Taika Waititi To Helm Netflix's First Two Roald Dahl Animated Event Series

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER TAIKA WAITITI TO HELM NETFLIX’S FIRST TWO ROALD DAHL ANIMATED EVENT SERIES

Waititi to Re-Imagine the World of Willy Wonka and to Develop Original Oompa-Loompas Series

Celebrated and Academy Award-winning writer, director, and actor Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) is set to write, direct, and executive produce two original animated series for Netflix. The first is a series based on the world and characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The second is a wholly original take on the Oompa-Loompas, who will star in their own event series. The shows will retain the quintessential spirit and tone of the original story while building out the world and characters far beyond the pages of the Dahl book for the very first time.

Waititi signing on to these two series marks the beginning of an extensive partnership between Netflix and The Roald Dahl Story Company, which will reimagine many of the beloved stories of Roald Dahl, including Matilda, The BFG, The Twits, and others.

The first-of-its-kind slate of animated event series will bring together the highest quality creative teams - led by world-class filmmakers like Taika Waititi - to create premium animated content for families around the world.

"I grew up reading Dahl stories and lived large parts of my young life in those magical worlds, so finding just the right creative partner to bring Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Oompa-Loompas to life in animation was a daunting task...until Taika walked into the room. Then, it was really obvious. If Dahl had created a character of a filmmaker to adapt his work, I'm pretty sure he would have created Taika," said Netflix Vice President of Original Animation Melissa Cobb.

"In the words of Willy Wonka himself – we are 'Delighted! Charmed! Overjoyed!' with Taika’s appointment on this project. There is something undeniably Wonka-esque about Taika’s creative flair and inimitable sense of humor and we cannot think of anyone more perfectly suited to leading the creative charge on these first of their kind, feature quality Netflix shows," added Gideon Simeloff, Commercial and Entertainment Director, Roald Dahl Story Company.

The BFG, Matilda, The Twits, and a host of other iconic Roald Dahl stories will soon join Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Oompa-Loompas as Netflix becomes the home of a first-of-its-kind slate of animation extending across the Roald Dahl story universe. They will join a growing slate of Netflix animated feature films for families, including Academy Award nominated Klaus from Sergio Pablos, The Willoughbys from Kris Pearn and Over The Moon from Glen Keane in 2020.

Taika Waititi is best known for directing the critically-acclaimed blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok for Marvel, as well as the WWII satire Jojo Rabbit for Fox Searchlight. Waititi won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit, which he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in; the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Previously Waititi wrote and directed the beloved indie films Hunt For The Wilderpeople, What We Do In The Shadows, Boy, and the Oscar-nominated short film, Two Cars, One Night. He is currently in post-production on the feature film Next Goal Wins, which he directed, wrote, and produced, and he will next write and direct Thor: Love and Thunder. In television, he directed the season one finale of The Mandalorian on Disney+, and he served as executive producer, co-writer, and director of last year’s TV adaptation of What We Do In The Shadows on FX, now going into its second season on FX.

With 300 million books sold and 1 new book sold every 2.5 seconds, the Roald Dahl brand has never been more popular, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the #1 best-selling Roald Dahl title. With over 50 years of literary heritage, Willy Wonka has become one of the world’s most beloved fictional icons, recognised globally as the world’s most inventive confectionary creator.

Dino Girl Gauko Series Trailer

"Created by acclaimed director Akira Shigino (Crayon Shin-chan, Line Town & Osomatsu-Kun), the original animated kids comedy series centers on Naoko Watanabe, a young pre-teen girl living an average life in Japan, who just happens to turn into the fire-breathing dinosaur Gauko when her anger exceeds a maximum level."

"The addition of the series is a youthful take on the exploration of anger like what was done with the Netflix animated hit Aggretsuko. From dealing with the first day at a new school to combating a pimple during picture day, a new and relatable character is introduced to a younger audience via Naoko. Dino Girl Gauko joins a robust lineup of Netflix original animated series for kids by creators from all over the world."

"Dino Girl Gauko debuts November 22 on Netflix with 20 episodes."

