Tuesday 27 October 2020

ONLINE BOOK READING REVIEW: James And The Giant Peach: With Taika and Friends: Part 4 - The Roald Dahl Story Company.


Episode four (there’s ten episodes altogether so I’m almost halfway there - I always thought this was one of the shorter Dahl books but it seems never-ending at the moment!) features guest stars Cara Delevinge (Aunt Spiker & Grasshopper), Beanie Fieldstein (Centipede), Tessa Thompson (Aunt Sponge Earthworm and Spider) and Olivia Wilde as the Ladybird).

With James now inside the giant peach and having made friends with all the giant insects in there, they are keen to set off on an adventure together. The peach becomes dislodged from the tree and starts to roll down the hill, rolling over Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker as it goes. His Aunts were previously wondering if James were dead somewhere as he hadn't come home the night before. As the peach rolled down the hill, the creatures and James find themselves and all the furniture, hitting the other side of the wall inside the peach. Through fields of cows, sheep and horses the peach rolls, leaving behind heards of scared animals and people. It crashes through a chocolate factory (I always wondered if this was Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory?!?) and soon gooey chocolate was running through the village - children knee deep in chocolate (sounds like my childhood dreams!). Soon they fall off the edge of a cliff....wondering if this is the end for them all. But with a loud splash it hits the water, sinking in...but soon pops back up and continues to stay afloat.

James Henry Trotter was lying bruised and battered on the floor of the peach. At first they’d all thought it was fun - having hit both of James's horrid Aunts on the way, but they were rattling around like peas inside a drum - a drum being shaken by a giant it felt like! Suddenly the room was slow and calm again and they all managed to untangle themselves from each other. The glow worm lit the room up so they could all see again. “We are here!” the creatures began to cry - wherever “here” was. Bobbing up and down on the water, the old grasshopper wisely told the others not to go out of the side exit until they knew where they were and that they were safe. So they decided the best thing to do was to climb out to the top of the peach so they could see “the promised land” together.

Whilst the duration of this episode was roughly the same as previous ones, it somehow seemed a lot shorter and there’s so many guests you don’t really get a feel for them all, but it’s Taika and his sound effects that transports the listener into feeling like a passenger inside the peach. Stay tuned for episode five coming soon!

Reviewer - Lottie Davis-Browne
on - 26/10/20

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