Home Entertainment Netflix is adapting multiple Roald Dahl books as a new animated “story universe”

Netflix is adapting multiple Roald Dahl books as a new animated “story universe”

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goldenticket

I am tired as hell this morning, but instead of being the grumpy git I usually am, I have an indelible smile on my face. The reason for my lassitude is a late night, spent watching the extraordinary Matilda: The Musical, currently on at Monte Casino’s Teatro. If you live in or around Johannesburg and have yet to see it, do try to catch it before it moves on to Cape Town’s Artscape Theatre next month. The play, written by David Kelly and featuring brilliant songs by the incomparable Tim Minchin is a delight. It is of course, based on the book by beloved children’s author Roald Dahl.

The play was a reminder of exactly why Dahl and his imaginative works are still so popular with children today. Now there’s word that Netflix plans to bring that imagination to life in a new animated series. Netflix will be bringing stories based on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” “The BFG,” “The Twits” and more to the small screen. In a statement, the streaming company has said that it “intends to remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone of Dahl while also building out an imaginative story universe that expands far beyond the pages of the books themselves.”

The series has the blessing of Dahl’s family.

“Our mission, which is purposefully lofty, is for as many children as possible around the world to experience the unique magic and positive message of Roald Dahl’s stories,” said Dahl’s widow Felicity Dahl. “This partnership with Netflix marks a significant move toward making that possible and is an incredibly exciting new chapter for the Roald Dahl Story Co.”

These won’t just be straight adaptations of the books, but instead will build an expanded “Story Universe”

“Immersing ourselves in the extraordinary worlds of Roald Dahl stories has been an honor and a massive amount of fun, and we are grateful for the trust the Roald Dahl Story Co. and the Dahl family have placed in our team to deliver more moments of shared joy to families around the world,” added Melissa Cobb, vice president of kids and family content at Netflix. “We have great creative ambition to reimagine the journeys of so many treasured Dahl characters in fresh, contemporary ways with the highest quality animation and production values.”

It starts production next year. There’s no release date yet, but the deal includes quite a few of Dahl’s works:

  • “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
  • “Matilda”
  • “The BFG”
  • “The Twits”
  • “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator”
  • “George’s Marvellous Medicine”
  • “Boy – Tales of Childhood”
  • “Going Solo”
  • “The Enormous Crocodile”
  • “The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me”
  • “Henry Sugar”
  • “Billy and the Minpins”
  • “The Magic Finger”
  • “Esio Trot”
  • “Dirty Beasts”
  • “Rhyme Stew”

Conspicuous by their absence are James and the Giant Peach and Fantastic Mr. Fox, but they were both made into feature-length stop-motion movies.

Last Updated: November 28, 2018

12 Comments

  1. Tracy Benson

    November 28, 2018 at 09:49

    YAY!

    Reply

  2. Gavin Mannion

    November 28, 2018 at 10:46

    Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG, Don’t screw up BFG

    Reply

    • G8crasha

      November 28, 2018 at 12:10

      I agree 1000%. I have of course read all of the more well-known works of Dahl, and The BFG (not Big F*cking Gun for those uncultured individuals), is by far the one I enjoyed the most.

      Reply

    • miaau

      November 28, 2018 at 12:48

      Um. Yeah.

      I think they might just.

      Sabrina, made much darker. Some of the Dahl children’s works easily lend themselves to the darker side.

      Reply

    • BradeLunner

      November 28, 2018 at 14:52

      That recent movie version wasn´t too bad

      Reply

  3. CodeDisQus

    November 28, 2018 at 11:00

    Netflix is coming for everything ?

    Reply

    • G8crasha

      November 28, 2018 at 12:12

      Next year is gonna be the sh*t. Netflix has big plans, and so does Prime. There should be tons of good stuff coming our way hopefully.

      Reply

    • miaau

      November 28, 2018 at 12:48

      Except Disney IP, yes, seems so!

      Reply

      • CodeDisQus

        November 28, 2018 at 18:15

        hahahaha true!! It is worrying how much money we will have to spend to get al of this content, Netflix, Amazon, Disney +, DC Universe etc!

        Reply

  4. Magoo

    November 28, 2018 at 11:52

    First time my parents bought me Roald Dahl books, I was not impressed. About 8/9 years old, I wanted gameboy games and hotwheels tracks. Somehow The Magic Finger ended up in my bathroom. So one day, I sat down to do my business, and without any shampoo bottles in reach I picked up The Magic Finger. 3-4 hours later I got up off my throne and went to ask my parents to buy more RD books. I read the whole thing then and there, couldn’t even put it down to relocate to my bedroom. My first ever ‘big’ book.

    Reply

    • miaau

      November 28, 2018 at 12:48

      That is awesome!

      I read a lot, I mean a lot, of books and I get much joy out of it. I love hearing stuff like this,

      Reply

  5. BradeLunner

    November 28, 2018 at 14:52

    I’m so glad Boy is on this list!! I read it first in primary school and it was such a good mirror to my experiences

    Reply

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