View source for The BFG

{{Short description|1982 children's novel by Roald Dahl}}
{{for-multi|the 1989 animated film based on the book|The BFG (1989 film){{!}}''The BFG'' (1989 film)|the 2016 film based on the book|The BFG (2016 film){{!}}''The BFG'' (2016 film)|other uses|BFG (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = The BFG
| title_orig    = THE BFG
| translator    =
| image         = The BFG (Dahl novel - cover art).jpg
| caption       = First edition cover
| author        = [[Roald Dahl]]
| illustrator   = [[Quentin Blake]]
| cover_artist  =
| country       = United Kingdom
| language      = English
| series        =
| subject       = Fiction
| genre         = [[Children's literature|Children's]], [[Fantasy]]
| published     = 14 January 1982 [[Jonathan Cape]] (original)<br />[[Penguin Books]] (current)
| media_type    = [[Paperback]]
| pages         = 208
| isbn          = 0-224-02040-4
| oclc          =
| followed_by   =
}}
'''''The BFG''''' (short for '''''The Big Friendly Giant''''') is a 1982 [[children's novel]] by British author [[Roald Dahl]]. It is an expansion of a [[short story]] from Dahl's 1975 novel ''[[Danny, the Champion of the World]]''. The book is dedicated to Dahl's oldest daughter, [[Olivia Dahl|Olivia]], who had died of measles [[encephalitis]] at the age of seven in 1962.<ref>Singh, Anita (7 August 2010) [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7930637/Roald-Dahls-secret-notebook-reveals-heartbreak-over-daughters-death.html "Roald Dahl's secret notebook reveals heartbreak over daughter's death"]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]''. Retrieved 4 January 2011.</ref>

An [[The BFG (1989 film)|animated adaptation]] was released in 1989 with [[David Jason]] providing the voice of the BFG and [[Amanda Root]] as the voice of Sophie. It has also been adapted as a theatre performance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/the-bfg/ |title=Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company presents The BFG |publisher=birmingham-rep.co.uk |access-date=2016-06-30 |archive-date=28 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328230426/http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/the-bfg/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> A theatrical [[The BFG (2016 film)|Disney live-action adaptation]] directed by [[Steven Spielberg]] was released in 2016.

As of 2009, the novel has sold 37 million copies, with more than one million copies sold around the world yearly.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2009/04/27/watford_palace_bfg_feature.shtml|title=Whizzpoppingly wonderful fun in Watford!|publisher=BBC|access-date=24 June 2016}}</ref> In 2003, ''The BFG'' was listed at number 56 in ''[[The Big Read]]'', a [[BBC]] survey of the British public.<ref name="BBC200"/> In 2012, the novel was ranked number 88 among all-time best children's novels in a survey published by ''[[School Library Journal]]'', a US monthly.<ref name="SLJChapter2012"/> That same year, the BFG and Sophie appeared on [[Royal Mail]] [[United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2010–2019#2012|commemorative postage stamps]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/jan/09/roald-dahl-stamps-classic-childrens-author | title=Roald Dahl stamps honour classic children's author |newspaper=The Guardian | date=9 January 2012 | access-date=9 January 2022 | author=Flood, Alison}}</ref>

==Plot==
Sophie, a young girl in an orphanage, cannot sleep. Looking out of her window, she sees a mysterious giant man in the street, carrying a suitcase and a trumpet. The giant sees Sophie, who tries to hide in bed, but the giant picks her up through the window. Sophie is carried to a large cave in the middle of a desolate land called Giant Country where the giant sets her down. Believing that he intends to eat her, Sophie pleads for her life, but the giant laughs and dismisses the idea. He explains that although most giants do eat humans, he does not because he is the Big Friendly Giant, or BFG; he had carried Sophie off merely so she would not reveal that she had seen a real giant, which would put him at risk of being captured for a zoo-exhibit.

