Netflix’s Latest Roald Dahl Movie Debuts: Scores Middling on Rotten Tomatoes!

Many of Roald Dahl‘s literary works have been transformed into films, with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory standing out as the most iconic. Among his creations, the children’s story The Twits has now received its debut cinematic rendition via Netflix.

The new animated feature, available on Netflix, centers around a despicable couple who run an amusement park and are notorious for being the sleaziest and most odious characters in town. As they amass greater power, two young kids and a troop of monkeys are thrust into a battle to rescue their community. At the time of this writing, The Twits holds a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 critical reviews.

Compared to other film adaptations of Dahl’s novels, this rating is among the lowest. Dahl’s portfolio includes over a dozen adaptations, with celebrated titles like The Witches, Matilda, and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Presently, this film is the second-lowest-rated among Dahl adaptations, slightly surpassing Anne Hathaway’s The Witches, which stands at 49%.

Some critics have expressed disappointment with the film, arguing that it fails to effectively capture the satirical and political undertones of Dahl’s original narrative. Conversely, ScreenRant‘s Gregory Nussen offered a more favorable view, praising director Phil Johnston for successfully blending “high-brow themes with low-brow humor.” Nussen also remarked, “It could very well be the finest children’s horror film since Monster House, particularly for its trust in the audience’s intelligence.”

Featuring a stellar cast including Natalie Portman, Emilia Clarke, and Johnny Vegas, this Netflix musical comedy marks the first film adaptation of The Twits. The book was originally published in 1980, and although several film adaptations were considered since 2003, the tale was also adapted for the stage by Justin Pearson in 1999 and again in 2015 at the Royal Court Theater, directed by John Tiffany.

In 2023, a controversy arose when Puffin Books revised several Dahl books to remove derogatory language. Changes made to The Twits included the elimination of terms such as batty, nutty, screwy, ugly, and hag. This action led to significant backlash from readers, authors, and politicians, prompting the publisher to also offer editions featuring the original text.