Before being adapted to the screen, Roald Dahl's children's book, James and the Giant Peach captured the imagination of several generations of readers since it was first published in 1961.

Director Henry Selick and the Giant Peach. © Walt Disney Pictures

James is the story of an orphaned boy and his dream of going to New York City, "the place where dreams come true", his parents told him, before they were eaten by a wild rhinoceros. With the help of some magic crocodile tongues, the lonely little boy's dream turns into a fantastic adventure when he crawls inside a giant peach inhabited by a family of anthropomorphised insects. Obviously, this is not your typical Hollywood story, even for an animated film.

Dahl's writing is, by its nature, essentially macabre and outrageous--which is also what makes it so delicious; in this, it is much like the early (pre-Nightmare Before Christmas) films of director Henry Selick, who has now brought Dahl's film to the screen.

Roald Dahl turned down several movie offers for the book over the years, because he felt that it would be nearly impossible to translate the story into film. But when the late author's widow, Felicity, was approached by Selick, she was so impressed with his accomplishments in animation that she offered him the opportunity to adapt the story for the screen.

From his training at CalArts and beginnings at Disney, to his years producing award-winning commercials and MTV station ID's, Selick has developed an unparalleled imaginative style, making him one of the most innovative directors working in the animation industry today.

James and the grasshopper. © Walt Disney Pictures

As a fan of both artists' work, I was pleased with Selick's adaptation, which lacks the saccharin sweetness, unrealistic smarminess or gushy romantic subplots one comes to expect (and dread) in Disney films. Karey Kirkpatrick, who co-authored the screenplay, noted that, "One of the big challenges in writing the script was to stay true to the book while giving it the stronger emotional drive that it needed to work as a film." There are, of course, the usual moral fibers woven into the story, mostly in the heartwarming but unnecessary musical score; but even the songs are tastefully and appropriately incorporated into the overall plot.

The team that brought Dahl's story to life on the screen have produced a virtually seamless blend of stop-motion animation, computer-generated imagery (CGI) and live-action. Selick put together quite a crew, including several talented artists from the Nightmare Before Christmas production team, such as Animation Supervisor Paul Berry, as well as contributors with experience in other areas, such as Visual Effects Supervisor Nancy St. John (Babe). Peach's visual sophistication and level of technical finesse far surpasses that of Nightmare, proof that Selick has molded a production company that has finally found its voice.