Henry Selick. Henry Selick. Henry Selick. It sucks that he never gets the billing he deserves on his films. He’s always overshadowed by Tim Burton’s name, and a lot of people I’ve talked to think that Burton directed his movies. But that’s not important, I just needed to get that out there.
James and the Giant Peach is a fascinating biproduct of the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I’ve never found it as entertaining as Nightmare, but I am a huge fan of Selick and stop-motion animation in general, so I still enjoy it.
Disney is continuing their dedication to the Blu-ray format by releasing James and the Giant Peach, available as a Disney Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack.
It’s not as packed full of bonus features as Disney’s top-shelf releases, but it has a few, including:
- Spike the Aunts Interactive Game – New BD Exclusive! Inspired by the game that plays after the end movie credits, try your hand at spiking the evil aunts with the rhino and ring up major points!
- Production Featurette – A look at the making of the film.
- “Good News” Music Video performed by Randy Newman
- Still Frame Gallery
- Original Theatrical Trailer
For fans of the book, Henry Selick, or stop-motion in general, James and the Giant Peach is a great addition to your HD media library. It would have been nice to see a more in-depth making-of feature, but I didn’t expect to see one.
Hopefully Disney continues to release it’s animation library on Blu-ray, because I can’t get enough.
