The BFG

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.[7] 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 motion-captured by Mark Rylance in the 2016 film.
  • The Queen: 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. Voiced by Frank Thornton in the 1989 film and portrayed by Rafe Spall in the 2016 film.
  • Mrs. Clonkers: The 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.
  • The Heads of the Army and the Air Force: Two bombastic officers answering to the Queen. Voiced by Michael Knowles and Ballard Berkeley in the 1989 film and portrayed by Chris Shields and Matt Frewer 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: Turks taste like turkey, Greeks are too greasy (and hence apparently no giant ever visits that country), people from Panama taste like hats, the 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 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 motion-captured by Bill Hader in the 2016 film.
    • The Manhugger: One of the nine man-eating giants. 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. 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 in the story and also by the name, suggests he enjoys the taste of children most of all. Motion-captured by Jonathan Holmes in the 2016 film.
    • The Butcher Boy: The youngest of the nine man-eating giants. Motion-captured by Michael Adamthwaite in the 2016 film.
    • The Maidmasher: One of the nine man-eating giants. The name suggests he likes to smash maidens, but it is never confirmed it could mean he smashes them with his teeth. 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. 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. Motion-captured by Chris Gibbs in the 2016 film.

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