'The BFG' Gives Us a Look at Its Giant In New Trailer
The second trailer for Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, the big-screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s tale about the relationship between a benevolent giant and an orphan girl, has arrived, complete with our first full view of the film’s giant. Not surprisingly, the big man bears a vague resemblance to Mark Rylance, the Oscar winner who portrays him via a motion-capture performance enhanced by CGI.
The BFG naturally calls to mind Spielberg’s previous masterpiece about a child’s friendship with an unusual being: 1982′s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. (It’s notable that Melissa Matheson, who wrote E.T. and, sadly, died last November, also wrote the screenplay for The BFG.) Given the E.T. connection, it’s mildly disappointing that we’re getting a chance to see the giant so far in advance.
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As a child who saw E.T. when it was first released in theaters – and then saw it again, and again, and again – one of the most magical things about the experience was that I had no idea what that Reese’s Pieces gobbler looked like. I had seen images of his ropey, long fingers on the movie poster and in commercials, but Universal, the studio behind the film, did a pretty good job of withholding full images of E.T. (Watch the original trailer and you’ll see what I mean.) With no internet back then, it was pretty easy for a 9-year-old to go in totally blind, then be dazzled and amazed when that big-eyed creature with the fluttery heartlight finally was revealed.
Obviously we live in different times. These days, trailers are dissected almost as much as the actual movies they promote. The hunger for constant teasers is more heightened than ever, so it makes sense for Disney to release a trailer that shows us what The BFG’s titular character looks like. But if I can keep my 9-year-old from seeing it beforehand so that he can experience his own movie magic when this Spielberg tale opens in July, surely no one will blame me.
Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’: Watch the first teaser:
