Roald Dahl (September 13, 1916 – November 23, 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Born in Wales to Norwegian immigrant parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He became a flying ace and intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and he became one of the world's best-selling authors. He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Dahl's short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters. His books champion the kindhearted, and feature an underlying warm sentiment. Dahl's works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits and George's Marvellous Medicine. His adult works include Tales of the Unexpected. Description above from the Wikipedia article Roald Dahl, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- September 13, 1916
- November 23, 1990 (aged 74)
- Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Writer, also actor
- 27 on MovieCove · 63 credits in all
What are Roald Dahl's films like?
Across their 24 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 2 · Earnest 21
Light 17 · Serious 2 · Dark 5
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 13
Gentle 4 · Charged 15 · Intense 5
Steady 9 · Shifting 14 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 14 · Funny 6
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 15 · Relentless 2
Casual 15 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 18 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 3
Resolved 22 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy17
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Roald Dahl's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 21 of their 27 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Roald Dahl's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
63 credits, 27 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
The Twits(2025)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all filmsLamb To The Slaughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Cordero al Matadero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Wonka(2023)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Poison(2023)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Rat Catcher(2023)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
The Swan(2023)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Matilda: The Musical(2022)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The Witches(2020)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Revolting Rhymes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
The BFG(2016)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
In the Ruins (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
New Russians (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
The Taste (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Roald Dahl's Esio Trot(2015)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Cheap Thrills(2013)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Chippendale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Fantastic Mr. Fox(2009)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Three Little Pigs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Lamb to the Slaughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Inaudito (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Matilda(1996)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Little Red Riding Hood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
The Ideal Couple (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
The BFG(1989)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Witches(1990)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
The Silent Hunt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Dirty Beasts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Revolting Rhymes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
The Enormous Crocodile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
The Magic Finger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Breaking Point (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected: The Landlady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Tales of the Unexpected: Lamb to the Slaughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Tales of the Unexpected(1979)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
James and the Giant Peach (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Fru Biksby og oberstens skinnkåpe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
A Tiny Fright? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
The Night Digger(1971)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all filmsThe Surprise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(1968)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
William and Mary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Late Night Horror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
You Only Live Twice(1967)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Thirty-Minute Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
36 Hours(1964)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Whicker's World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Lamb to the Slaughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Lamb to the Slaughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Roald Dahl Series (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Wonka 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 63 titles, 58 of them dated from 1955 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Wonka (2023)
Highest rated
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Most popular right now
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
Nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1959, Best Writing of a Single Program of a Dramatic Series - Less Than One Hour.
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Roald Dahl's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 25; across their 24 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 74th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up13
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
20 of their 27 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser20
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 63/100 and the plot and story 50/100 in their films, across 23 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Roald Dahl's work okay for kids?
Across up to 18 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and profanity run lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Roald Dahl work with?
People who share at least 2 of Roald Dahl's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Wes Anderson shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Wes AndersonShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)See all 5 shared titles with Wes Anderson
Writers
- David SeltzerShared titles: Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (2017), Pure Imagination: The Story of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (2001), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)See all 3 shared titles with David Seltzer
- Ian FlemingShared titles: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), You Only Live Twice (1967)See all 2 shared titles with Ian Fleming
Actors
- Ralph FiennesShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)See all 4 shared titles with Ralph Fiennes
- Benoît HerlinShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023)See all 3 shared titles with Benoît Herlin
- Eliel FordShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023)See all 3 shared titles with Eliel Ford
- Ben KingsleyShared titles: Poison (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Ben Kingsley
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Andrew WeisblumShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)See all 5 shared titles with Andrew Weisblum
- Barney PillingShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)See all 4 shared titles with Barney Pilling
- Robert D. YeomanShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)See all 3 shared titles with Robert D. Yeoman
- Stanley MyersShared titles: The Witches (1990), Danny the Champion of the World (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Stanley Myers
Producers
- Jeremy DawsonShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)See all 5 shared titles with Jeremy Dawson
- Steven RalesShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)See all 5 shared titles with Steven Rales
- Alice DawsonShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)See all 4 shared titles with Alice Dawson
- John PeetShared titles: Poison (2023), The Rat Catcher (2023), The Swan (2023), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)See all 4 shared titles with John Peet
Mixed roles
- Tim BurtonShared titles: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), James and the Giant Peach (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Tim Burton
- David L. WolperShared titles: Pure Imagination: The Story of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (2001), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)See all 2 shared titles with David L. Wolper
- Mel StuartShared titles: Pure Imagination: The Story of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (2001), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Mel Stuart
