Culture

We’re Still Fighting Over This Ranking of Roald Dahl Movies

So far, 10 books from British author Roald Dahl have been adapted for film. Here is your definitive ranking of all of them.
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Steven Spielberg's adaptation of The BFG, out this weekend, is the 10th film based on a children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. Though they’re not typically blockbuster successes, movies based on Dahl’s works often become cult classics. And since he's created so many beloved characters and stories, there's always an argument over which Dahl film adaptation is the best. So we decided to rank them once and for all. (Yes, we had an, ahem, animated discussion while it was happening.) We know what you're thinking: There's only one choice for the top spot and it has a division of Nestlé named after it. But we're taking into account all of Dahl's stylistic strengths—social commentary, plucky child leads, dark comedy, etc.—and judging the films adapted from his books not on how well one element stands above the rest, but how they complement each other. Also, we restricted the list to just include movies adapted from Dahl's novels for children, eliminating his screenplays and films based on his writing for adults. But that still leaves an indelible list of wonderful stories to grade. Here's each Dahl adaptation—from the worst to the best.

  • In this BBC television movie retired bachelor Mr. Henry Hoppy (Dustin Hoffman) attempts to woo his downstairs neighbor, widow Lavinia Silver (Judi Dench), by teaching her a magic spell to help her pet tortoise Alfie grow. Secretly, he's buying up different size tortoises from pet shops around the city and replacing Alfie in order to make It’s a perfectly agreeable adaptation of a minor Dahl novel, but while it features sprightly performances from Dench and Hoffman, it’s the most forgettable movie adaptation of Dahl’s work, likely because the novel itself isn’t one of Dahl’s strongest.
  • Widower William Smith (Jeremy Irons) lives behind the gas station he owns with his nine-year-old son Danny (Irons’ son, Samuel). Local businessman Victor Hazell (Robbie Coltrane) wants to buy the land to complete a development deal. William refuses, but Hazell continues to bully the family in an attempt to force a sale. Mostly this film comes off like a passion project Irons sought out in order to make a movie with his son. That’s a delightful sentiment, but unfortunately the resulting movie doesn't have the same heart.
  • Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated adaptation of *The Lord of the Rings* is now overshadowed by Peter Jackson’s definitive trilogy—and that's exactly what’s about to happen to this made-for-television version of *The BFG*. A few decades ago, it would’ve been impossible to render the fanciful ideas in *The BFG* in anything other than animation, so that's what this 1989 adaptation did—and it's still mighty powerful. So while Spielberg's big, beautiful effects-driven movie may overshadow this hand-drawn version, it nevertheless deserves its due.
  • Mark Rylance, the surprise standout of Spielberg's *Bridge of Spies*, plays the titular character in *The BFG*, and is once again the highlight performance. The Big Friendly Giant’s size affects how his movements appear onscreen, but Rylance’s face, through the motion-capture technology, conveys just as much as Andy Serkis' best work. The supporting characters get the good jokes, and kids will likely remember the Dream Country sequences more than anything, but it's Rylance who fully lives up to Dahl’s creation.
  • Instead of focusing on mad candy genius Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp, playing a rare combination of Michael Jackson, Howard Hughes, and Jackie Onassis), the story for the 2005 adaptation of this Dahl book centers on Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) and the financial struggles of his family. This version isn't as memorable as the 1971 movie, but director Tim Burton still gave his *Chocolate Factory* a style all its own—even if Danny Elfman’s Oompa Loompa song didn't come close to matching the one from the original.
  • In retrospect, the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston)is likely way too scary for kids, but adults can easily appreciate the masterful combination of Jim Henson’s production design and Roald Dahl’s eerie imagination in this adaptation of *The Witches*. Hiring director Nicolas Roeg (*Don’t Look Now*) was also extremely wise, since his ability to heighten dread in a film enhances Dahl’s story of a seaside resort beset by a secret conference of England’s witches. This was the last film Henson personally worked on before his death in 1990, and the final adaptation Dahl saw before his death later that same year. It holds up—just don’t show it to very young children.
  • Because of the fantastical nature of Dahl’s work, the best adaptations are often animated in one form or another. This has never been more true than in this tale of an orphaned boy who travels across the ocean on a giant peach. Henry Selick’s movie combined live-action and stop-motion animation, and the non-animated sections are far from perfect, but *James and the Giant Peach* is still a colorful fantasy romp with excellent performances, live-action or otherwise.
  • Dahl allegedly disowned this film, the only adaptation for which he wrote the script, over uncredited rewrites to the story by David Seltzer. But for pure whimsical entertainment, it’s unparalleled. The Chocolate Room, Everlasting Gobstoppers, a meal in a stick of gum, and Fizzy Lifting drinks are all unforgettable ideas. The story gets a bit, well, wonky by the end, but Gene Wilder’s Wonka performance makes this a cult classic for the ages.
  • Initially, this was to be a collaboration between director Wes Anderson and Henry Selick, who did the underwater animation work for *The Life Aquatic*. But when the project shifted studios, Anderson continued on his own, and created what stands as the project that restored his creative momentum. It’s an uproarious and highly-detailed production befitting Anderson’s personal style, and it weaves in the book’s message about greedy industrial farmers with zero regard for animals with ease. It might just be the best Robin Hood-esque story featuring foxes ever. Sorry, [Disney](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070608/).
  • There’s a reason *Matilda* is the Dahl property that merited a film adaptation and a hugely successful Broadway musical. It’s the story that best blends Dahl’s flair for magical imagination with a fierce social commentary. Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is a six-year-old prodigy who finds school so unchallenging that she develops magical powers. She’s Dahl’s most compelling lead character: smart, capable, and in possession of a commendable moral compass. This is the ideal Roald Dahl adaptation—one that's still funny and still insightful about the institutions it confronts decades after it was first released.

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