Wes Anderson brings his first of four short films to Netflix with the Roald Dahl story that’s been one of his favorites since childhood.
The new trailer for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is upon us courtesy of Netflix. It seems with every new Wes Anderson trailer that’s released the film looks like it’s the most Wes Anderson-y movie ever. This trailer follows suit as his signature symmetrical framing is present, as well as a frequent device of the actors narrating right into the camera, breaking the fourth wall. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar recently made its debut at the Venice Film Festival, and while it follows Anderson’s Asteroid City from earlier this year, it is not another feature-length film, but a short film that’s just over half an hour.
The official synopsis from Netflix reads,
“A beloved Roald Dahl short story about a rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.”
The comedic short features an all-star ensemble cast featuring actors Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade. The quirky auteur Wes Anderson wears multiple hats as a writer and director. In addition, Anderson is on board as a producer along with Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson and co-producers Octavia Peissel, John Peet and Alice Dawson.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is Anderson’s second adaptation of a Roald Dahl story. The quirky filmmaker had also adapted The Fantastic Mr. Fox fourteen years ago using stop-motion animation. In addition to Henry Sugar, Anderson plans on following it with three more shorts that will also go to Netflix —The Swan, The Ratcatcher and Poison.
While Anderson doesn’t think Dahl’s work should be altered, he spoke about his inspiration on telling this story, “When I finally had the moment of inspiration, the idea was: ‘I am equally interested in the way Dahl tells the story as I am in the story itself.’ If I do it using his words, his descriptions, then maybe I know how to do it.”
