‘The Twits’: This New Roald Dahl Adaptation is Both Weird & Workmanlike
‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ director Phil Johnston conjures enough offbeat charm to make this new dip into the author’s canon a solid if basic family film.
(L to R): Margo Martindale as Mrs. Twit, Johnny Vegas as Mr. Twit, in 'The Twits.'
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025.
On Netflix on October 17 is ‘The Twits,’ the latest project based on Roald Dahl’s 1980 children’s novel about a loathsome couple of troublemakers.
The Twits
Directed by Phil Johnston (‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’), the movie features the voices of Johnny Vegas (‘Bleak House’), Margo Martindale (‘August: Osage County’), Emilia Clarke (‘Game of Thrones’), Alan Tudyk (‘Superman’), Natalie Portman (‘Black Swan’) and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (‘Freakier Friday’).
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Initial Thoughts
(L to R): Ryan Lopez as Bubsy, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Beesha, in 'The Twits.' Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025.
Roald Dahl is one of those authors whose controversial views nevertheless don’t stop companies looking to adapt his work. We’ve already had two cinematic versions of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and Wes Anderson had brought several books and short stories to screens.
‘The Twits’ could perhaps be considered second-tier Dahl compared to the likes of Willy Wonka and co., but it nevertheless has enough of the writer’s trademark oddness blended with moral lessons that animation feels like the best medium for it.
Script and Direction
(L to R): Margo Martindale as Mrs. Twit, Johnny Vegas as Mr. Twit, in 'The Twits.'
Writing with Meg Favreau (‘Barbie: It Takes Two’), main director Phil Johnston clearly seems to be enjoying freedom from the restraints of working on bigger-budget Disney releases. Here, he truly lets his freak flag fly, building a decent if rarely needed narration and making enough changes to have the story work at feature length without sacrificing what fans of the books might expect.
The inclusion of orphan heroes, however, does feel somewhat off-the-peg for this sort of movie, even in the characters are engaging enough.
As director, Johnston (working alongside co-directors Todd Kunjan Demong (‘The Addams Family') and Katie Shanahan (‘Wild Kratts’) and their animation team, brings the characters to life in fresh fashion, the various personalities looking like a blend of stop-motion and CG, and giving the madness of the story its own visual flare.
Cast and Performances
(L to R): Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Beesha, Timothy Simons as Marty Muggle-Wump, in 'The Twits.' Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025.
Johnny Vegas and Margo Martindale are the standouts, voicing the main characters, but there are also good performances from the likes of Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (who voices one of the orphans) and Jason Mantzoukas (as local official Mayor Wayne John John-John).
Final Thoughts
Emilia Clarke as Pippa, in 'The Twits.' Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025.
Dahl books are tricky to get right, and especially to translate to US audiences given their very British sensibilities.
‘The Twits’ is mostly successful, even if it doesn’t ever really reach much further than that.
‘The Twits’ receives 70 out of 100.
Ryan Lopez as Bubsy, in 'The Twits.' Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025.
What’s the story of ‘The Twits’?
The Twits tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Twit, the meanest, smelliest, nastiest people on the face of the earth, and their epic battle against a family of magical Muggle-Wumps and two brave children who refuse to let the Twits’ cruelty win.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Twits’?
- Margo Martindale as Mrs. Credenza S. Twit
- Johnny Vegas as Mr. James T. Twit
- Natalie Portman as Mary Muggle-Wump
- Emilia Clarke as Pippa
- Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Beesha
- Jason Mantzoukas as Mayor Wayne John John-John
- Timothy Simons as Marty Muggle-Wump
- Alan Tudyk as Sweet Toed Toad
Phil Johnston as Mr. Napkin, in 'The Twits.' Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025.
Other Movies Adapted from Roald Dahl Stories:
- 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' (1968)
- 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory' (1971)
- 'The Witches' (1990)
- 'James and the Giant Peach' (1996)
- 'Matilda' (1996)
- 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (2005)
- 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (2009)
- 'The BFG' (2016)
- 'Roald Dahl's The Witches' (2020)
- 'Roald Dahl's Matilda: The Musical' (2022)
- 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More' (2024)
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