The BFG explains, in a unique and messy speech, that his nine neighbours are much bigger and stronger giants, who all happily eat humans every night. They vary their choice of destination both to avoid detection and because the humans' origins affect their taste. For example, people from Greece taste greasy, so no giant goes there, while people from Panama taste like hats. As he will never allow Sophie to leave in case she tells anyone of his existence, the BFG reveals the purpose of his suitcase and trumpet: he catches dreams in Dream Country, collects them in jars, and gives the good ones to children all around the world, but destroys the bad ones. Since he does not eat people, he must eat the only crop which grows on his land —-- the repulsive snozzcumber, which looks like a cucumber as Sophie states that it tastes like frog skin and rotten fish while the BFG states that it tastes like cockroaches and slime wanglers.

When the Bloodbottler, one of the other giants, enters the cave uninvited, Sophie hides in the snozzcumber; not knowing this, the BFG, in the hope that its revolting taste will drive the Bloodbottler away and thus prevent him from discovering Sophie, tricks the Bloodbottler into eating the vegetable. The Bloodbottler takes a bite of the snozzcumber; unknowingly putting Sophie in his mouth. Luckily, the larger giant's bite missed her by only a little, spits her out unnoticed and leaves in disgust, much to the BFG's and Sophie's relief. They then drink frobscottle, a delicious fizzy drink where the bubbles sink downwards rather than upwards, causing powerful and noisy flatulence, which the BFG calls "whizzpopping".

The BFG takes Sophie to Dream Country but is bullied along the way by his neighbors, led by Fleshlumpeater, the largest and strongest. Afterwards, Sophie watches the BFG catch two dreams—while one would be a good dream, the other is a nightmare. Resentful of the other giants' mistreatment of him earlier that day, the BFG sneaks up to where they are napping and looses the nightmare on Fleshlumpeater, who has a dream about [[Jack and the Beanstalk|a giant killer named Jack]] and accidentally starts a brawl with his companions due to his indiscriminate flailing and thrashing about while still asleep as they watch from a safe distance.

Sophie persuades the BFG to approach the Queen of England for help with the other giants. She navigates the giant to Buckingham Palace where he places Sophie in the Queen's bedroom. He then gives the Queen a nightmare that closely parallels actual events. Because the BFG setting Sophie in her bedroom was part of the dream, the Queen believes her and speaks with the giant over breakfast. Fully convinced, she authorizes a task force to travel to Giant Country and secure them as they sleep.

The BFG guides a fleet of helicopters to the sleeping giants. Eight are successfully shackled, but the Fleshlumpeater awakes. Sophie and the BFG trick him into being tied up by making it look like that he was bitten by a snake. Having collected the BFG's dream collection, the helicopters carry all nine giants back to England where they are imprisoned in a massive pit.

Every country that the giants had visited in the past sends thanks and gifts to the BFG and Sophie, for whom residences are built in Windsor Great Park. Tourists come in huge numbers to watch the giants in the pit who are only fed snozzcumbers, and the only time they ever ate a human is when three drunks managed to climb the safety fence one night and fell in, also causing a sign to be put up saying "Please Don't Feed the Giants". The BFG receives the official title of Royal Dream-Blower, and continues bestowing dreams upon children; he also learns to speak and write more intelligibly, writing a book identified as the novel itself, under [[Roald Dahl|another's name]].

