A whiff of Roald Dahl's magic
The children's book comes to life on Netflix this October
Netflix
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The Twits is coming to the screen for the first time, but the despicable duo at the heart of Roald Dahl’s classic kids’ book have been somewhat re-imagined. In Netflix’s new film, the dastardly Mr and Mrs Twit are brought to life with animation inspired by the actors voicing them — specifically, how comedian Johnny Vegas’s high-pitched voice contrasts with American actor Margot Martindale’s lower tones.
“Because of their voices, we were visually looking for opposites,” explains director Phil Johnston. “Mr Twit has these spindly ankles and a gigantic bushy beard forming an inverted triangle. Mrs Twit is triangular with thin shoulders and thicker on the bottom. They’re very polar, but strangely complement each other.”
Was that contrasting voice a conscious choice? “No,” Vegas laughs, “I always say I’m like Sean Connery — you get what you get.”
Still, Vegas is “chuffed” to voice Mr Twit. “It’s great to play a villain and really revel in the nastiness of him. You’re playing someone who is the opposite of yourself.” Even someone so disgusting? “Do you know, in that sense I think the animation has captured me better than nature has!”
Roald Dahl’s popular book was first published in 1980. His loathing of beards inspired the character of Mr Twit
While the original book was illustrated by Quentin Blake, Johnston has created a more tactile world for his adaptation. “For Blake’s style, 2D animation would be better,” he says. Instead, the film blends illustrative elements with miniatures and stop-motion.
Keen to embrace the Twits’ “grossness”, he’s used a pallet of murky browns and greens to create the dingy atmosphere of Twitlandia. “I want the Twits’ house to feel like you could smell chicken grease and cigarettes,” he explains. Low and wide camera angles, not typical of animation, are also key in highlighting the grotesqueness of the Twits and making them intentionally off-putting.
“I love the style of it,” says Vegas, who almost studied animation himself at art school. “There’s a real depth of colour and feel within these characters and the set is absolutely phenomenal.
“I think what Phil’s done really well is taken the theme and the emotion behind the book and run with it, without losing the soul of the two despicable people at the heart of it.” ALICE LAMBERT
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The Twits is available on Netflix from Friday 17 October
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