Peach Juice or Soda + Small Popcorn + Pack of Maynard’s Fuzzy Peach candy

Please note: Kids Club screenings are designed for families to attend together. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

 


Content Consideration: Rated PG, recommended for ages 7 and up. A few potentially scary scenes include an ocean attack from a toothy robotic shark, an ominous rhinoceros monster in the sky, and a brief encounter with ghostly skeletons on a sunken pirate ship. James’ heartless aunts are cruel to him in the opening scenes before he escapes. Language warning: Grasshopper calls Centipede an “a—” during an argument.

Activities

11:00 am

Screening

12:00 pm

Director

Henry Selick

Cast

Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes

Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

1996

Language

English

Content Warning

May frighten young children

PG

Open to youth!

139 min

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits

Screenwriter

Karey Kirkpatrick, Jonathan Roberts, Steve Bloom

Cinematography

Pete Kozachik, Hiro Narita

Editor

Stan Webb

Original Music

Randy Newman

Producer

Harley Jessup

Also Playing

Women Talking

104 min

Sarah Polley's adaptation of Miriam Toews' novel is the most compelling movie to come out of the #MeToo movement to date, with stellar performances from Jessie Buckley, Rooney Mara, and Claire Foy, as Mennonite women confronting a terrible truth.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Take Me In Your Arms

Dir. Julio Bracho
91 min

In this boldly stylized musical melodrama mixing reformist politics with outrageous musical numbers, the incomparable Ninón Sevilla is the poor fisherman's daughter navigating a success of dodgy men on her way to true love.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Tough Old Broads

Dir. Stacey Tenenbaum
90 min

Tough Old Broads is a feature documentary that follows three trailblazing women as they continue to make waves well into their 70s. Because you can't keep a good woman down.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Nika & Madison

Dir. Eva Thomas
87 min

Two young Indigenous women become fugitives following an act of self-defence and are forced to flee into the wilderness. Inspired by Thelma and Louise, this compelling story of unbreakable friendship sheds light on systemic injustices.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema