Netflix has announced a new deal to bring some of Roald Dahl’s most famous stories to the streaming service.
On Monday, Netflix and The Roald Dahl Story Company announced that they had reached a deal, allowing the streaming service to create new original animated adaptations of the author’s children’s stories.
The streaming service said the upcoming project would see them “extending the Roald Dahl universe” naming ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’, ‘Matilda’ and ‘The Twits’ among the books that would be adapted.
They also said they were determined to “remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone” of the original stories, while also “building out an imaginative story universe that expands far beyond the pages of the books themselves”.
Quoting the Roald Dahl character Willy Wonka, a tweet from their official Twitter account said: “Because a little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men... we’re pleased to announce a brand new Roald Dahl story universe is coming soon to Netflix.”
Felicity Dahl, the late author’s wife, said: “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.”
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.”
Earlier this month, Netflix confirmed that they would be putting more emphasis on children’s programming in the future, with Melissa saying at the time: “We know that there is no one type of family. We embrace all kinds of creators so we can tell unique and diverse stories that resonate with each and every Netflix family.
“With our slate of global original animated feature films and series, we want to give families more moments to share the laughter, wonder and connection that comes from being immersed in a great story.”
Several of Roald Dahl’s stories have already been adapted into popular films, including ‘Matilda’, ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’, ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’, ‘James And The Giant Peach’ and ‘The Witches’.
More recently, ‘The BFG’ was adapted for the big screen in 2016, with Mark Rylance voicing the titular giant.