Netflix Is Developing Animated Series for Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, MATILDA, THE BFG, and More
Several of the classic books written by Roald Dahl such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, and The Twits are coming to Netflix!
The streaming giant has teamed up with The Roald Dahl Story Company and will develop a new slate of original animated event series. The plan is to “remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone of Dahl,” but they plan to build out an “imaginative story universe that expands beyond the books.” I imagine this means that the stories will be set in the same universe.
Roald Dahl’s widow, Felicity Dahl, had this to say in a statement:
“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. 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.”
The full list of titles that are included in the deal include 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.
Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Kids & Family Content at Netflix added:
“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 Company and the Dahl family have placed in our team to deliver more moments of shared joy to families around the world. 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.”
Gideon Simeloff, Strategy Director for The Roald Dahl Story Company went on to say:
“Netflix is known for innovative and high-quality storytelling. There is no other place in the world that can deliver animated entertainment for the whole family at such quality and scale.”
I grew up on Dahl’s books. I always enjoyed the worlds he created and the stories he told, and I’m actually pretty excited about seeing these stories brought to life as a series of animated shows that will build a universe.
Production on the first of the Netflix Dahl animated series are set to begin in 2019. Check out a promo video below and let us know what you think about Netflix developing a Roald Dahl animated universe!