---
title: "The BFG"
year: 2016
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-bfg"
fi1m_id: "the-bfg"
imdb_id: "tt3691740"
tmdb_id: 267935
wikidata_id: "Q19689203"
fi1m_score: 64
critics_score: 66
critics_reviews: 29
published: "2026-09-24T20:44:23.994240+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-24T20:44:24.569669+00:00"
region: "CH"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The BFG (2016)

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 1h 57m · Adventure, Family, Fantasy

## Identity

The BFG

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-bfg
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-bfg
- **IMDb ID:** tt3691740
- **TMDB ID:** 267935
- **Wikidata ID:** Q19689203
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3691740/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/267935, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19689203

**Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 66 from 29 reviews

*In a sentence:* The gentlest giant in cinema, gently apologising, in a film with an hour in the middle where nothing much happens

> Steven Spielberg’s Roald Dahl film is beautifully lit, tenderly played by Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill, and short of anything to do between its lovely opening and its lively last act. Children under ten will be enchanted; the adults beside them may drift.

## Synopsis

London, at night, in an orphanage. Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), ten years old and unable to sleep, gets out of bed at the witching hour, looks through the window and sees a giant in the street below. He sees her too. A hand comes through the window, and she is carried across the sea to Giant Country, because a child who has seen a giant cannot be left behind to tell. He is the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance), who eats only foul snozzcumbers, drinks frobscottle and spends his nights blowing dreams into children’s bedrooms. His neighbours are not friendly: Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) and Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) are twice his size, eat what they call human beans, and would like to know what he is hiding in his cave.

## Review

Steven Spielberg has filmed Roald Dahl’s *The BFG* with a script by Melissa Mathison, who wrote [*E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial) for him in 1982, the same year Dahl’s book came out. It is a soft, patient, handsome 117 minutes about an orphan and a giant who collects dreams, and it has two great assets, Mark Rylance’s face and Rylance’s voice. It also has an hour in the middle where the story stops and the film simply potters. We liked it, in the way one likes a kind relative who talks too long.

Rylance plays the giant through motion capture, and the technology, for once, has given rather than taken. The eyes are his, wet and anxious, and the enormous ears move a fraction before he speaks, as if they had heard the thought coming. He does Dahl’s mangled English, human beans and snozzcumbers and whizzpopping, without ever winking at it, in the tone of a man who has never had anyone to correct him. Ruby Barnhill’s Sophie is small, bespectacled and bossy, and she is not cute, which is the right choice; she tells a giant off for his grammar. When the two of them are alone in his cave, the film is at its best.

The opening is the other high point. Janusz Kamiński shoots London in blue-black with pools of yellow lamplight, and the giant flattens himself into a shadow or stands still against a wall while a drunk staggers past, and for ten minutes we were entirely happy. Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg’s Giant Country is green hills and a cave lined with hundreds of glass jars, each holding a dream that flickers and hums. Dream Country, where the giant goes fishing with a net, is lit from underneath, a dark lake with coloured lights moving in it like fish. We sat forward for that sequence and said nothing, and the child two seats along did the same. John Williams’s score hovers rather than swells there, and it is the right decision.

Then the film has to find something to happen, and it does not. Jemaine Clement and Bill Hader give the big giants loud, lumpen voices, and they are louts rather than monsters. Dahl’s giants ate children, and the reader knew it in the stomach; Spielberg’s giants are said to eat children, and we never once believed a child was in danger. So Sophie hides under things, the giants sniff about, she hides under something else, and Michael Kahn cuts it all at the pace of a bedtime story being read to someone already asleep. Somewhere in that stretch we looked at our watch, and were surprised and a little sad to be doing so in a Spielberg film about a child and a creature.

The last act moves somewhere grand, and we will leave it there. It brings in Penelope Wilton as the Queen, Rebecca Hall as her maid Mary and Rafe Spall as Mr. Tibbs, and it wakes the film up. Wilton plays the monarch as a sensible woman coping with an implausible morning, and gets the biggest laughs in the picture without appearing to try. Joanna Johnston’s costumes do a quiet joke here, the giant’s leather waistcoat and long coat against a room of gilt and braid. There is also a joke about digestion that runs for a good deal longer than it needs to, and the children in the audience loved every second of it.

