Netflix announced plans on Tuesday to push further into kids content with its new deal to animate popular Roald Dahl books. The company said it intends to roll out “animated event series and specials” based on books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, Matilda and The Twits. In addition, Netflix plans to focus primarily on TV series, however it also has the option to make feature-length films.
“Immersing ourselves in the extraordinary worlds of Roald Dahl stories has been an honor and a massive amount of fun,” Netflix’s Vice President of Kids and Family Content Melissa Cobb said in a blog post. “We have great creative ambition to reimagine the journeys of so many treasured Dahl characters in fresh, contemporary ways with the highest quality animation and production values.”
Netflix advocates its award-winning originals, including “Stranger Things” and “Black Mirror” as the competition in streaming remains ignited. Hulu, Amazon and Apple are all upping content spends as well in an effort to snag some of Netflix’s market share. On the other hand, Disney’s kid-friendly streaming service, Disney+, is set to launch at the end of 2019.
Production of the first animated series will begin in 2019, according to Netflix. The full list of Dahl titles under the Netflix agreement, aside from those already mentioned, include: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Boy – Tales of Childhood, Going Solo, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, Henry Sugar, Billy and the Minpins, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Dirty Beasts and Rhyme Stew.