Roald Dahl's work has been adapted a lot for screens big and small (there's a reboot of his Tales Of The Unexpected TV series in the works). Now Netflix has hatched a deal to turn a number of his books and short stories into animated "event" series (read: miniseries). There's a teaser for the concept already online...
The aim is to create family friendly animated shows that will channel such books as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator, The Twits, The Enormous Crocodile and more.
"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," says 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."
No details were offered as to which of the stories might be first up for adaptation, but production is scheduled to kick off next year. Does this mean yet another adaptation of the first Willy Wonka yarn? We'd be happier seeing Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator come to life, especially if the animation style hews to Quentin Blake's illustrative magic.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire on Great Magazines and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.