THE BFG (2016) (BBC1, 5.40PM)

to a new home. Twenty years later, his daughter Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) has succeeded as ruler of the trolls, who sing, dance, and enjoy group hugs – well, except for eternal pessimist Branch (Justin Timberlake), who lives in a Bergen-proof bunker. When the Bergen’s head chef (Christine Baranski) discovers the new troll village and captures several of Poppy’s friends, the princess embarks on a daredevil rescue mission with Branch in tow. Trolls is a glitter-dusted, computer-animated joy, crammed to bursting with songs.

Precocious orphan Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is snatched from her bed at the witching hour by a hooded 24-feet tall figure, who introduces himself as the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance). The BFG wouldn’t normally kidnap a ‘chiddler’, but he explains that he was fearful Sophie might cause a great ‘rumpledumpus’ by yodelling the news that she had seen a giant. A tender friendship is forged between Sophie and her kind-hearted abductor, who is bullied by his fellow giants. In order to rid Giant Country of these mangobblers, Sophie hatches a hare-brained scheme to visit The Queen (Penelope Wilton)... The BFG is a gloriumptious rendering of Roald Dahl’s fantasy, which marks the final collaboration of director Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison, screenwriter of E.T.: The Extraterrestrial.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27 FERDINAND (2017) (SKY CINEMA PREMIERE, 10.30AM & 8PM)