Netflix announces plans to adapt Roald Dahl stories

Beloved Roald Dahl classics including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Esio Trot; the Twits and the BFG are set to get the Netflix treatment next year, with the streaming giant and the author’s estate announcing a slew of animated adaptations and plans for a “story universe” that would go beyond Dahl’s published work.

On Tuesday, Netflix confirmed it had secured the rights for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; the sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator’ The BFG – most recently adapted by Steven Spielberg in 2017 – The Twits; Matilda; 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.

Not included in the deal are novels such as James and the Giant Peach; Danny the Champion of the World; or Fantastic Mr Fox, which was most recently adapted in an animated film by Wes Anderson in 2009.

Netflix confirmed that production will begin on the first of the Dahl animated series in 2019, but no schedule has been announced.

“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 Roald 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 Company. Roald would, I know, be thrilled.”

In a press release announcing the partnership, Netflix said it intends to be faithful to “the quintessential spirit and tone of Dahl”, but also announced that it would be “building out an imaginative story universe that expands far beyond the pages of the books themselves”.

“Immersing ourselves in the extraordinary worlds of Roald Dahl stories has been an honour 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,” said Melissa Cobb, Netflix’s vice president of kids and family content. “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.”

The shows will be produced in conjunction with the Roald Dahl Story Company, which oversees his legacy in adaptations across film, television and stage.

Netflix’s move into animation comes after years of licensing films and series from Disney, which has plans to launch its own streaming service in 2019. The move will see Disney remove its content from third party services, in the hopes fans will follow.

Netflix is now investing hundreds of millions of dollars into animation and has unveiled several films and series, including a stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio to be directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, an original animated series by Book of Life director Jorge Gutierrez called Maya and the Three, and an adaptation of the Lois Lowry children’s book The Willoughbys, headed up by Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 director Kris Pearn.

While Netflix does not publish viewership data, it has previously confirmed that nearly 60% of its audience – roughly 83m households worldwide – watch children’s and family content.