As far as structuring a teaser trailer goes, this first look at The BFG is fantastic. It lets a scene play out, gives us a glimpse of what’s to come without laying out the plot, and presents itself as something of a tonal prologue. In terms of pure presentation, this teaser is perfect.
My biggest complaint is those damn eyes! Eyes are always the hardest thing to nail down when it comes to CG characters, and the little bit we see here of the BFG’s peepers look way too glassy, like a doll’s eyes (any chance to work in a Jaws reference). But that’s my only visual complaint. This looks nostalgically misty and very Tintin-ish. Not bad.
What I really dig is that John Williams music. There’s something darkly enticing about it. I’ve been waiting for Williams to give us one last all-powerful melody (and we might get that in just a weekOHMYGODSTARWARS), and I’m liking what I’m getting in this teaser.
The most important part of this for me is seeing Melissa Mathison’s name as the sole screenwriting credit. Mathison passed away recently and this will be her last produced screenplay. Considering that Mathison and Spielberg brought the world E.T. (and that less-than-good “Kick the Can” segment from Twilight Zone: The Movie), I feel somewhat obligated to check this out. I won’t presume that this could be a return to that Amblin kind of feel, but I can at least hope. Give me that.
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