‘Suspense is the only element that keeps us hooked on in life’ and Steven Spielberg’s The BFG teaser has raised the suspense element to another level altogether. Based on Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book of the same name, Disney has brought the magic of child fiction alive through this live action attempt.
The first look at the teaser creates a sense of fear as it portrays the storyline based on screams. It introduces the little protagonist Sophie played by Ruby Barnhill in her safe and sound orphanage reading a book in the night. When suddenly, she hears a hustle as cats scurry to the corner; she courageously or probably out of curiosity walks to the window to see what she may never want to!
However, the teaser ends open ended and the question will arise as to what will happen next and whether the giant will harm Sophie or will they be friends! A little is seen of Mark Rylance – who plays the giant – as the rest is left to be revealed, a vintage Spielberg moment.
Well, the bits of CGI shown look like the stuff of kids’ nightmares which may make the kids crawl under their blanket just like Sophie does in the teaser. And the giant seems literally a gigantic creature who might just shove his hand right through your window at midnight. So, be aware! The essence of the teaser is the narrative aspect as the protagonist will engulf you in the art of storytelling and end with ‘And that is where our story begins…’
This effort of adapting the descriptive style of a book into a specified full length feature film is quite challenging. But with makers like Spielberg and Disney at the helm, surely a magical world will be profoundly created this summer. The BFG written by Melissa Mathison is set for release in summer 2016.