Netflix taps Lupita Nyong’o, Tim Burton on new projects

Original Article posted on Kidscreen

Netflix adds some big-name firepower to its kids slate. The streamer has released a new animated musical based on the Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o’s best-selling Sulwe and the Tim Burton-led Addams Family Live-Action series.

Highlighting the themes of self-love and colorism, Sulwe tells the story of a young dark-skinned girl who set out on a magical journey after a unique encounter with a shooting star. Nyong’o is going to produce the film.

“As I grew up, I was uncomfortable in my dark skin. I rarely saw anyone who looked like me on the aspirational pages of books and magazines, or even on TV,” Nyong’o said in a release. “Sulwe is a mirror for dark-skinned children to see themselves, a window for those who may not be familiar with colorism, to have understanding and sympathy, and an invitation for all who feel different and unseen to recognize their innate beauty and value.”

The book has made its technical debut with Netflix; Nyong’o recently read Sulwe in the streamer’s new series Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices, which recently won the Kidscreen Award for Best Inclusiveness.

Sulwe is one of a number of new animated features in Netflix’s work, which aims to be released six times a year. The streamer recently announced The Witch Boy, an animated musical, and began production on The Magician’s Elephant.

On the TV side of its business, SVOD and MGM/UA Television are launching Wednesday, a new live action series for young adults based on the iconic character Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family.

Edward Scissorhands director Tim Burton will make his directorial TV debut in the eight-episode series, with creators Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville) on board as showrunners.

The coming-of-age supernatural comedy has caught up with a morbid teen as a student at Nevermore Academy working to master her emerging psychic abilities and solve a 25-year-old mystery involving her parents.

Andrew Mittman (The Addams Family), Kevin Miserocchi and Kayla Alpert (Code Black, Up All Night), Jonathan Glickman (RESPECT, Addams Family 2) and Gail Berman (The Addams Family) are all executives of the series.