Netflix has tied up with The Roald Dahl Story Company to develop multiple animated series and specials based on the British author’s much-loved works, the streaming platform announced on Tuesday.
On the cards are adaptations of 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, and Rhyme Stew. Production on the first of the series will begin in 2019, Netflix said.
The novelist and short story writer is considered to be one of the finest children’s authors of all time. Many of Dahl’s books have been adapted into films, including Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (most recently by Tim Burton in 2005), which follows the adventures of 11-year-old Charlie Bucket, who wins a contest to enter Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory, and Matilda (a 1996 film was directed by Danny DeVito), about a child genius with special powers. The BFG, which traces the friendship between Sophie, an orphaned girl, and a big friendly giant, was made into a live-action film in 2016 by Steven Spielberg.
“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,” the author’s widow, Felicity Dahl, said in a press statement. “This partnership with Netflix marks a significant move toward making that possible and is an incredibly exciting new chapter for the Roald Dahl Story Company. Roald would, I know, be thrilled.”
Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Kids and Family Content at Netflix, said in a statement that they hope to “reimagine the journeys of so many treasured Dahl characters in fresh, contemporary ways with the highest quality animation and production values”.