Visionary director Henry Selick only has four feature film directorial credits to his name, but has managed to created some of the most iconic and recognizable animated movies in Hollywood history. With the announcement of a television adaptation of Little Nightmares—the acclaimed horror adventure game released in April—it looks like we’ll soon be seeing Selick’s unique stop motion returning to our screens.
Little Nightmares debuted earlier this year to much fanfare and critical acclaim, telling the story of a little girl named Six, who has to escape from the innards of a horrifying ship called The Maw. A puzzle-infused platformer filled with monsters, ghouls, and creations that truly seem like they’re from your worst childhood dreams, Little Nightmares looks to be a perfect fit for Selick’s creepy yet cute aesthetic. Six even wears a yellow raincoat reminiscent of the titular heroine from Selick’s last feature film outing, 2009’s critically lauded Coraline.
Selick made his name with The Nightmare Before Christmas, a Tim Burton story that was brought to life by Selick’s incredibly detailed stop motion work, creating an iconic classic that’s just as beloved now as it was almost 25 years ago. He then helmed the James and the Giant Peach adaptation at Disney before merging animation with live action in the Brendan Fraser led oddball cartooning comedy Monkeybone. But for many fans it was his work with Laika on the Neil Gaiman adaptation Coraline that truly showcased the the scope and greatness of Selick’s stop-motion work.
With the rights to Little Nightmares acquired by the Russo Brothers—currently in post production on Avengers: Infinity War—it was just a question of what they would do with them, and with this announcement it seems like they’ve made an inspired choice.
What do you think? Are you excited to see Six brought to the small screen? Do you wish Selick would finish his long awaited project, Shadow King? Or are you just excited to see more incredible stop motion on your television screen? Jump in the comments and let us know!
Images: Disney, Laika and Bandai Namco
