Roald Dahl’s Nastiest Duo Wages War on Orphans in Netflix’s Unsettling The Twits Trailer

Netflix just dropped the trailer for its animated take on Roald Dahl's The Twits, and it is gleefully nasty in all the right ways. Think big-hearted theme about empathy vs. cruelty, wrapped in slapstick filth and mean-spirited pranks. The very first voice you hear is Emilia Clarke as Pippa saying, 'I don't want to live in a world where hate wins.' Same, Pippa.

What this version is doing

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Phil Johnston is reimagining Dahl's famously foul couple for their first feature-length animated outing. This time, the Twits actually have first names: Jim and Credenza Twit. They run Twitlandia, which proudly aims for 'most disgusting, most dangerous, most idiotic amusement park in the world' status. When this rotten duo somehow climbs to power in their town, two brave kids (the trailer frames them as orphans) team up with a family of magical Muggle-Wumps to out-trick the Twits and save the city. Expect the classic gross-out bits too: Wormy Spaghetti, the Dreaded Shrinks, and all that sticky, scruffy mayhem.

Tonally, the trailer leans into grimy textures and chaotic critters with a bit of a LAIKA-adjacent vibe, but the target is clear: big, silly laughs that carry a simple point about decency vs. nastiness. High-brow message, low-brow delivery. That combo can be potent when it works.

The music twist (and a fun inside-baseball note)

New music is coming from Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, with an end credits song co-written by Paramore's Hayley Williams. Johnston sounds like a kid on Christmas about it, and for good reason: Byrne apparently started the process by sending over a demo built around a 100-year-old banjolele. Yes, banjolele. That is extremely on-brand in the best way.

'I still can't quite believe that I spent the last few years collaborating with David Byrne... When David and I started talking about an end credit song, the first potential collaborator David brought up was Hayley Williams. The first word I said was yes. Followed by please.'

He also jokes that working with Byrne felt easy because he's been stealing from him forever, and adds that the whole 'never meet your heroes' thing did not apply here. Honestly, getting Byrne and Williams together on a track for The Twits is a wild, delightful swing.

Who is involved

• Director: Phil Johnston (Academy Award-nominated)
• Co-directors: Katie Shanahan, Todd Demong
• Writers: Phil Johnston, Meg Favreau
• Animation: Jellyfish Pictures (The Bad Guys)
• Voice cast: Margo Martindale (The Americans, The Sticky), Johnny Vegas (Benidorm, Bleak House), Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever, Freakier Friday), Ryan Lopez (Primos, Phineas and Ferb), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Fountain of Youth), Timothy Simons (Nobody Wants This, Veep), Nicole Byer (Long Story Short, Why Won't You Date Me?), Jason Mantzoukas (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Big Mouth), Alan Tudyk (Andor, Superman), Mark Proksch (What We Do in the Shadows, Better Call Saul), Rebecca Wisocky (Ghosts, Devious Maids), Charlie Berens (Green and Gold)

Bottom line: The Twits looks like a loud, grimy, joke-a-minute ride that still wants to say something simple and decent about not letting cruelty run the show. If you grew up on Dahl (or just liked your childhood stories a little mean and a lot messy), this seems dialed in for you.