Wes Anderson released four short films on Netflix, retelling some of Roald Dahl’s incredible short stories.
Roald Dahl, one the greatest storytellers of all time, is most famous for his children’s books, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. But also overlooked is his series of adult short stories. The four short stories that Wes Anderson decided to bring to life were “The Poison,” “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” “The Swan,” and “The Rat Catcher”. Wes Anderson, known for his unique style, dialog, cinematography, and storytelling, has been trying for years to figure out how to bring these incredible stories to the screen. Wes Anderson and the Dahl family are close, even having Wes Anderson stay in Roald Dahl’s office to get inspiration and tell his stories the right way. The Dahl family set these stories aside just for him and waited until he could make it. This past weekend, Netflix released all four short films.
Photo: Netflix
Wes Anderson settled on a more narrative approach, playwright, small theater style where he only used six leading actors to tell all four short stories. But one thing Wes Anderson never short-change is his on-screen talent. The cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Dave Patel, Ben Kingsley, Asa Jennings, Rupert Friend, Richard Ayoade, and Ralph Fiennes, who plays Dahl, narrating all the tales. Their ability to bring the dialog to life and enthrall the audience with their storytelling and acting was incredible.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
The first story, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” tells the tale of a rich man who finds a mysterious new technique to see without using his eyes. He uses this power to make himself rich but realizes that all the riches in the world are not enough. Benedict Cumberbatch and Ralph Fiennes narrate the story with a witty, stoic verbose that leaves you hanging on their every word. They only change scenes sometimes. They even show the background scenes change like a stage play. Do I wish I could see all the scenes visually played out instead of just narrated? Yes, but the simplicity of telling the audience what happened captures the heart of Roald’s stories.
Told the Story the way he wanted to tell it.
The Poison, The Swan, and the Rat Catcher follow the same format, giving more insight into Roald Dahl’s mind and history. The Poison is a story about a man staying in another country and finding a snake on his chest that will instantly kill him if bitten. This one might be my favorite short film out of all of them. The meaning behind the story is about the prejudice within a man even after being helped, which is ironic because Roald had a history of antisemitism and prejudice himself. Benedict, Dave, and Ben Kingsley breathe life into this story, making you forget that it is just three men and some props.
The Swan and the Rat Catcher are both darker-tone stories telling of the darker side of human nature and how, in the case of the Swan, we stand firm in the face of terrible evil. Also of note, the Swan is based on a true story.
Photo: Netflix
Photo: Netflix
The complicated history of Roald Dauhl and how we keep his stories and positive messages alive, even though the man himself had a history of prejudice, has been an issue even for publishers who now want to edit his work. Speaking on this, Wes Anderson said, “I understand the motivation for it, but I am in the school where when the piece of work is done, and the audience participates in it, I sort of think what’s done is done. And certainly, no one besides the author should be modifying the work.” Leaving his work as is and letting us, the audience or filmmakers, take it and allow us to participate in it, is the best any of us can do. And in the case of Wes Anderson, he did just that.