==Characters==
* '''Sophie''': The imaginative, creative, nearsighted and kind-hearted protagonist of the story who becomes a brave international heroine. Named after Dahl's first grandchild, [[Sophie Dahl]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.roalddahl.com/blog/2014/april/five-things-you-never-knew-about-the-bfg|title= Five things you never knew about the bfg|publisher= The Roald Dahl Story Company Limited|access-date=2020-09-03}}</ref> Voiced by [[Amanda Root]] in the 1989 film and portrayed by [[Ruby Barnhill]] in the 2016 film.
* '''The BFG''': A friendly 24-foot-tall giant who has superhuman hearing and immense speed. His primary occupation is the collection and distribution of good dreams to children. He also appears in another novel, ''[[Danny, the Champion of the World]]'', in which he is introduced as a folkloric character. His name is an [[initialism]] of 'Big Friendly Giant'. Voiced by [[David Jason]] in the 1989 film and voiced/motion-captured by [[Mark Rylance]] in the 2016 film.
* '''Nine Man-Eating Giants''': Each man-eating giant is about 50-feet-tall and proportionately broad and powerful.  Their only clothes are skirt-like coverings around their waists. According to the BFG, the flavours of the humans that the man-eating giants dine on depends on their country of origin: [[Turkish people|Turks]] taste like [[turkey (food)|turkey]], [[Greeks]] are too greasy (and hence apparently no giant ever visits that country), people from [[Panama]] taste like hats, the [[Welsh people|Welsh]] taste like fish, people from [[Jersey]] taste like cardigans, and the [[Danes]] taste like dogs.
** '''The Fleshlumpeater''': The leader of the nine man-eating giants and the largest and most horrible of the bunch. He shows no mercy for eating so many humans over the years, and is happy with what he has done and would continue it if he could. Voiced by [[Don Henderson]] in the 1989 film and voiced/motion-captured by [[Jemaine Clement]] in the 2016 film.
** '''The Bloodbottler''': Second-in-command to the Fleshlumpeater and also the smartest of the bunch. He has a fondness for the taste of human blood. Voiced by [[Don Henderson]] in the 1989 film and voiced/motion-captured by [[Bill Hader]] in the 2016 film.
** '''The Manhugger''': One of the nine man-eating giants. Voiced/motion-captured by [[Adam Godley]] in the 2016 film.
** '''The Meatdripper''': One of the nine man-eating giants. He pretends to be a tree in a park so that he can pick off the humans that go under him or families that stop to have a picnic underneath him. Voiced/motion-captured by Paul Moniz de Sa in the 2016 film.
** '''The Childchewer''': One of the nine man-eating giants. He is best friends with the Meatdripper. No other information was given about The Childchewer, but his name implies that he enjoys the taste of children the most of all. Voiced/motion-captured by Jonathan Holmes in the 2016 film.
** '''The Butcher Boy''': The youngest of the nine man-eating giants. No other information was given about him. Voiced/motion-captured by [[Michael Adamthwaite]] in the 2016 film.
** '''The Maidmasher''': One of the nine man-eating giants. No other information was given about him. Voiced/motion-captured by [[Ólafur Darri Ólafsson]] in the 2016 film.
** '''The Bonecruncher''': One of the nine man-eating giants. He crunches up two humans for dinner every night and especially enjoys eating people from Turkey, making him the picky eater of the bunch, although he will go to other countries such as joining the other eight in a trip to England. Voiced/motion-captured by Daniel Bacon in the 2016 film.
** '''The Gizzardgulper''': The shortest of the nine man-eating giants. He often lies above the rooftops of the cities to grab people walking down the streets. Voiced/motion-captured by Chris Gibbs in the 2016 film.
* '''The Goochey Family''': Mr. and Mrs. Goochey are the proprietors of the grocery store that's across from the orphanage while their children are Michael and Jane Goochey.
* '''Mrs. Clonkers''': The [[unseen character|unseen]] director of the orphanage in which Sophie lives at the start of the novel; described as cruel to her charges. Voiced by [[Myfanwy Talog]] in the 1989 film and portrayed by [[Marilyn Norry]] in the 2016 film.
* '''[[Elizabeth II|The Queen of England]]''': The British monarch. Firm, bold, and ladylike, she plays an important role in helping Sophie and the BFG. Voiced by [[Angela Thorne]] in the 1989 film and portrayed by [[Penelope Wilton]] in the 2016 film.
* '''Mary''': The Queen's maid. Voiced by [[Mollie Sugden]] in the 1989 film and portrayed by [[Rebecca Hall]] in the 2016 film.
* '''Mr. Tibbs''': The Queen's butler with an imposing personage who helped to improvise a breakfast that is fit for the BFG. Voiced by [[Frank Thornton]] in the 1989 film and portrayed by [[Rafe Spall]] in the 2016 film.
* '''The Gardener''': An unnamed gardener working for the Queen of England who faints at the sight of the BFG.
* '''The King of Sweden''': The ruler of Sweden who corroborates with the Queen of England on how people have been disappearing from Sweden.
* '''The Sultan of Baghdad''' - The ruler of Sweden who corroborates with the Queen of England on how people have been disappearing from Baghdad.
* '''The Heads of the Army and the Air Force''': Two officers answering to the Queen. Voiced by [[Michael Knowles (actor)|Michael Knowles]] and [[Ballard Berkeley]] in the 1989 film and portrayed by Chris Shields and [[Matt Frewer]] in the 2016 film.
* '''The Young Pilot''': A pilot who is the only one that enjoyed the travel to Giant Country.