The comparison with *E.T.* is unavoidable and unkind. Mathison gave Elliott a divorced mother, a school, a brother who teased him and a house full of noise, so that a boy hiding an alien had a whole life to lose. Sophie has an orphanage, dispatched in five minutes, and nothing waiting at home; the film has taken the stakes away before it starts. Dahl’s cruelty has been sanded down too, as several critics noticed, and what is left is sweetness, which is pleasant and does not carry a middle hour.

See it with a child, if you have one to hand, because it was made for them and they will not notice the slack. Watch it at home, where the dream lake still glows and the long stretch in the cave can be forgiven with a cup of tea. Rylance is worth the evening on his own. He plays an enormous, lonely, courteous person, and we believed in him more than in anything he was asked to do.

*Fi1m score 64, published 24 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like The BFG without loving it. The praise gathers almost entirely around Mark Rylance, whose gentle voice and motion-capture performance are credited with giving the digital giant his soul, and around the dream-gathering sequences in Dream Country, which several reviews call the most magical thing in the film. Spielberg’s effects work and the warmth of the bond between Sophie and the giant are noted approvingly throughout.

The reservations are about story rather than craft. Many reviews find the middle section slow and repetitive, the plot skimpy, and the whole slighter than Spielberg’s earlier children’s fantasies, with E.T. the comparison most often made and rarely won. Several think it will please small children more than adults. The spread is wide: a handful of raves sit alongside a few dismissals, with The New Yorker finding it forced and overmanaged and Den of Geek calling it dreary and boring. Even the harshest reviews tend to spare Rylance.

## Straight answers

**Is The BFG worth watching?**

*The BFG* is worth watching for families with children under ten, and we scored it 64. Mark Rylance's motion-capture giant and Ruby Barnhill's bossy Sophie are tenderly played, and the London opening and the dream lake are lovely to look at. Adults may drift through the hour in the middle where the story stops and the film potters.

**How long is The BFG, and what is it rated?**

*The BFG* runs 1h 57m. It is an adventure and family film.

**Where can I watch The BFG in Switzerland?**

*The BFG* is available to rent from Apple TV from CHF 4.50. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does The BFG compare to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?**

*The BFG* is the softer and slacker of the two Spielberg films written by Melissa Mathison, and [*E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial) is the better one. Elliott had a mother, a school and a house full of noise to lose; Sophie has an orphanage dispatched in five minutes, so the stakes are gone before the story starts. Choose *The BFG* for Rylance and small children, *E.T.* for everyone else.

**What should I watch after The BFG?**

After *The BFG*, try [*E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial) (1982, Fi1m 91): The same writer and director, with a home life the child could actually lose. Then [*My Neighbour Totoro*](https://film.one/film/my-neighbor-totoro) (1988, Fi1m 89): A large gentle creature, two sisters and no villain; patience rewarded properly; and [*The Iron Giant*](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant) (1999, Fi1m 88): A boy hides a giant from the grown-ups, and the ending earns its tears.

