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To date , includingMatilda the Musical , seventeen feature film have been adapted fromRoald pigeon-pea plant ’s work to varying level of success — here are all of the Roald Dahl flick , rank from spoilt to best . Including several repeat adaptations , some of the dear source ’s verse and short stories , and of path his drear but magic children ’s fib , there is a real spectrum in those adaptations . Born in Wales to Norse parents , Dahl ’s Word of God are popular worldwide , and he is love for his darkly comic kid ’s stories that never fail to delight . Traditionally accompanied by Quentin Blake ’s gorgeous illustrations , Dahl ’s study lends itself to take very well .
In fact , he even work on a number of screenplay - includingChitty Chitty Bang Bangand theJames BondfilmYou Only Live Twice . He tended to dislike adaptations of his own work , aside from a few notable exceptions . Given Dahl ’s extensive bibliography , it ’s a wonder that moreRoald Dahl movieshaven’t manifested over the years , though Netflix are due to produce a bowed stringed instrument of animated Dahl projects in the nigh future , including Taika Waititi ’s take onCharlie and the Chocolate Factoryand its lesser - make love continuation , Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator . As they currently stand up , here ’s every Roald Dahl motion picture adaptation ranked from regretful to unspoiled .
17Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (2017)
The most insulting out of all the Roald Dahl movies by a country - naut mi , Tom and Jerry : Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factorymanages to butcher both place - its dedication to the belated Gene Wilder ( who take on Wonka in the 1971 classic ) feel like a slap in the face to the great actor ’s memory . It ’s basically an reanimate remaking of the original film , but with Tom and Jerry add for seemingly no reason at all . fundamentally , it ’s a feature - length meme and feels like something the energiser pitched when they ran out of ideas , only to rue their option during the real output of the film .
16Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot (2015)
Esio Trotis one of Dahl ’s lesser - known works , and one of the least known Roald Dahl movies , about a lone old world ( Dustin Hoffman ) falling in making love with his tortoise - keeping neighbour ( Judi Dench in one of her worst roles ) and hatching a plan to win her tenderness . While that might be an strange plot of land for a children ’s fib , Dahl made it work , with a heightened , funny tone and snappy pacing throughout . The video movie , adapted by Richard Curtis , is a by - the - numbers read-only storage - com that dramatize out the plot with cliche , unneeded conflict , and offers little kid - appeal while at the same time patronizing older viewers .
15Breaking Point (1989)
An version of the unretentive storyBeware of the Dog , the 1989 TV movieBreaking Pointtook an intriguing plot and overinflated it with theatricality , misfortunate writing , and cheap effects and is one of the worst Roald Dahl movies . The reason Dahl ’s short fib was a success was the darkness found in its subtlety , somethingBreaking Pointclearly did n’t know how to recreate . Between the overacting and the tempo issues , give way Pointwas an all - around mess . What ’s bad is that the film was think to be a remake of the 1964 film36Hours , which truthfully did n’t fare any considerably .
1436 Hours (1964)
36 Hoursis an adaptation of Dahl ’s WWII short storyBeware of the Dog , about an RAF pilot film who waken up in a “ British ” hospital but begins to suspect that his caregiver have ulterior motives . It ’s a nifty assumption , one of Dahl ’s best , but the motion picture does n’t really go anywhere with it , build tension and suspense in the first half , before tossing every commonplace at its interview in the moment . Neither of the Roald Dahl movies ground onBeware of the Dogare good enough to recommend , nor spoiled enough to express joy at , which is mostly all that can be aver for both .
13The Witches (2020)
A toothless adaptation of Dahl ’s Hellenic novel , Robert Zemeckis’sThe Witchesisn’t one of the good Roald Dahl film and re - locate the story to the American South , with Jahzir Kadeem Bruno playing an orphan who is turned into a computer mouse by the Grand High Witch ( Anne Hathaway ) and her minion . team up up with his grandmother ( Octavia Spencer ) , the male child - mouse races to overthrow the Wiccan ’ plans to rid the world of kid .
deplorably , the film is more concerned with CGI spectacle than storytelling and ends up fall exceedingly flat . Though it retains most of Dahl ’s plot , the cinema lack his heart and feels cheaply made . WhileRobert Zemeckis has some great movies , The Witcheswasn’t quite an example of one . Despite Anne Hathaway delivering an fascinating performance , consultation get a line through its effects for what the movie really was : a cash - grab , looking to ride on Nicolas Roeg ’s coattails and the craze status of his 1990 version .
