'The BFG' film review: If the child inside you still exists, watch this whimsical feel-good fairy-tale!

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Ruby Barnhill, Mark Rylance, Penelope Wilton, Bill Hader, Rafe Spall, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall
Rating: ***

What's it about:
A retelling of a Roald Dahl classic, it tells of the orphan, Sophie (Barnhill) getting abducted by a creature of the night, a shadow if you will, who later turns out to be a fleet-footed giant, one who quickly comes to be referred to only as BFG or Big Friendly Giant.
Well, giants are known to eat little children in stories like this. And there are giants in this story, who do. And these giants are bigger than BFG. So, while a defiant Sophie tries to use her instincts and level-headedness to get back to her orphanage, she begins to warm to BFG, who doesn't want to let her go because she knows of his existence. 
However, he isn't a bully and tells her he catches and delivers dreams (and sometimes, nightmares). They embark on a few adventures, one which involves them meeting the Queen of England and asking for her assistance.

What's hot: 
The CGI is at par with the best today. Spielberg is a storyteller who knows how to pluck the right emotions to get his audience where he wants them. Rylance's performance is at once heart-warming and impactful. As BFG, he is equal parts charming and a clumsy oaf. As Sophie, Ruby is not as annoying as most child actors these days, and that is saying a lot. Wilton makes more a winsome Queen Liz II, while Jemaine is convincing as the leader of the giants, Fleshlumpeater.

What's not:
The garbled accent the giants use is more or less unintelligible when you first hear it. And that's something of a downer. Rebecca Hall, a fine actress, is underutilised here. And while the Queen and her Corgis find representation here, we somehow can't wrap our head around that farting scene and Penelope as the QOE trying hard to suppress her grins.

What to do:
We're more cynical now than we used to be. And if that child inside you still exists, you might want to check out this whimsical feel-good fairy-tale. And it's Spielberg, so there's that.