==2023 censorship controversy==
{{See also|Roald Dahl revision controversy}}
Despite Roald Dahl having enjoined his publishers not to "so much as change a single comma in one of my books", in February 2023 [[Puffin Books]], a division of [[Penguin Books]], announced it would be re-writing portions of many of Dahl's children's novels, changing the language to, in the publisher's words, "ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today."<ref>{{cite news |last=Sawer |first=Patrick |date=February 25, 2023 |title=Roald Dahl warned 'politically correct' publishers – 'change one word and deal with my crocodile' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/25/roald-dahl-warned-politically-correct-publishers-change-one/ |work=The Telegraph |location= |access-date=March 21, 2023}}</ref> The decision was met with sharp criticism from groups and public figures including authors [[Salman Rushdie]]<ref name="NPR">{{cite news |last=Blair |first=Elizabeth |date=February 24, 2023 |title=Roald Dahl's publisher responds to backlash by keeping 'classic' texts in print |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/24/1159224907/roald-dahls-publisher-responds-to-backlash-by-keeping-classic-texts-in-print |work=NPR |location= |access-date=March 21, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Forbes">{{Cite news |last=Dellatto |first=Marisa |date=20 February 2023 |title=Roald Dahl Books Get New Edits—And Critics Cry Censorship: The Controversy Surrounding 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' And More |language=en |work=[[Forbes]] |publication-place=Jersey City, New Jersey, USA |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/02/20/roald-dahl-books-get-new-edits-and-critics-cry-censorship-the-controversy-surrounding-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-and-more/?sh=6833ef524534 |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228232244/https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/02/20/roald-dahl-books-get-new-edits-and-critics-cry-censorship-the-controversy-surrounding-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-and-more/?sh=61a3a45a4534 |archive-date=28 February 2023 |issn=0015-6914}}</ref><ref name="Deseret" /> and [[Christopher Paolini]],<ref name=Deseret>{{cite news |last=Murdock |first=Hannah |date=February 21, 2023 |title=Authors react to 'absurd' changes to Roald Dahl's children's books to make them less offensive |url=https://www.deseret.com/2023/2/21/23608371/authors-react-to-changes-to-roald-dahls-childrens-books |work=Deseret News |location= |access-date=March 21, 2023}}</ref> British prime minister [[Rishi Sunak]],<ref name=NPR/><ref name=Forbes/> [[Queen Camilla]],<ref name=NPR/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lawless |first=Jill |date=24 February 2023 |title=Penguin to publish 'classic' Roald Dahl books after backlash |language=en |work=[[Associated Press]] |publication-place=New York City, NY, USA |url=https://apnews.com/article/books-and-literature-childrens-entertainment-roald-dahl-business-9770a7a3a2cb50cb1d53ca82d4b26070 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228121338/https://apnews.com/article/books-and-literature-childrens-entertainment-roald-dahl-business-9770a7a3a2cb50cb1d53ca82d4b26070 |archive-date=28 February 2023}}</ref> [[Kemi Badenoch]],<ref name=Politico>{{Cite news |last1=Honeycombe-Foster |first1=Matt |last2=Blanchard |first2=Jack |date=21 February 2023 |title=UK's Badenoch slams 'problematic' rewrites of classic Roald Dahl books |language=en |work=[[Politico]] |publisher=[[Axel Springer SE]] |publication-place=Arlington County, Virginia, USA |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/uks-badenoch-slams-problematic-rewrites-classic-roald-dahl-books-business-secretary-equalities-minister-salmon-rushdie-brian-cox/ |url-status=live |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228164049/https://www.politico.eu/article/uks-badenoch-slams-problematic-rewrites-classic-roald-dahl-books-business-secretary-equalities-minister-salmon-rushdie-brian-cox/ |archive-date=28 February 2023}}</ref> [[PEN America]],<ref name=NPR/> and [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]].<ref name="Politico" /> Dahl's publishers in the United States, France, and the Netherlands announced they had declined to incorporate the changes.<ref name=NPR/>