### Reviews we read (29)

- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (82/100, inferred): Debruge finds the adaptation splendid and charming, with the makings of a family classic. He especially praises Mark Rylance’s nuanced performance and the hypnotic dream-gathering sequence. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/the-bfg-review-steven-spielberg-1201774476/)
- **Little White Lies**, Sophie Monks Kaufman (80/100, inferred): The critic finds it a delightful Spielberg film, though not a great adaptation of Roald Dahl. She praises its moments of wonder, spectacle and joy, especially the scene in which the BFG catches Sophie as she falls. [Read](https://lwlies.com/festivals/the-bfg-first-look-review)
- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (4/5): The review presents the film as a magical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s story. It singles out Spielberg’s reunion with Mark Rylance as a strength. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-bfg)
- **Total Film**, Jamie Graham (4/5): The review finds the film a soulful, imaginative delight, though not one of Spielberg’s definitive works. It especially praises Mark Rylance’s performance and the dreamlike visuals of Dream Country. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-bfg-review/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Matt Zoller Seitz (3/4): The review finds the film charming but uneven. It praises the warmth of Sophie and the BFG’s bond, brought to life through Spielberg’s visual craft. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-bfg-2016)
- **Slant Magazine**, Christopher Gray (3/4): Gray finds the film mild and emotionally slight, but says its visual wonders make it worthwhile. He especially praises its quietly inventive dream imagery and photorealistic visual magic. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-bfg/)
- **The Guardian**, Xan Brooks (75/100, inferred): Brooks finds the film sweet-natured and carefully made, with its strongest moments in the BFG and Sophie’s nocturnal adventures. He praises Mark Rylance’s gentle performance and the film’s dreamlike imagery, while noting a conservative misstep in its use of the Queen. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/14/the-bfg-review-steven-spielberg-roald-dahl)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (B-): Kohn finds the film likable and visually impressive, but ultimately conventional and short of Spielberg’s more inspired work. He singles out the dream-country sequence and its distinctive effects as especially magical. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/cannes-review-the-bfg-is-spielberg-by-the-numbers-290600/)
- **Vulture**, David Edelstein (70/100, inferred): Edelstein finds the film visually sublime and affectionate, though its middle section becomes overly airy and ungrounded. He especially praises Mark Rylance’s tender, musical voice performance as the BFG. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2016/06/movie-review-the-bfg.html)
- **Empire**, Anna Smith (65/100, inferred): Smith finds the film magical and visually delightful, though its middle section is slow and repetitive. She especially praises Mark Rylance’s gentle performance and the thrilling final act. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/bfg-review/)
- **Evening Standard**, David Sexton (65/100, inferred): Sexton finds the film a worthwhile but only partially successful return to children’s fantasy, ultimately a treat for kids rather than a crossover. He praises Mark Rylance’s warmly charming performance, while noting that some of Roald Dahl’s nastiness has been softened. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-2016-the-bfg-film-review-mark-rylance-shines-in-bighearted-fantasy-a3248861.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (65/100, inferred): Chang finds the film only partly successful but ultimately warm, graceful, and full of childhood feeling. He especially praises Mark Rylance’s performance, whose distinctive voice gives the digital giant his soul. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-bfg-review-20160627-snap-story.html)
- **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (64/100, inferred): The visible page identifies this as Screen's Cannes review of Spielberg's 2016 film. The paywall hides the critic's verdict and any specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-bfg-cannes-review/5103901.article)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page’s URL identifies this as a review of the 2016 film, but the article itself is inaccessible. Its verdict and any specific praise or criticism cannot be verified from the available text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/movies/the-bfg-review-steven-spielberg-mark-rylance.html)
- **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (C+): Dowd finds the adaptation overly faithful yet unable to capture the book’s charm, leaving its fantasy feeling diminished on screen. He praises Spielberg’s visual effects and highlights the atmospheric London opening as a standout. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/not-even-steven-spielberg-can-make-the-bfg-a-good-fit-f-1798188241)
- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (3/5): Jones finds the adaptation visually dazzling but emotionally remote and muted. He praises Mark Rylance’s motion-captured performance, while criticizing the sluggish first half and awkward lowbrow humour. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ixi181/the-bfg/)
- **The Independent**, Geoffrey Macnab (3/5): Macnab finds the film enjoyable but slight, and says it is not Spielberg at his best. He praises its gorgeous visuals, inventive effects and Mark Rylance’s understated performance, while faulting the skimpy plot. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-bfg-film-review-gorgeous-and-technically-excellent-but-not-spielberg-at-his-best-a7029756.html)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (30/100, inferred): Brody finds the film mostly forced, bland, and overmanaged, despite a brief moment of genuine danger. He praises the early scenes of the giant moving through London for their simple, authentic sense of wonder. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/steven-spielbergs-the-bfg-is-a-forced-march-of-fun)
