‘The BFG’ Featurette Explores Giant Country With BFFs Steven Spielberg and Mark Rylance

Sorry, Tom Hanks — Steven Spielberg has a new favorite now, and his name is Mark Rylance. After delivering an Oscar-winning performance in Bridge of Spies, the actor re-teamed with Spielberg for The BFG, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel. A new featurette puts the focus on Rylance and his role as the eponymous Big Friendly Giant, who forms a bond with a special little girl and takes her deep into the heart of Giant Country to see where dreams are made.

Spielberg and Rylance appear in the new featurette, which offers a closer look at the titular giant and his relationship with Sophie, played by newcomer Ruby Barnhill. The pair strike up a beautiful friendship when the giant takes Sophie to his home, which Spielberg describes as “a world of fantasy and adventure.” But it’s also a dangerous place, where brutish giants with names like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) aren’t nearly as nice as the BFG.

As for Rylance’s part in the film, Spielberg says he wanted it to be “as photorealistic as possible,” so his team animated the character based on the actor’s performance. The result is something a little more expressive and humanistic.

The talents of three of the world’s greatest storytellers – Roald Dahl, Walt Disney and Steven Spielberg –
finally unite to bring Dahl’s beloved classic “The BFG” to life. Directed by Spielberg, Disney’s “The BFG” tells the imaginative story of a young girl and the Giant who introduces her to the wonders and perils of Giant Country. The BFG (Mark Rylance), while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumber and Frobscottle. Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams. Having both been on their own in the world up until now, their affection for one another quickly grows, but Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasingly more bothersome. Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see the Queen (Penelope Wilton) and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen and her maid, Mary (Rebecca Hall), that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.

The BFG hits theaters on July 1.