12Four Rooms (1995)
Four way — an anthology film , with section directed by Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , Allison Anders , and Alexandre Rockwell — is likely the strangest of all Roald Dahl movies ; inspired by his adult short stories and starring Tim Roth as a bellhop who ca n’t catch a break . Each director wrote their own chunk of the script , with Roth encountering a mixture of strange guests in the hotel from Hell .
As is often the case with anthology moving-picture show , some of the segments are more effective than others , leading to a disjoin feature that might be of involvement to Tarantino fan , but will belike alienate general audiences . At the very least , it ’s bold , with an outsized , comedic performance from Roth , a questionablecameo from Quentin Tarantino , and a fun , animated statute title sequence that recall the work of Saul Bass and Chuck Jones .
11Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
The weirdest of the “ straight ” adaptation of Roald Dahl movies , Tim Burton’sCharlie and the Chocolate Factoryis an poorly - send word mess , with Johnny Depp ’s carrying out as Wonka clearly ( and unluckily ) found on Michael Jackson . Intellectually , this connection makes good sense , with Wonka portray as psychologically stunt in some way as a termination of childhood trauma . However , in practice he ’s unlikeable and creepy-crawly and , mostly , insufferable .
The rest of the film also feels off . Like Dahl ’s book , it ’s sinister , but not in the right fashion , and ( in a bizarre sequence ) explores Wonka ’s puerility under the Fe clenched fist of his dentist Padre ( Christopher Lee ) . The whole matter is like a charade of a Tim Burton film , steep in Gothicism whether it suit the cloth or not , and , for that reason , is almost worth seeing . While Depp has jump the shark many a time , Willy Wonka might be his majuscule acting sin yet .
10The BFG (2016)
The BFG , free-base on Roald Dahl ’s novel about a new girl being whisk aside to the body politic of giant , is one of directorSteven Spielberg ’s biggest box seat - office failures . Ultimately it was a harsh bill of indictment of what is , by most accounts , a utterly okay picture show , but certainly not the leader of the Roald Dahl movies face pack . stack with CGI and whimsey ( in that order ) , the film sanitizes Dahl ’s vision somewhat , though Mark Rylance delivers in the title role .
Spielberg certainly set about to interpenetrate the proceedings with a sense of wonder , but thing be given to find pretty forced — like someone who ’s become bored re - differentiate the same bedtime story , over and over again . It ’s not bad , but it ’s definitely not great either , which actually makes it far less interesting than some of the humble entries in this list .
9Revolting Rhymes (2016)
Revolting Rhymes , broadly speaking base on Dahl ’s poetry collection of the same name , is an animated TV movie that riffs on classic fairytales with a in darkness amusing winding . Out of all the Roald Dahl movies , it ’s one of the most kid - favorable . calculate primarily at new children , it feels clearly cutesy but deal to link up the tarradiddle well , something that the book does n’t really seek . Re - telling Graeco-Roman song and dance with a insurgent twist has become a subgenre unto itself and , whileRevolting Rhymesis think of enough , Dahl ’s poem are shorter and suspect than the film is finally capable to rally .
8Danny, The Champion Of The World (1989)
One of the few adaptations that Dahl actively endorsed , Danny , the Champion of the Worldis an underrated gem in the world of Roald Dahl movies . The TV picture separate the tale of Danny and his father William ( the usually nefarious Jeremy Irons ) who diagram to overturn a millionaire ’s plans to buy their farming by poaching his pheasants . Like Dahl ’s book , it ’s downplay and charming , with a wonderful father / son relationship at its heart - played by literal - life father / son duo Jeremy and Samuel Irons . Robbie Coltrane is menacing as the despotic millionaire , and the Oxfordshire scenery shines in every frame , though the tempo is a little slow at time .