PRESS RELEASE: Netflix's "Green Eggs and Ham" - Launching November 8

SYNOPSIS:

The story of Green Eggs and Ham is like a postmodern Planes, Trains and Automobiles through the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss. Sam rescues the rare Chickeraffe from the Glurfsburg Zoo, hides it in a briefcase, and attempts to make his way to Meepville where he can charter a cold air balloon to take the Chickeraffe to his island home.

Guy just flopped his last big chance at being a world famous inventor for the industrial Snerz Co. He packs up his invention in a briefcase and resigns to give up on his dreams and become a paint watcher.

A chance meeting at a diner with Sam, and a switch up with the briefcases results in these two unlikely souls getting mixed up on an adventure that takes them on a journey of self discovery.

Our two mismatched heroes cross paths with overprotective Michellee, whose daughter, EB, desperately wants a pet, and falls madly in love with the Chickeraffe… despite her mother’s fears that it will eat off her face (it won’t). Michellee’s walled up heart also connects with the heart-hardened Guy. And a laborious love story begins.

Our fakakta foursome are also unknowingly pursued by a bounty hunter goat, two bad guys, and a villain who’s out to get the Chickeraffee as his ultimate trophy.

Series Stars: Adam Devine, Michael Douglas, Ilana Glazer, Diane Keaton, Keegan-Michael Key, Eddie Izzard, Jeffrey Wright, Jillian Bell, John Turturro, Tracy Morgan and Daveed Diggs

 

ABOUT:

Creator: Jared Stern

Executive Producers: Ellen DeGeneres, Jared Stern, Sam Register, Mike Karz, David Dobkin and Jeff Kleeman

Producer: Helen Kalafatic

Produced By: Warner Bros. Animation

Format: Animated 13 x ½ hour episodes

Instagram: @NetflixFamily

Twitter: @NetflixFamily

 Facebook: @NetflixFamily

www.netflix.com/greeneggsandham

The Last Kids on Earth Trailer

"The Last Kids on Earth, based Max Brallier's best-selling book series, is set to premiere on Netflix on September 17, and follows 13-year-old Jack Sullivan (voiced by Nick Wolfhard) and his band of middle schoolers who live in a decked-out tree house, play video games, and battle zombies in the aftermath of the monster apocalypse. It’s a hilarious adventure filled with crazy gadgets and a lifetime supply of action."

Centaurworld On Netflix

NETFLIX ORDERS ANIMATED MUSICAL COMEDY SERIES CENTAURWORLD FROM FIRST-TIME SHOWRUNNER MEGAN NICOLE DONG

• Netflix will transport viewers around the world to a colorful and imaginative land where fantastical creatures sing and adventure surrounds you - welcome to Centaurworld.
• The new kids animated series hails from first-time showrunner Megan Nicole Dong, a 2017 honoree of Variety’s 10 Animators to Watch List. Dong grew through the ranks as a story artist on DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie before becoming a supervising director on Netflix’s Pinky Malinky.
• Centaurworld follows a war horse who is transported from her embattled world to a strange land inhabited by silly, singing centaurs of all species, shapes, and sizes. Desperate to return home, she befriends a group of these magical creatures and embarks on a journey that will test her more than any battle she's ever faced before.
• Dong will executive produce the series alongside Dominic Bisignano (Star vs the Forces of Evil) who will serve as co-executive producer. Meghan McCarthy (My Little Pony franchise) will serve as story editor. Toby Chu (Bao) will be the series composer.
• Netflix has committed to a 20-episode order.
• The series will feature a mix of animation styles and each episode will include original songs in a variety of genres.
• Centaurworld joins a robust lineup of Netflix original animated series in production at Netflix Animation, including City of Ghosts from Elizabeth Ito, Kid Cosmic from Craig McCracken, Battle Kitty from Matt Layzell, Maya and the Three from Jorge Gutierrez, and Trash Truck from Max Keane.

Ask the StoryBots Season 3 Now on Netflix

Season 3 of Ask the StoryBots has just released to Netflix on Friday with an all-star celebrity lineup including John Legend, Jason Sudeikis and Zoe Saldana

The Emmy-winning preschool series, created by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, is well-known for the talent who make cameos to help explain a variety of educational topics, like Snoop Dogg explaining computer programming. Season 3 will feature John Legend demonstrating how to make music, Jason Sudeikis teaching how toilets work – and everything in between! 