In ''The BFG'', more than eighty changes were made, including changing or removing references to colour in people (such as changing "Something very tall and very black and very thin" to "Something very tall and very dark and very thin", "the flashing black eyes" to "the flashing eyes", "their skins were burnt brown by the sun" to "their skins were burnt by the sun", "white as a sheet" to "still as a statue", and removing "His skin was reddish-brown"), changing "mother and father" to "parents" and "boys and girls" to "children", and changing "Esquimo" to "Inuit", "Sultan of Baghdad" to "Mayor of Baghdad", and "man-eating giants" to "human-eating giants".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kirka |first1=Danica |title=Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/critics-reject-roald-dahl-books-censorship-97322799 |website=abc NEWS |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref><ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news |last1=Cumming |first1=Ed |last2=Buchanan |first2=Abigail |last3=Holl-Allen |first3=Genevieve |last4=Smith |first4=Benedict |date=February 24, 2023 |title=The Writing of Roald Dahl |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-offensive-matilda-witches-twits/#the-witches |work=The Telegraph |location= |access-date=March 20, 2023}}</ref>

{| style="margin:auto;"  class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! style="width: 50%;" | Original text
! style="width: 50%;" | 2023 text<ref name=Telegraph/>
|-
|Inside the jar, just below the edge of the label, Sophie could see the putting-to-sleep dream lying peacefully on the bottom, pulsing gently, sea-green like the other one, but perhaps a trifle larger.

'Do you have separate dreams for boys and for girls?' Sophie asked.

'Of course,' the BFG said. 'If I is giving a girl's dream to a boy, even if it was a really whoppsy girl's dream, the boy would be waking up and thinking what a rotbungling grinksludging old dream that was.'

'Boys would,' Sophie said.

'These here is all the girls' dreams on this shelf,' the BFG said.

'Can I read a boy's dream?'
|Inside the jar, just below the edge of the label, Sophie could see the putting-to-sleep dream lying peacefully on the bottom, pulsing gently, sea-green like the other one, but perhaps a trifle larger.

'Can I read more dreams?'
|}

==References in other Roald Dahl books==
The BFG first appears as a story told to Danny by his father in ''[[Danny, the Champion of the World]]''. The ending is almost the same as ''[[James and the Giant Peach]]'', when he writes a story about himself, by himself.   Also, Mr. Tibbs relates to Mrs. Tibbs, the friend of Mr. Gilligrass, the U.S. president in ''[[Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator]]''.

==Awards and recognition==
''The BFG'' has won numerous awards including the 1985 [[Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis]] as the year's best children's book, in its German translation ''Sophiechen und der Riese''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.djlp.jugendliteratur.org/datenbanksuche/kinderbuch-2/artikel-sophiechen_und_der_riese-1217.html/ |title= Sophiechen und der Riese |year= 1985|publisher=Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603192924/http://www.djlp.jugendliteratur.org/datenbanksuche/kinderbuch-2/artikel-sophiechen_und_der_riese-1217.html |archive-date=3 June 2016 |access-date=30 June 2016}}</ref> and the 1991 Read Alone and Read Aloud [[BILBY Award]]s from the [[Children's Book Council of Australia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbcaqld.org/uploads/2/6/2/2/26224528/previous_bilby_to_2014.pdf |title=Previous Winners of the BILBY Awards: 1990 – 96 |publisher=The Children's Book Council of Australia Queensland Branch |access-date=4 November 2015 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119061148/http://www.cbcaqld.org/uploads/2/6/2/2/26224528/previous_bilby_to_2014.pdf |archive-date=19 November 2015 }}</ref>

