Roald Dahl is a shining light in children’s literature, but his books are not just for kids. His novels were among some of my favourite reads growing up, and the film adaptations were no different. There have been dozens of film retellings since the books were published, and there will no doubt be more to come. However, there are seven specifically that stand out to me as the very best remakes of Dahl’s works. With Matilda only at number three, what has made the top spot? Here are my top seven Roald Dahl adaptations.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 stop-motion animated adventure comedy film directed by Wes Anderson (in his animation debut) from a screenplay by Anderson and Noah Baumbach and based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. Featuring stop-motion animation, it stars George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson. The film’s plot reads: “Mr Fox, a family man, goes back to his ways of stealing, unable to resist his animal instincts. However, he finds himself trapped when three farmers decide to kill him and his kind.”
(Image: 20th Century Fox)
The Twits is a 2025 animated musical comedy film loosely based on Roald Dahl’s 1980 children’s novel. The film was produced, directed, and co-written by Phil Johnston. The voice cast includes Margo Martindale and Johnny Vegas as the title characters, alongside Natalie Portman, Emilia Clarke, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Ryan Lopez, Jason Mantzoukas, Timothy Simons, Alan Tudyk, and Nicole Byer. A summary of the film’s plot reads: “When the meanest, nastiest villains pull a trick to take over their town, two brave children team up with a family of magical animals to bring them down.”
(Image: Netflix)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical fantasy film that is based the 1964 children’s novel Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car by Ian Fleming, however, with a screenplay co-written by Hughes and Roald Dahl. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, Heather Ripley and Adrian Hall. The film’s synopsis reads: “Inventor Caractacus Potts transforms an old car into a magical flying vehicle that transports him and his family to a kingdom ruled by the evil Baron Bomburst.”
(Image: United Artists)