TL;DR – This includes Matilda, all the Willy Wonka books and more.
Growing up, the Roald Dahl universe was one of my first – and favourite – exposure to the magical world of books and I’m sure his iconic stories such as Matilda, The BFG and Esio Trot will resonate with you too.
A teaser video uploaded by Netflix reveals that some of Dahl’s most famous works will be adapted to the small screen soon as an animated series. This includes titles such as 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.
(By the way, chances are you’ve been pronouncing Roald Dahl’s name wrong your whole life – it’s NOT “Rolled” Dahl.)
Netflix says the series will “remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone of Dahl’s work, while also building an imaginative story universe”.
Personally, I’m bummed that the James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox and the Grand High Witch from the Witches will not be making an appearance. According to reports, these three projects which already have had movie treatments in the past, may still be contracted out to other companies, creating rights issues for Netflix.
Netflix is known for its innovative and high-quality storytelling and it is speculated that the total production budget for the collection of series and specials is likely to be above $500 million and could reach $1 billion. One can only imagine what will this mega-deal create in kids programming.
And I can’t wait.