In 2003 it was ranked number 56 in [[The Big Read]], a two-stage survey of the British public by the [[BBC]] to determine the "Nation's Best-loved Novel".<ref name="BBC200">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml "BBC – The Big Read"]. BBC. April 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2013.</ref> The U.S. [[National Education Association]] listed ''The BFG'' among the "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" based on a 2007 online poll.<ref name=NEA2007>{{cite web |url= http://www.nea.org/grants/13154.htm/ |title= Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children |author= National Education Association |year= 2007 |access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref> In 2012, it was ranked number 88 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by ''[[School Library Journal]]'', a monthly with primarily U.S. audience. It was the fourth of four books by Dahl among the Top 100, more than any other writer.<ref name=SLJChapter2012>{{cite web |url= http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/07/07/top-100-chapter-book-poll-results/|title= Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results |author= Bird, Elizabeth  |publisher= A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. [[School Library Journal]] (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com) |date= 7 July 2012 |access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref> In 2023, the novel was ranked by [[BBC]] at no. 41 in their poll of "The 100 greatest children's books of all time".<ref>{{cite web|title=The 100 greatest children's books of all time|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230522-the-100-greatest-childrens-books-of-all-time|website=bbc.com|date=23 May 2023}}</ref>

==Editions==
===English===
* {{ISBN|0-224-02040-4}} (hardcover, 1982)
* {{ISBN|0-374-30469-6}} (hardcover, 1982)
* {{ISBN|0-590-06019-8}} (paperback, 1982)
* {{ISBN|0-435-12279-7}} (hardcover, 1984)
* {{ISBN|0-14-031597-7}} (paperback, 1984)
* {{ISBN|0-14-034019-X}} (paperback, 1985)
* {{ISBN|1-85715-924-1}} (hardcover, 1993)
* {{ISBN|0-679-42813-5}} (hardcover, 1993)
* {{ISBN|0-14-130105-8}} (paperback, 1998)
* {{ISBN|0-14-130283-6}} (paperback, 1999)
* {{ISBN|0-14-131137-1}} (paperback, 2001)
* {{ISBN|0-224-06452-5}} (hardcover, 2002)
* {{ISBN|978-0-14-241038-7}} / {{ISBN|0-14-241038-1}} (paperback, 2007)
* {{ISBN|0-14-133216-6}} (audio CD read by [[Natasha Richardson]])

