An adaptation of the 1980 children's novel, The Twits, by renowned British author Roald Dahl, is set to feature a star-studded voice cast including Margo Martindale, Johnny Vegas, Natalie Portman and Emilia Clarke. Slated for release in 2025, the animated film was described as "chock-full of the Twits' beloved tricks" during the Next On Netflix : Animation Preview event held in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 6.
The plot revolves around the "meanest, smelliest, nastiest people in the world " who seize control of their town, prompting two orphans and a family of magical creatures to intervene. The story explores the eternal struggle between cruelty and empathy and has long been considered a literary classic by many young readers around the world.
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For the upcoming Netflix adaptation, the streaming giant had enlisted an impressive line-up of voices, which includes American character actress Margo Martindale, British funnyman Johnny Vegas, Black Swan and Thor star Natalie Portman and Game Of Thrones' alumni Emilia Clarke, was unveiled on Thursday.
In a video message, Emilia even cheekily joked that director Phil Johnston had duped her into joining the project. "He told me that I was going to be playing a Disney princess. An empowered, feminist Disney princess in the world's first trillion dollar franchise."
Harry and William's relationship 'hanging by thread' ahead of explosive memoir"You want to know what I'm actually playing? A bed bug in Mr Twit's beard. I'm a literal parasite," she quipped.
In other news, the "first ever animated film" penned by Richard Curtis, the writer behind Love Actually and Four Weddings And A Funeral, is due to hit Netflix this December.
That Christmas, based on a trilogy by a British author, features the voices of Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, and Jodie Whittaker, with Bill Nighy also making an appearance. "It's about Christmas, which is my favourite time of year, it's such a focus of happiness and loneliness and joy and fear," Curtis revealed.
Spellbound, directed by Shrek's Vicky Jenson and scored by EGOT winner Alan Menken, is also set to hit screens on November 22. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Rachel Zegler, and John Lithgow, and follows the brave young daughter of Lumbrias rulers on a quest to save her parents after they are turned into monsters by a mysterious spell.
Netflix has also unveiled plans for another SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off, following the August 2 release of Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. Titled Plankton: The Movie, it focuses on the ambitious character from the original Nickelodeon series whose world is "flipped upside down when his plan for world domination is thwarted".
Additionally, the Hotel Transylvania franchise is making a comeback with Motel Transylvania, where Drac and Mavis venture into real estate in southern California, set to premiere on Netflix next year.
The streaming giant also revealed that they are currently working on an animated version of the cult hit Stranger Things, promising it will keep the "scares and mystery of the iconic original series" which featured Brit actress Millie Bobby Brown.