Guillermo Del Toro Stop-Motioning Some Witches?

We mentioned a few weeks ago that Guillermo del Toro was planning a full-length stop-motion film, and it looks like we may have the first details about that project. First, some background: A couple years back, it was reported that Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron were planning a collaborative adaptation of Road Dahl's "The Witches," with del Toro scripting and Cuaron possibly directing. The Dahl story was first adapted into a film in 1990 by Nicolas Roeg, starring Anjelica Huston. That version seemed to have been pretty well-received, although it did change bits of the story to make it more family-friendly, so a Cuaron-del Toro team up for a redo seemed like it had room to grow its own legs. But then, we didn't hear anything again for some time.

Now, Empire has scored a chat with Cuaron and broken the news that not only is the project still alive and well, but that del Toro has in fact already written a script and will be taking on directing duties. Cuaron will produce, and the article seems to imply that the newer take will be darker and more faithful to the original than Roeg's 1990 version. And all of it will be in glorious stop-motion animation! Can't wait to see how this one turns out, though who knows how long it will be until we see it given the sheer number of projects del Toro has taken on as of late. I was a big Roald Dahl fan as a kid, and was among those shocked (though not entirely unpleasantly) to learn of his much more graphic catalog of work geared towards adults. The Witches seems like one of those works that straddle a middle ground; it'll be interesting to see how it's brought to life.