“The Twits,” a new animated feature based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name, will be coming to Netflix in 2025.
Phil Johnston, a Disney vet who worked on “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (which he also directed alongside longtime collaborator Rich Moore), is directing, producing and co-writing “The Twits.” Katie Shanahan and Todd Demong are on board as co-directors, with Meg Favreau co-writing the script with Johnston.
“The Twits” is the first animated venture to come out of Netflix’s 2021 acquisition of the Roald Dahl Story Company. The company says that the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” series is still on the way and there will be more announcements forthcoming. But so far the only thing to come from the Dahl purchase are a series of short films helmed by Wes Anderson that will debut later this month, beginning with the 40-minute “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
“The Twits” has been translated into 41 languages and sold 16 million copies worldwide, which makes it a natural fit for Netflix’s inaugural Dahl-based animated feature.
The official synopsis for the movie reads: “Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the meanest, smelliest, nastiest people in the world who also happen to own and operate the most disgusting, most dangerous, most idiotic amusement park in the world, Twitlandia. But when the Twits rise to power in their town, two brave orphans and a family of magical animals are forced to become as tricky as the Twits in order to save the city.”
In the official release, Johnston says that “The Twits” was his favorite book as a kid.
“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,” Johnston said in the statement.
“The Twits” debuts in 2025.