City Library doesn’t just do books. We also subscribe to tons of great online resources including access to exclusive streamable TV shows and films with Box of Broadcasts (BOB).
This week sees the release of a “live-action” adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book The BFG, starring Mark Rylance. Several of Roald Dahl’s children’s books have been turned into films.
Below are listed just a few of the many films and TV you can watch through Box of Broadcasts.
- The BFG , this animated film from 1989, tells the story of Sophie, a young orphan who escapes from her dreary life with the help of a friendly giant she catches blowing “dreams” into her window one night. Sophie goes on an adventure through Giant Land and Dream Country. The film ends with British military intervention against the sovereign state of Giant Land and the incarceration of the surviving giants in a big pit.
- James and the Giant Peach is a brilliant movie. It tells about the adventures of a young orphan who escapes his evil aunts aboard a floating giant peach inhabited by friendly giant bugs. Will our intrepid heroes make it to the Big Apple?
A pile of books ready to read. - The Witches is a spooky tale, in which a young orphan is turned into a mouse by a group of witches. With the help of his grandmother, he tracks them down to a seaside hotel for an epic final showdown.
If you liked Nicolas Roeg’s other great film Don’t Look Now, you will love this.
- Matilda is a young boffin, frustrated with her family life. With the help of a library card, and an insatiable love of reading, she develops psychic powers. Will these powers allow her to take on the adult world, which she despises?
Watch out for Pam Ferris in the stand out performance of her career in her role as Miss Trunchbull.
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a charming film that depicts the picaresque adventures of a young, poor boy named Charlie Bucket who wins a prize trip to enter the magical world of master chocolatier William Wonka. Its plot resembles a locked room murder mystery, as one character after another is taken down. Will Charlie discover who, or what, are behind these accidents?“Who can take a sunrise, Sprinkle it with dew, Cover it in chocolate, And a miracle or two?”
Nothing beats curling up with a good book and some sweet treats, well maybe nothing except watching the film adaptation on BOB. - Fantastic Mr Fox George Clooney and Meryl Streep star as Mr and Mrs Fox in this pleasant animated film about a group of woodland critters pitted against three evil farmers. In many ways this film can be read as a critique of factory farming. Watch out for a cameo from Jarvis Cocker.
How many have you seen? Watch them all with CityLibrary Search
