★★★★★ 0/5

Netflix acquires Roald Dahl Story Company

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory marks the first of new fantasy projects marked for streaming platform.

2
Leave a comment

Netflix has fully acquired the famed Roald Dahl Story Company as it looks to future family entertainment screen projects.

Dahl’s books have sold more than 250 million copies with such tales as James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits, and George’s Marvellous Medicine.

His adult works include Tales of the Unexpected.

In a joint statement Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer and Luke Kelly, Managing Director, RDSC and Roald Dahl’s grandson, said, “This acquisition builds on the partnership we started three years ago to create a slate of animated TV series. For example, Academy Award winning filmmaker Taika Waititi and Academy Award nominee Phil Johnston are now hard at work on a series based on the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In addition, we’re working with Sony and Working Title on an adaptation of Matilda The Musical.

“These projects opened our eyes to a much more ambitious venture – the creation of a unique universe across animated and live action films and TV, publishing, games, immersive experiences, live theatre, consumer products and more. Roald Dahl’s books have been translated into 63 languages and sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, with characters like Matilda, The BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Willy Wonka and The Twits delighting generations of children and adults. These stories and their messages of the power and possibility of young people have never felt more pertinent.

“As we bring these timeless tales to more audiences in new formats, we’re committed to maintaining their unique spirit and their universal themes of surprise and kindness, while also sprinkling some fresh magic into the mix.”

2 Responses

  1. I’ve always wanted to see a TV series based on Roald’s childhood autobiography, ‘Boy’ which is my second favourite book of all time (behind The War Of the Worlds which is still awaiting a truly faithful adaptation). ‘Boy’ is so rich in fantastic episodes which fed directly into his most celebrated works as an adult. It would lend brilliantly to sequel series eventually going into ‘Going Solo’.

  2. Taika Waititi doing a Roald Dahl story would be interesting considering Taika’s natural talent with visual comedy, the only issue for me is that I’m not really a fan of animated series, though I do enjoy Love Death + Robots.

Leave a Reply