Alternative Character Interpretation: All versions of this story have the friendship between the main characters being portrayed as organic, yet more than a passing viewer couldn't help but wonder if Sophie is in fact suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Given that she is snatched away in the middle of the night by a large shadowy creature that she is (understandably) terrified of and is under the impression he is going to devour her... suffice to say their reasoning isn't entirely preposterous.
Broken Aesop: Although the BFG likens the Giants' eating of humans to the humans' eating of animals, it doesn't stop him tucking into ham and eggs. Even though he brings up pigs as a specific example.
Paranoia Fuel: There exist Giants that can run anywhere in the world in a single night without being detected, in spite of their size. They reach through your window, snatch you from your bed as you sleep and eat you.
The Woobie: Sophie and the BFG. One is an abused orphan, the other is a midget amongst his kind and is constantly bullied, both physically and verbally because of it.
Woolseyism: In the French translation, the Human Beans have been translated into "Hommes de Terre", which means Humans from the Planet Earth, and is also a pun with "pommes de terre", the French for potatoes.
In the Italian translation, the BFG is called GGG instead ("Grande Gigante Gentile"), providing Added Alliterative Appeal to a book already rich in plays on words.
The 1989 animated feature:
Awesome Art: Stunningly detailed backgrounds, with an apt mix of expression and naturalism in the character designs, weave a sense of pure wonder. And get a load of the scenery - Sophie's moonlit village, the baked wastes of Giant Country, the vast, vaporous starscape of Dream Country...
Awesome Music: The movie has what is arguably one of the most beautiful scores to be heard in an animated film, courtesy of composers Keith Hopwood and Malcolm Rowe. Notable examples are when the BFG makes the nightmare for the queen and when the BFG leads the RAF to Giant Country. Pretty funny, considering that Keith Hopwood was one of the members of Herman's Hermits. Despite considerable demand, however, the soundtrack was not officially released until 2016.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: As the soldiers fly into Giant Country, they pass a random family of dinosaurs. There are no dinosaurs in the original book and their appearance is never addressed.
Complete Monster: The Fleshlumpeater, leader of the giants, is a savage brute who loves to devour children. Stealing into the human world every night to eat them, the Fleshlumpeater has been responsible for countless deaths. Later glimpsed by Sophie and the Big Friendly Giant preparing to devour a little boy, Fleshlumpeater leads his giants to attack schools full of children, leaving bones strewn all about, and violates the taboo of giant not killing giant to attempt to murder the BFG at the end.
Heartwarming Moments: The ending, where Sophie decides to stay with the BFG, even though, as he himself states, he has no palace or other comforts to offer her.
Audience-Coloring Adaptation: This film takes a few cues from the 1989 Animated Adaptation - such as Sophie having short brown hair (it's long and blonde in the book), a scene where Sophie witnesses the death of a child, the BFG giving Sophie a new dress to wear and the ending where BFG goes back to live in Giant Country instead of England.
Memetic Mutation: When the trailer came out, people unfamiliar with the source material started to make tongue in cheek speculations about the meaning of the acronym title, Big F*cking Guy and Big F*cking Giant being the most popular ones. Similarly, Doom fans complain that it's impossible to hear that titleand not think of◊ The Big Fucking Gun.
One-Scene Wonder: Penelope Wilton as the Queen - who doesn't appear until well over an hour in and has maybe fifteen minutes of screentime.
Slow-Paced Beginning: For some, the film starts off rather slowly but kicks into gear around the time Sophie and the BFG enter Dream Country.
So Okay, It's Average: It's not a bad film, but it's definitely not one of Spielberg or Disney's best.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Fans of the animated movie weren't particularly pleased with the slightly more human-like redesigns the evil giants had in this movie in stark contrast to the much more bestial and monstrous appearance they had in the 1989 adaptation.
Tough Act to Follow: This was following the 1989 animated film, which is considered a children's classic and the only Roald Dahl adaptation to get a standing ovation from the author (something not even the beloved family classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory managed to achieve).
Visual Effects of Awesome: The entire film, particularly the Giants, who at times it's genuinely hard to tell they're CGI at all. In particular is when Sophie and the BFG share the screen together.
and not think of
