Celebs Are Reading Aloud Roald Dahl's 'James And The Giant Peach'
The reading will air over 10 episodes
Roald Dahl fans rejoice! The Roald Dahl Story Company has gathered an all-star cast for a live reading of the beloved book “James and the Giant Peach,” exclusively on its YouTube channel. Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi, along with some major Hollywood powerhouses including Ryan Reynolds, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Lupita Nyong’o, Meryl Streep, Beanie Feldstein, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Porter, Chris and Liam Hemsworth, and Cara Delevingne, joined together to read the classic children’s novel — and it’s for a great cause.
“Join filmmaker, Taika Waititi as he reads James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, in full across 10 episodes, to raise money for Partners in Health, who are operating at the front line in the battle against COVID-19 in some of the most vulnerable parts of the world,” the channel description reads. “Roald Dahl and partners will be matching every donation made.”
The Roald Dahl Story Company will be donating over a million dollars to various charities impacted by the pandemic, including Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity in the UK, which provides specialist nurses to seriously ill children, as well as Partners In Health, an organization that aims to be the “preferential option for the poor in health care.”
Waititi, who was recently announced as the writer, director, and executive producer of two original Roald Dahl animated series for Netflix, is also being tasked with developing an original series based on characters from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and another centered entirely around everyone’s favorite Oompa-Loompas. Oh, and he’s also set to direct a new Star Wars movie for Lucasfilm, you know, in his spare time.
The first two installments are available now. The first episode features brothers Chris and Liam Hemsworth, alongside Nick Kroll. The second episode readers are none other than Meryl Streep and Benedict Cumberbatch. The remaining episodes will be released Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10 a.m. PST.
“James and the Giant Peach,” was first published in 1961, and was Dahl’s first children’s book which sold over 28 million copies to date.
“Being an adult child myself and having read James and the Giant Peach to my girls multiple times, I’m excited to be able to partner with my friends, the Dahl team and Partners In Health and re-tell this story to help those most in need right now,” Waititi said. This wacky, wonderful tale is about resilience in children, triumph over adversity and dealing with a sense of isolation which couldn’t been more relevant today.”
This is a must-watch for every Dahl fan, little and big.
