Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541699
WINTER 2025 31 FALL 2025 23 FALL 2025 23 The Twits images courtesy of Netflix, Inc. But Writer and Director Phil Johnston saw potential at its core. In a or increasingy ominate y ust te in of nastiness the Twits represent, he says: "Kids are seeing all these bad people become powerful and wondering how it aensI ante to gie tem an anser. Adding two characters, Beesha and Bubsy, he reimag- ined Netflix's The Twits as a story of kids fighting back against the ugliness around them and learning not to lose teir ematy aong te ay. is see muc more tan e tin. ey can see en tings are rong an corrut an ant to fix it, says riter eg areau. ery ecision, from te oo of te fim to te aitions an iersions from te source materia, as roote in giing is te toos to o ust tat. "Our guiding principle was to create stuff that was hid- eous an rotten an fin eauty in it, says onston. at hideousness begins right from the start of the film with a foo of iui ot og meat. n te ton itsef ooes neglect, filled with intestinal motifs to match its name: rierot. ese reusie eements are meant to test te ieer onfronte it a aiy ose of isgust, o you turn to cruelty and tyranny, like the Twits? Or do you focus on hope and beauty, like Beesha and Bubsy? At first glance, Roald Dahl's The Twits does not lend itself to adaptation into a family- oriented animated feature. For one thing, it's structured more as a series of gags than a story. For another, there is barely any mention of children—the main characters are the Twits, a despicable married couple whose lives revolve around making each other miserable.