- **The Playlist** (80/100, inferred): The headline signals a strongly positive verdict. It singles out the film as wondrous and heart-melting, but the review text was inaccessible. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/cannes-review-steven-spielbergs-wondrous-heart-melting-bfg-starring-mark-rylance-20160514/)
- **The Skinny**, Josh Slater-Williams (★★★★): The review finds Spielberg’s adaptation charming and a lovely swansong for screenwriter Melissa Mathison. It praises the film’s patient focus on small moments and Mark Rylance’s motion-capture performance. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-bfg)
- **Digital Spy** (75/100, inferred): The review finds the film spirited and fun, though it falls short of becoming a Spielberg childhood classic. It singles out Mark Rylance’s gentle, expressive performance as especially winning. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/cannes-film-festival/a794388/the-bfg-review-can-spielberg-capture-the-magic-of-et/)
- **Collider**, Talia Soghomonian (B-): The review finds the film charming in places but ultimately unable to resonate with adults. It singles out the phosphorescent dream-gathering world as its most mesmerizing scene. [Read](https://collider.com/the-bfg-review-cannes-2016/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (70/100, inferred): Hammond finds the film a charming, old-fashioned family adventure, though not quite in the league of E.T. He especially praises Mark Rylance’s performance and the CGI work that makes the BFG feel human and expressive. [Read](https://deadline.com/2016/06/the-bfg-review-steven-spielberg-disney-roald-dahl-video-1201780286/)
- **Eye for Film**, Richard Mowe (60/100, inferred): Mowe finds the film charming but less magical than Spielberg’s E.T., with some repetitive scenes that drag. He praises Ruby Barnhill’s performance and the comic energy of the later Buckingham Palace scenes. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-bfg-2016-film-review-by-richard-mowe)
- **Paste**, Michael Snydel (6.2): Snydel finds the film visually magical but narratively flat and unsure of its purpose. He praises Spielberg’s staging of Sophie’s perilous encounters with oversized objects, while criticizing the story’s lack of earned spectacle. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-bfg)
- **Consequence**, Allison Shoemaker (55/100, inferred): Shoemaker finds the film charming and technically impressive, but uneven when its sentiment becomes too precious. She especially praises Mark Rylance’s subtle performance and the playful Buckingham Palace sequences. [Read](https://consequence.net/2016/06/film-review-the-bfg/)
- **Den of Geek**, Edward Douglas (2.5/5): Douglas calls the film a dreary, boring adaptation that fails to capture the source material’s wonder. He praises Penelope Wilton’s lively Queen sequence, while criticizing the film for talking down to all but the youngest children. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-bfg-review/)
- **The Wrap** (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film fitfully amusing but not especially magical, with its character more memorable than the movie. Mark Rylance’s melancholy performance as the BFG is singled out as its heart. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-bfg-cannes-review-steven-spielberg-roald-dahl-have-a-great-character-not-a-great-movie/)
- **Polygon**, Julia Alexander (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film charming in places but ultimately underwhelming and forgettable. The friendship and vulnerable moments between Sophie and the BFG earn praise, while the tedious pacing and focus on derivative action disappoint. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2016/6/21/11988888/the-bfg-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Steven Spielberg
- **Director:** Steven Spielberg
- **Screenplay:** Melissa Mathison
- **Cinematography:** Janusz Kamiński
- **Editor:** Michael Kahn
- **Music:** John Williams
- **Production design:** Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg
- **Costume design:** Joanna Johnston
- **Producer:** Sam Mercer, Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg
- **Cast:** Mark Rylance as The BFG; Ruby Barnhill as Sophie; Rebecca Hall as Mary; Jemaine Clement as Fleshlumpeater; Bill Hader as Bloodbottler; Penelope Wilton as The Queen; Marilyn Norry as Matron; Chris Shields as General #1
- **Runtime:** 1h 57m
- **First release (France):** 14 May 2016
- **Genres:** Adventure, Family, Fantasy
- **Budget:** $140 million
- **Box office:** $195 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ZbRD1T7uI

## Where to watch in Switzerland

- Apple TV: rent CHF 4.50, hd
- Apple TV: buy CHF 11.00, hd

*Checked 2026-09-24.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, IE, IT, JP, KR, NL, NO, NZ, PL, SE, SG, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982), Fi1m 91: The same writer and director, with a home life the child could actually lose. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial.md)
- *Matilda* (1996): Danny DeVito keeps Dahl’s cruelty in and the film is funnier for it.
- *My Neighbour Totoro* (1988), Fi1m 89: A large gentle creature, two sisters and no villain; patience rewarded properly. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/my-neighbor-totoro.md)
- *The Iron Giant* (1999), Fi1m 88: A boy hides a giant from the grown-ups, and the ending earns its tears. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant.md)
- *Paddington 2* (2017), Fi1m 91: British, kind, tightly plotted and never slack for a minute of its running time. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paddington-2.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-bfg