Netflix Is Streaming A Disturbing Animated Movie Based On A Beloved Author’s Book

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Roald Dahl is one of the leading writers/illustrators in the history of British children’s literature, although some children discover Dahl’s works through the films they have been adapted into. The 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” is a classic, and Danny DeVito’s American film “Matilda” is a touchstone of the millennium. Dahl’s art style leaned toward the cartoonish (his villains were always ugly inside and out), and to depict this, some of Dahl’s adaptations chose animation — like the most recent film, “The Twits.”

Based on the 1980 novel, “The Twits” stars the duo of the same name (Margo Martindale and Johnny Vegas). They are a couple of idiots to make everyone (including each other) miserable. The latest work from Wreck-It Ralph director Phil Johnston is the 3D animated film The Twits, but with appropriate filth, rather than the Disney-meets-video-game sheen of Wreck-It Ralph.

Like the book, Mr. Tweet is drawn with a bushy beard. “The Twits” sometimes feels like a lesson in the importance of shaving; The first chapter of the book is called “Hairy Faces,” and the book encourages young readers to view bearded men with suspicion and disgust (the third chapter discusses all the ways beards accumulate crumbs and dirt).

The film is full of outrageous humor, but it also takes the book’s meanness to light. Speaking to Cartoon Brew, Johnston explained:

“[Dahl’s book is] Really a series of drawings. Idiots being terrible to each other and to animals. So for me, the fun was taking these two adorable, obnoxious characters and building a world around them. “It’s really more inspired by the source material than adapted from it.”

Hence, the film introduces a central conflict (the opening of the Toytlandia amusement park), a young hero in the orphan Bisha (Maitri Ramakrishnan), and musical numbers.

“The Twits” has elicited divided reactions, and the humor and honest moments aren’t always evident. If there’s one great thing about the movie, it’s the songwriting talent on the soundtrack. David Byrne, lead singer of Talking Heads, wrote the songs sung in the film, such as the Twits duet “We’re Not Like Ev’ryone Else”. The end credits sequence song, “Open the Door,” was co-written by Byrne and Paramore’s Hayley Williams, who provides lead vocals. (Williams has performed end credit songs before with Paramore, such as on “Twilight.”)

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Johnston said Byrne had the idea to recruit Williams. This is far from the first Talking Heads/Paramore mix; Williams is a fan of Talking Heads, and the band was a major influence on Paramore’s fifth album, the wistful ‘After Laughter’ in the 1980s. In 2024, Paramore appeared on a tribute album to Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film “Stop Make Sense” with a rousing cover of “Burning Down The House”.

Appreciation goes both ways. In 2024, Byrne also released a cover of Paramore’s “Hard Times” after learning that Talking Heads had inspired it, and Williams collaborated on his new album, “Who Is The Sky?” Byrne and Williams recorded the conversations and performed live together. Writing “Open the Door” is the next chapter of their partnership.

How is the song itself? It’s soft and melodic, and lays down the film’s themes of found family intensely (e.g., “Family isn’t just who you relate to, it’s who you care about and who cares about you”). The lyrics may be sarcastic, but Williams’ singing convinces you of their truth. In this way, it serves as a cut above the film that accompanies it.

“The Twits” is streaming on Netflix.