First Look at Netflix's 'The Twits' Skips Promoting Other Anderson Dahl Films

Thus far, one might consider Netflix's purchase of the Roald Dahl universe wholesale in 2021 as a success. The first film, Matilda The Musical, though not originally commissioned as part of that deal, was a massive hit, even if it was not an awards winner. The second release, and first film under the deal, Wes Anderson's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, has likewise received rave reviews and is currently on track to be shortlisted for an Oscar in a category where it won't have much competition, Live Action Short Film, and high chances of landing some hardware.

On the heels of Henry Sugar's theatrical release in mid-Septemeber 2023, Netflix immediately turned to announce the next high-profile release from the Dahliverse, The Twits, based, like the first two, on best-selling, well-known titles out of the Roald Dahl canon. Here's the synopsis for the upcoming animated feature film, which arrived along with the movie's first image. Note that no cast is listed and that The Twits is not planned to premiere until sometime in 2025.

The Twits follows Mr. and Mrs. Twit, the meanest, smelliest, nastiest people in the world, who also happen to own and operate the most disgusting, most dangerous, most idiotic amusement park in the world, Twitlandia. But when the Twits rise to power in their town, two brave orphans and a family of magical animals are forced to become as tricky as the Twits to save the city. A hysterically funny, wild ride of a film (chock-full of the Twits’ beloved tricks–from the Wormy Spaghetti to the Dreaded Shrinks), The Twits is also a story for our times, about the never-ending battle between cruelty and empathy.

Now, that may not seem odd; after all, many films announce their next big project on the heels of the last one. (Star Wars made an entire franchise out of it.) However, in the world of feature films, where it takes two years to make each one, that makes sense. What doesn't make sense is doing that when you have plenty of stuff to release between now and then or are, in fact, in the middle of releasing it with barely any promotion, save a single article on the Netflix tie-in marketing site Tudum, which as far as most can tell was never promoted.

Wes Anderson did not just make a short film based on The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar; he also made three more short films based on some of his favorite Dahl short stories, including one of the "Six More" from the Sugar anthology, The Swan. He also adapted Dahl's The Rat Catcher and Poison from his much earlier 1953 collection, Someone Like You. (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More was published in 1977.) Of these, the best known is probably Poison, which was made into an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode in the 1950s and a Tales of the Unexpected installment in the 1980s.

All three star a mix and match the same cast as Henry Sugar. Ralph Fiennes stars in all four short films, Rupert Friend joining him in all but Poison, while Asa Jennings appears in The Swan, Richard Ayoade in The Rat Catcher, and Dev Patel, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ben Kingsley in Poison.

If short films debut on Netflix and no one promotes them, do people watch? While you are waiting for The Twits, which won't be out for quite a while, do Wes Anderson a favor and check out The Swan, released on September 28, The Rat Catcher, released on September 29, and Poison, released on September 30, 2023. All three are streaming now on Netflix.