A Unique Treasure

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2017)

I had never heard of this film until recently. I had absolutely no expectations. At first, I thought it was maybe just a goofy kid's film.
Boy, was I wrong. This film blew me out of the water.
The film's true value diminishes in repeat viewings, probably because the film is so fresh and so unique. Watching it 8 years after its release, it still feels new and original. As long as you don't have any expectations, over the course of the movie it will constantly up the ante on comedy, plot, and themes.
By far, the best parts of the film are the voice acting, dialogue, and animation. The cast may seem like throw-away star-power on paper, but upon watching, the actors are all spectacular, and their star power is no distraction at all. The dialogue is so surprising, quick, witty, and humorous. And the animation is a fresh take on stop-motion animation, which was pretty rare at the time.
I really don't have a lot of bad to say about the film. I hear that it isn't especially true to the source material, but I had never even heard of the Roald Dahl story. If you can shed your expectations of the film, it really is excellent.
I am actually kind of worried that movies like this don't get more attention, and this film may actually be forgotten one day, despite being one of the greatest animated films of all time.