I’d be surprised to hear of children born in my generation or earlier (and hopefully after me as well) who never read any of the magical stories of Roald Dahl, one of Britain’s finest modern-era novelists. His stories like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda all became childhood classics, and indeed have all been adapted into films with various degrees of success. The Fantastic Mr. Fox even got an Oscar-nominated stop-motion animated film by Wes Anderson. The world of Dahl is cherished by many, but for me, none of his works was more beloved than his 1982 novel, The BFG.

When I was a kid, The BFG, or “The Big Friendly Giant,” was the book that I obsessed over, drew pictures about, mused and pondered for hours on end. It consumed much of my 7 to 8 year old brain. There was a 1989 animated film of the book, but it lacked, for me anyway, the magic of the book. But seeing the above teaser for Steven Spielberg‘s live-action version, I’m reminded of those feelings I had as a child. Even though it’s short, I couldn’t be more excited.

The film stars young Ruby Barnhill as Sophie, a little orphan girl who has inadvertently drawn the attention of a giant who sneaks about London at night. Good thing this is the BFG (Mark Rylance) and not one of the larger, more horrific giants with names like the Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) or the Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement). Sophie is taken to the giant realm and becomes enamored of the BFG’s life, but the dangers of the giants and the precariousness of the situation leads the two friends to seek Queen Victoria herself (Penelope Wilton) and her maid Mary (Rebecca Hall).

The BFG will hit theaters July 1, 2016. Let us know your favorite Roald Dahl memories in the comments below!

—

Image: Disney

Kyle Anderson is the Weekend Editor and a film and TV critic for Nerdist.com. Follow him on Twitter!