Taika Waititi may be a live-action director these days, but his sensibilities aren’t at all out of place in the world of animation. From his imaginative worlds, comedic timing, and ability to go zero to goofy in 2.5 seconds, it’s almost surprising that he hasn’t dabbled in animation up until this point. Lucky for us, this whole thing is about to be rectified very soon. This comes courtesy of the folks over at Netflix, who have the rights to all things Roald Dahl.

You may recall some time ago that they teased a fistful of Dahl adaptations including Matilda, The BFG, and of course, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There will be plenty more, but we’ll be focusing on the latter property for the time being. The streaming giant has announced Oscar-winning director of Jojo Rabbit Taika Waititi has closed a deal to write, direct, and executive produce not one, but two animated series based on the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The first series in question will apparently be based on the world and characters of the original story. From the sound of it, it won’t be a strict adaptation, but maybe they’re just being loose with the language just in case. The second series will be an original take on the Oompa-Loompas, the workers who help keep Willy Wonka’s factory running.

RELATED – Netflix Adapting Roald Dahl Stories Like Matilda, The BFG And More Into Animated Events

“I grew up reading Dahl stories and lived large parts of my young life in those magical worlds, so finding just the right creative partner to bring Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Oompa-Loompas to life in animation was a daunting task…until Taika walked into the room,” said Netflix vp of original animation Melissa Cobb. “Then, it was really obvious. If Dahl had created a character of a filmmaker to adapt his work, I’m pretty sure he would have created Taika,”

“In the words of Willy Wonka himself – we are ‘Delighted! Charmed! Overjoyed!’ with Taika’s appointment on this project,” said Gideon Simeloff, commercial and entertainment director, Roald Dahl Story Company. “There is something undeniably Wonka-esque about Taika’s creative flair and inimitable sense of humor and we cannot think of anyone more perfectly suited to leading the creative charge on these first of their kind, feature quality Netflix shows.”

As the title of the article indicates, I think this is an inspired choice. Not only does Waititi have the perfect imagination for animation, but his lighthearted, yet dark, sense of humor is right on-point with the original books on which these shows are based.

The only downside of all this is the fact that with each waking moment, Waititi’s Akira adaptation is moving further and further away from a possibility. What do you think of Taika Waititi taking on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: THR