Beloved children’s books series ‘Redwall’ is set for the Netflix treatment after Penguin Random House Children reached an adaptation rights agreement with the streaming service.
The anthropomorphised adventures of Brian Jacques’ cuddly cast of heroes have captivated audiences since the first novel, Redwall, was published in 1986 having sold 30 million copies worldwide. Now Netflix has decided to piggyback on that success and adapt the book series with a feature film and a further event series.
Netflix announced it has enlisted Patrick McHale, creator of Cartoon Network’s “Over the Garden Wall,” to write the feature film. The feature film will be based on the first novel in the series, whilst the event series will chronicle the adventures of one of the series best-loved characters, Martin the Warrior.
For those unfamiliar with Brian Jacques fantasy novels, and apt description might be to liken his otherworldly realm as a sort of Lord of The Rings meets Wind In The Willows, with peace-loving creatures from ‘Mossflower’ frequently called upon to become warriors and defend themselves from marauding bands of ‘vermin’.
A statement released by the fiction publisher announced, “We couldn’t be more delighted to announce this deal,” declared Ben Horslen of Penguin Random House Children’s. “These perennially popular stories have been etched onto the hearts of millions of readers, and we are thrilled to partner with Netflix to bring those beloved characters on screen for families worldwide to enjoy.”
With Disney’s growing streaming service offering stern competition on the animated front it would seem that this is a surefire savvy response by Netflix in a bid to recapture some of the animation market.
As of yet, they’re no further announcements regarding names attached to the forthcoming project or when production is likely to go ahead.