Reunited with ET screenwriter Melissa Mathison, Spielberg made a charming, all-ages fable from the book by Roald Dahl about an orphan little girl, Sophy (Ruby Barnhill) and the benevolent giant (Mark Rylance — only 5’8 in real life) who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world. Wondrous to behold, the film mixes live action, motion capture and CGI to create a dreamy Britain, it’s also a delight to listen to, with Rylance’s mumbling, word-scrambling giant bestowing a batty poetry on proceedings. At heart, though, like ET, it’s a film about a precious friendship.
Like so many good dreams, it leaves us groping for a past that can never be recovered, but also looking ahead to a future that suddenly seems brighter, and friendlier, than we had dared to believe.
Kevin Chang, LA Times
Made with a mixture of live-action performance and digital techniques [the film] is, at its heart, a story about dreams, beautifully captured in magical jewel-toned light. And the third act is a delight.
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times
You can see a thousand movies and think that you’ve become immune to dazzling visuals – until you see them done right.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Steven Spielberg
Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader
USA
2016
English
Open to youth!
Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits
Screenwriter
Melissa Mathison
Cinematography
Janusz Kaminski
Editor
Michael Kahn
Original Music
John Williams
Production Design
Rick Carter
Also in This Series: Spielberg for Beginners
Savour seven of Spielberg’s hits and family favourites on the big screen this spring break.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
One of only a handful of live action children's films to capture the imaginations of generations, E.T. has a luminous warmth; it's a suburban symphony of emotion, and it's fascinating to revisit it in the light of The Fabelmans.
The Adventures of Tintin
Could this be Spielberg's most underrated film? It's his only stab at animation, and it moves like Raiders of the Lost Ark on caffeine. The plotting may be antiquarian but the action never lets up. It's delirious stuff, often laugh-out-loud funny.
The Fabelmans
Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, Steven Spielberg's bittersweet movie memoir is a portrait of the artist as the product of his artsy mom (Michelle Williams), his techy dad (Paul Dano), and a broken home.
Jurassic Park
Two paleontologists are invited to preview a new Central American theme park by an avuncular entrepreneur (Richard Attenborough). What they encounter is truly a walk on the wild side. Spielberg's jaw dropping adventure movie still kills on the big screen.