===Selected translations===
* {{ISBN|90-261-1275-0}} (''De GVR'', Dutch, 1983)<ref>{{cite book|title=De GVR|last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Huberte Vriesendorp|location=Utrecht|publisher=De Fontein|oclc=276717619|language=nl|year=1983}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|0-14-130105-8}} (''El gran gigante bonachón'', Spanish, 1984)<ref>{{cite book|title=The BFG|last=Dahl|first=Roald|location=Barcelona|publisher=Planeta|oclc=23998903|year=1984}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|3-498-01250-9}} (''Sophiechen und der Riese'', German, 1984)<ref>{{cite book|title=Sophiechen und der Riese|last=Dahl|first=Roald|location=Reinbek bei Hamburg|publisher=Rowohlt|oclc=12736090|language=de|year=1984}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|2-07-051372-6}} (''Le bon gros géant'', French, 1984)<ref>{{cite book|title=Le bon gros géant: le BGG|last=Dahl|first=Roald|location=Paris|publisher=Gallimard|oclc=462016766|language=fr|year=1984}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|4-566-01057-0}} ({{Nihongo2|オ・ヤサシ巨人BFG}} ({{Transliteration|ja|O yasashi kyojin bīefujī}}, Japanese, 1985)<ref>{{cite book |script-title=ja:オ・ヤサシ巨人BFG |last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Taeko Nakamura|location=Tokyo|publisher=Hyoronsha|oclc=674384354|language=ja|year=1985}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|88-7782-004-7}} (''Il GGG'', Italian, 1987)<ref>{{cite book|title=Il GGG|last=Dahl|first=Roald|location=Firenze|publisher=Salani|oclc=797126304|language=it|year=1987}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|0-624-03190-X}} (''Die GSR: die groot sagmoedige reus'', Afrikaans, 1993)<ref>{{cite book|title=Die GSR: die groot sagmoedige reus|last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Mavis De Villiers|location=[Kaapstad]|publisher=Tafelberg|oclc=85935030|language=af|year=1993}} Originally published by Jonathan Cape Ltd. as: The BFG</ref>
* {{ISBN|89-527-0972-1}} ({{lang|ko-Hang|내 친구 꼬마 거인}} ({{Transliteration|ko|Nae ch'in'gu kkoma kŏin}}), Korean, 1997)<ref>{{cite book |script-title=ko:내 친구 꼬마 거인 |last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Hye-yŏn Chi|publisher=Ch'op'an|oclc=936576155|language=ko|year=1997}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|99927-33-02-0}} (''Gjiganti i madh i mirë'', Albanian, 199-)<ref>{{cite book|title=Gjiganti i madh i mirë|last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=[[Naum Prifti]]|location=[[Çabej]]|publisher=Tiranë|language=sq |oclc=472785476}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|7-5332-3227-5}} ({{lang|zh-hans|好心眼儿巨人}} ({{Transliteration|zh|Hǎo xīnyǎn'ér Jùrén}}), Chinese, 2000)<ref>{{cite book |script-title=zh:好心眼儿巨人 |last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Rong Rong Ren|location=[[Jinan]] |publisher=Ming tian Chu ban she|language=zh|year=2000}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|1-904357-03-2}} (''Yr CMM: yr èc èm èm'', Welsh, 2003)<ref>{{cite book|title=Yr CMM: yr èc èm èm|last=Dahl|first=Roald|location=[[Hengoed]] |publisher=Rily|language=cy|oclc=55150213|year=2003}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|973-576-573-X}} (''Uriașul cel príetenos'', Romanian, 2005)<ref>{{cite book|title=Uriașul cel príetenos|last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Mădălina Monica Badea|location=[[Bucharest]] |publisher=RAO International|language=ro|oclc=63542578|year=2005}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|83-240-3949-X}} (''Wielkomilud'', Polish, 2016)<ref>{{cite book|title=BFG|last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Katarzyna Szczepańska-Kowalczuk|location=[[Kraków]]|publisher=Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak|oclc=956576565|language=pl|year=2016}}</ref>
* {{ISBN|978-9082197044}} (''De GFR'', West Frisian, 2016)<ref>{{cite book|title=De GFR|last=Dahl|first=Roald|translator=Martsje de Jong|location=[[Groningen]]|publisher=Utjouwerij Regaad|oclc=1020314790|language=fy|year=2016}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
===Audio===
* In 1983, [[Bill Oddie]] narrated a 5-part adaptation for [[Jackanory]]. [[Bernard Bresslaw]] and [[Miriam Margolyes]] voiced the BFG and the Queen.<ref>{{Citation |last=Bell |first=David |title=The BFG: Part 1 - The Snatch |date=1983-11-14 |work=Jackanory |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15001290/?ref_=ttep_ep_26 |access-date=2025-07-14 |others=Bill Oddie, Bernard Bresslaw, Emma Guidotti}}</ref>
* In 1991, Sir [[Michael Hordern]] narrated an 8-part adaptation on [[BBC Radio 5 (former)|BBC Radio 5]], running from 25 March to 3 April.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?filt=is_radio&q=The+BFG&after=1991-01-01T00%3A00%3A00.000Z&before=1991-12-31T23%3A59%3A59.999Z#top|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212160313/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?filt=is_radio&q=The+BFG&after=1991-01-01T00:00:00.000Z&before=1991-12-31T23:59:59.999Z#top|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 December 2023|title=''The BFG'' - BBC Radio 5|website=BBC Programme Index|access-date=12 December 2023}}</ref>
* In 2006, [[Natasha Richardson]] narrated an unabridged recording for [[HarperCollins|Harper Childrens Audio]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The BFG (Dahl Audio) Audio CD read by Natasha Richardson|isbn=0060852739 }}</ref>
* In 2016, [[David Walliams]] narrated an unabridged recording for [[Puffin Books|Puffin Audio]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The BFG (Dahl Audio) Audio CD read by David Walliams|isbn=978-0141370286 |last1=Dahl |first1=Roald |date=3 March 2016 |publisher=Penguin Children's Audio }}</ref>