The new season features 8 episodes designed to teach kids everything from why recycling is important to where planets come from. On hand to help the animated bots answer each question is an all-star celebrity lineup that includes Jennifer Garner, John Legend and Jason Sudeikis. The educational content seamlessly integrated within an entertainment format makes Ask the StoryBots the perfect show to watch as a family.

The full list of topics and celebrity guests can be found below:

• How Do Eyes See? (Maria Bamford)
• Why Do we have to Recycle? (Tony Hale)
• Why Do People Look Different? (Reggie Watts)
• Where Does Chocolate Come From? (Alyssa Milano)
• How Do You Make Music? (John Legend)
• Where Do Planets Come From? (Zoe Saldana)
• What Happens When You Flush the Toilet? (Jason Sudeikis)

Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus Coming to Netflix

Date Announcement & New Asset Debut 

Netflix and Nickelodeon’s Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, from creator Jhonen Vasquez, will release globally on August 16th, 2019.

Written by Jhonen Vasquez  

Produced by Nickelodeon 

Supervising Producer Breehn Burns

Art Director Jenny Goldberg

Music by Kevin Manthei

Storyboard Director Jake Wyatt

Created by  Jhonen Vasquez 

Produced by Joann Estoesta 

Executive Producers Jhonen Vasquez and  Mary Harrington

Associate Producer Angela Leung

Storyboard Artists Tyson Heese, Megan Lawton, Samir Barrett, Sofia Alexander, Stephan Park, Rie Koga, Shawna Mills, Chris Graham

Story Consultant Breehn Burns

Writing Consultant Eric Truehart

Storyboard Revisionists Serena Wu and Jacob Eaton

Animatic Editors Jonathan Sims and Hugo Morales

Assistant Animatic Editors Zach Smythe and Rachael Russakoff

Cast Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Andy Berman, Melissa Fahn, Rodger Bumpass, Jhonen Vasquez, Wally Wingert, Kevin McDonald, Olivia d’Abo, Eric Bauza, Breehn Burns, Justin Roiland, Fred Tatasciore,  Jenny Goldberg, Mo Collins, and Michael McDonald   

Synopsis:

Zim discovers his almighty leaders never had any intention of coming to Earth and he loses confidence in himself for the first time in his life, which is the big break his human nemesis, Dib has been waiting for.

Invader Zim debuted on Nickelodeon in 2001 and chronicled the efforts of an extraterrestrial named Zim on a mission to conquer Earth and enslave the human race.

For more information, please visit the Netflix Media Center page for the film.

netflix.com/invaderzimentertheflorpus

Netflix Unveils 'Fast & Furious: Spy Racers' Teaser

"Fast & Furious: Spy Racers expands the high-octane action of the films as teenager Tony Toretto follows in the footsteps of his cousin Dom when he and his friends are recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for a nefarious crime organization bent on world domination. Tim Hedrick (Voltron Legendary Defender) and Bret Haaland (All Hail King Julien) will serve as executive producers and showrunners. The series is also executive produced by Vin Diesel and Chris Morgan who also serve as producers on the live-action Fast & Furious franchise. The series is slated to debut globally on Netflix later this year."

New Stills from Netflix's "Klaus" and the "Willoughbys"

NEW STILLS DEBUT OUT OF THE  ANNECY INTERNATIONAL ANIMATED FILM  FESTIVAL FOR NETFLIX’S FIRST ANIMATED FILMS

KLAUS AND THE WILLOUGHBYS

Captions: Top: Jesper (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) in Sergio Pablos’ KLAUS, coming this holiday season.

Bottom (L to R): The Barnabys (voiced by Sean Cullen), Tim (voiced by Will Forte), and Jane (voiced by Alessia Cara) in THE WILLOUGHBYS, coming in Spring 2020.

ABOUT KLAUS

A young, Scandinavian postman named Jesper gets the chance to make his mark when he’s tasked with bringing the postal service to a contentious village in the cold north, where he meets a mysterious, white-bearded toymaker named Klaus.

FUN FACTS

• Klaus is Netflix’s first original animated film.
• The movie is a passion project for Despicable Me co-creator Sergio Pablos, who first came up with the idea for it in 2010.
• Klaus was produced entirely in Madrid, Spain with a very international crew comprised of some of the most talented hand drawn artists from all over the world.
• The film introduces a unique animation style which blends traditional hand drawn animation techniques with cutting edge technology.

