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A lot of folks kicking around in the world today grew up reading the delightful children’s literature of Roald Dahl. One of Dahl’s books in particular – The Twits – has long been considered a favorite of both young and old. Published in 1980, the story (richly illustrated by Quentin Blake) featured a married couple, aforementioned Twits, who have long since left behind the ‘honeymoon’ stage of their relationship. They loathe one another and are none too friendly either with their contingency of pet monkeys. As the story unfolds, the reader learns that the bickering couple aren’t necessarily bad per se, but rather have some serious self-esteem issues.
The Twits has endured over the decades and has even seen life as a vaunted stage production in 2007. Less hardy souls that somehow missed out on the magic and whimsy of the tale have taken shots at it and attempted to alter Dahl’s original wording so that it might fall more in line with the ultra-PC crowd that might have difficulty with little words such as ‘irreverence’ and ‘parables.’ This little bromide has indeed endured and it looks as if it’s set to reach an even larger audience with an upcoming adaptation…
From our Matilda fanatics over at The Hollywood Reporter comes the news today that no less of a streaming giant as Netflix has taken up the gauntlet of attempting an animated adaptation of author Roald Dahl’s evergreen children’s novel The Twits.
Directing this version of The Twits will be none other than Oscar-nominated Phil Johnson of Ralph Breaks the Internet fame. Aware of the old adage of ‘the more the merrier,’ Johnson and Netflix have invited two other hardy souls along for the directing-ride: Co-directing this feature film will be luminaries Katie Shanahan and Todd Demong. Johnson will be pulling triple-duty and will also be producing and adapting the book to script form with wordsmith Meg Favreau. Creating all of the pretty moving pictures for the adaptation will be Jellyfish Pictures.
In a press release announcing the adaptation, Johnson enthused that “The Twits was my favorite book when I was a kid. I love the Twits and their terrible tricks. I love that they lack self-awareness and personal hygiene and any inkling of human decency. And I love this movie because it reminds us that twits like the Twits, whose default emotions are anger and vengeance, can’t be allowed to win in our world.”
Netflix is very much in the Roald Dahl business: The streamer actually bought the Roald Dahl Story Company a couple of years back and have even more adaptations of the much-missed author’s work set for adaptations including the likes of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The Twits is anticipated to premiere on Netflix in 2025.
