Netflix has unveiled a star-studded new trailer for its latest Roald Dahl adaptation, which promises to tell an “emotionally complex” story with “highbrow themes and lowbrow comedy,” lifted right from the pages of the classic 1980 children’s book The Twits. The animated adventure hails from Phil Johnston, the writer and director of Ralph Breaks the Internet, Disney’s sequel to 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph – only, this time, instead of handling video game heroes, Johnston had to deal with the “meanest, smelliest, nastiest people in the world,” aka the notoriously unpleasant Mr. and Mrs. Twit (voiced by Johnny Vegas and Margo Martindale).
“Once upon a time,” the narration in the trailer begins, as it attempts to set the scene, but what follows is far from a picture-perfect fairytale. In fact, Netflix describes it as “a story for our times about the never-ending battle between cruelty and empathy,” as the gruesome twosome at the center of it all unleash havoc when they declare war on orphan children… and each other. However, it seems that they might have met their match, as one valiant group – which includes a family of magical animals – rises up against the Twits’ tricks in a desperate bid to save the city from catastrophe and possibly conclude with a happily ever after.
The voice cast for The Twits features Natalie Portman (Black Swan) as Mary Muggle-Wump, Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Pippa, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) as Beesha Balti, Ryan Lopez (Primos) as Bubsy Mulch, Jason Mantzoukas (The League) as Mayor Wayne John John-John, Timothy Simons (Nobody Wants This) as Marty Muggle-Wump, Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien) as The Sweet-Toed Toad, Nicole Byer (Nailed It!) as Beverly Onion, Mark Proksch (What We Do in the Shadows) as Horvis Dungle, Rebecca Wisocky (Ghosts) as Dee Dumdie-Dungle, and Charlie Berens (Green and Gold) as Gorb Klurb.
‘The Twits’ Is the Latest Roald Dahl Adaptation
The Twits is the latest Roald Dahl story to get the movie treatment, following several other successful adaptations and many more to come. Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in September 2021, giving it the rights to the author’s beloved characters and stories. Since the deal went through, the streamer has released the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Matilda the Musical, as well as a collection of Oscar-winning short films directed by Wes Anderson and starring Ralph Fiennes and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison) – but this is only the beginning.
Netflix’s newest Dahl darling is not only the first animated release in the line-up of Roald Dahl projects coming to the streaming service, it is also the first-ever screen adaptation of The Twits, unlike Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which has had two previous film adaptations and a 2023 origin story, titled Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet. Taika Waititi is also reportedly working on an animated version of that story, while Netflix is busy developing a reality competition series that will invite players into a world of pure imagination inside Wonka’s factory, where they will participate in a series of games and tests to achieve sweet success.
- Release Date
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October 17, 2025
- Runtime
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98 minutes
- Director
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Phil Johnston
- Writers
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Kirk DeMicco, Phil Johnston, Meg Favreau, Roald Dahl
- Producers
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John H. Williams, Julie Lockhart, Mary Coleman, Lara Breay, Elisabeth Murdoch