A very desirable Golden Ticket!The classic tales of favourite children’s author Roald Dahl are coming to the small screen. Netflix will be producing a series of animated versions of some of his most beloved titles, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, and The Twits.
Dahl’s widow Felicity said the goal of the project was “for as many children as possible around the world to experience the unique magic and positive message of Roald Dahl’s stories”.
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Dahl died in 1990, but his books remain hugely popular, with 300 million sold, and a new book sold every 2.5 seconds. Matilda, his story of a little girl who loves to read (and develops telekinetic powers which she uses to fight bullies) was adapted into a multi-award-winning musical, and other adaptations of his work have earned a total of 52 nominations for Oscars, Golden Globes, Baftas, Oliviers and Tonys.
He also invented hundreds of words and terms, encouraging his readers not to be afraid of their own creativity.
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Netflix said 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”.
Melissa Cobb, the company’s vice president of Kids & Family Content, added that the aim of the shows was to “reimagine the journeys of so many treasured Dahl characters in fresh, contemporary ways with the highest quality animation and production values”.
There are currently 16 titles on the list of upcoming episodes. Production on the new series is set to begin next year.