CREW & CAST

• Director: Sergio Pablos (co-creator of Despicable Me)
• Producers: Jinko Gotoh (The Little Prince, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part), Gustavo Ferrada, and Marisa Román

• Art Directors: Szymon Biernacki, Marcin Jakubowski
• U.S. Voice Cast: Jason Schwartzman (Jesper), J.K. Simmons (Klaus), Rashida Jones (Alva), Joan Cusack (Mrs. Krum), Norm Macdonald (Mogens), Will Sasso (Mr. Ellingboe)

ABOUT THE WILLOUGHBYS

When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their old-fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create a new and modern family.

FUN FACTS

• Netflix’s second original animated film.
• A highly stylized CG animated feature film currently in production with BRON Animation in Vancouver.
• From writer/director Kris Pearn (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2).
• Based on the acclaimed book by Newbery Award-winning author, Lois Lowry.

CREW & CAST

• Director: Kris Pearn (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)
• U.S. Voice Cast: Ricky Gervais (Cat), Maya Rudolph (Nanny), Will Forte (Tim), Martin Short (Father), Alessia Cara (Jane) and Jane Krakowski (Mother), Sean Cullen (The Barnabys).

www.netflix.com/klaus  

www.netflix.com/thewilloughbys

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous - First Look

JURASSIC WORLD: CAMP CRETACEOUS ANIMATED SERIES

FROM DREAMWORKS ANIMATION ROARS ONTO NETFLIX IN 2020

 

The series is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Colin Trevorrow,

Scott Kreamer and Lane Lueras

 

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – June 4, 2019 – DreamWorks Animation today announced Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, an animated action-adventure series, is set to debut globally on Netflix in 2020 as part of an ongoing multi-year agreement with Netflix to produce original animated kids and family programming. Set within the same timeline as the 2015 blockbuster film, Jurassic World, the Netflix original series is inspired by the multi-billion-dollar franchise from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment.

 

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous follows a group of six teenagers chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a new adventure camp on the opposite side of Isla Nublar. But when dinosaurs wreak havoc across the island, the campers are stranded. Unable to reach the outside world, they’ll need to go from strangers to friends to family if they’re going to survive.

 

Scott Kreamer (Pinky Malinky) and Lane Lueras (Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny) serve as showrunners and executive producers. The series is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Colin Trevorrow. Zack Stentz serves as consulting producer.

 

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous builds on a successful five-year relationship between DreamWorks Animation and Netflix that has seen 18 original series debut on the service, including the Tales of Arcadia trilogy from Guillermo del Toro, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Spirit Riding Free, and The Boss Baby: Back in Business. Following NBCUniversal’s acquisition of the studio, DreamWorks Animation and Netflix expanded their relationship to include first looks at animated series based on Universal Pictures properties as well as original and acquired IP. DreamWorks Animation has a number of additional series slated to debut on Netflix in 2019, including Archibald’s Next Big Thing from executive producer Tony Hale and the highly anticipated Fast & Furious animated series.

www.netflix.com/jurassicworldcampcretaceous

About The Jurassic World Franchise

From Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, the Jurassic World franchise immerses audiences of all ages in a new era of wonder and thrills where dinosaurs and humankind must learn to coexist. Jurassic World is more than a film franchise. At every turn, this $5 billion film series delivers a larger-than-life destination for exploration, discovery, and epic adventure.

 

About DWA

DreamWorks Animation (DWA), a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, within NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, is a global family entertainment company with feature film and television brands.  The company’s deep portfolio of intellectual property is supported by a robust, worldwide consumer products practice, which includes licensing, and location-based entertainment venues around the world.  DWA’s film heritage includes many of the world’s most beloved characters and franchises, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls and The Boss Baby, and have amassed more than $15 billion in global box office receipts.  DreamWorks Animation’s television business has quickly become one of the world’s leading producers of high-quality, animated family programming, reaching consumers in more than 190 countries.  Creating a diverse array of original content in a variety of formats and delivering deep, fully immersive worlds served up with compelling characters, the studio has garnered 25 Emmy^® Awards since inception in 2013.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with over 148 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.