===Comic strip===
Between 1986 and 1998, the novel was adapted into a newspaper comic by journalist Brian Lee and artist [[Bill Asprey (artist)|Bill Asprey]]. It was published in the ''[[Mail on Sunday]]'' and originally a straight adaptation, with scripts accepted by [[Roald Dahl]] himself. After a while the comic started following its own storylines and continued long after Dahl's death in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bill Asprey|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/a/asprey_bill.htm}}</ref>

===Theatre===
The novel was adapted for the stage by [[David Wood (actor)|David Wood]] and premiered at the [[Wimbledon Theatre]] in 1991 and has since been performed in the [[West End theatre|West End]] and theatres across the UK and USA.<ref>{{cite web|title=The BFG (Big Friendly Giant)|url=http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/6407/bfg-the-big-friendly-giant|publisher=Samuel French|access-date=26 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The BFG |url=https://www.davidwood.org.uk/plays/plays_bfg.htm |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=www.davidwood.org.uk}}</ref>

The [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] and [[Chichester Festival Theatre]] will present a new stage adaptation by Tom Wells and directed by [[Daniel Evans (actor)|Daniel Evans]], which will open at the [[Royal Shakespeare Theatre]], [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] in November 2025 for the Christmas season, before transferring to Chichester in March 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-29 |title=Royal Shakespeare Company announces world premiere of Roald Dahl's BFG |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8p5zxdd9xo |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Film and television==
=== 1989 film ===
{{main|The BFG (1989 film)}}
On 25 December 1989, [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] broadcast an animated film based on the book and produced by Cosgrove Hall Films on television, with [[David Jason]] providing the voice of the BFG and [[Amanda Root]] as the voice of Sophie. The film was dedicated to animator [[George Jackson (animator)|George Jackson]] who worked on numerous [[Cosgrove Hall]] productions.

=== 2016 film ===
{{main|The BFG (2016 film)}}
A theatrical live-action film adaptation was produced by [[Walt Disney Pictures]], directed by [[Steven Spielberg]], and starring [[Mark Rylance]] as the BFG, as well as [[Ruby Barnhill]], [[Penelope Wilton]], [[Jemaine Clement]], [[Rebecca Hall]], [[Rafe Spall]], and [[Bill Hader]]. The film was released on 1 July 2016, to positive critical reception. However, the film was financially unsuccessful.

===TV series===
As of 2021 TV series based on ''The BFG'' is being developed as part of [[Netflix]]'s "animated series event", based on Roald Dahl's books.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Netflix - NETFLIX TO CREATE EXCLUSIVE SLATE OF ORIGINAL ANIMATED EVENT SERIES FROM THE ICONIC ROALD DAHL STORY UNIVERSE|url=https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-to-create-exclusive-slate-of-original-animated-event-series-from-the-iconic-roald-dahl-story-universe|access-date=2021-02-15|website=About Netflix|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Roald Dahl}}
{{BILBY Early Readers Award}}
{{BILBY Younger Readers Award}}
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[[Category:Children's books adapted into films]]
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