tonies® Announce Exciting New Partnership with The Roald Dahl Story Company with the Launch of THREE brilliant Adventures

PALO ALTO, Calif., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- tonies®, the leading musical storytelling box and The Roald Dahl Story Company are partnering for the first time to bring three iconic stories to life in a new way, which are set to enchant young listeners.

The launch of The Witches, Matilda, and James and the Giant Peach mark the beginning of an exciting collaboration, with additional titles to be released next year.

Kicking off the partnership is the spine-chilling tale, The Witches, narrated by actress and comedian Lolly Adefope. Find out what happens when a small boy and his Norwegian grandmother take on the Grand High Witch in an attempt to thwart her wicked plans for children everywhere.

Make way for Matilda, as Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet shares one of Dahl's most loved stories. Can Matilda overcome her neglectful parents and her tyrannical headmistress, Miss Trunchbull?

To complete the hat-trick, the magical story of James and the Giant Peach, narrated by comedian James Acaster arrives just in time for Christmas, taking little ones on a fantastical adventure they'll never forget.

Packed with hilarity, magic, and just desserts, this trio of popular children's stories is the perfect introduction for little listeners to the wondrous worlds of Roald Dahl, in Tonie form.

• Matilda – pre-order July 26, launching July 28
• Running time: approximately 72 minutes, suitable for 6+

Matilda is a magical story about a remarkable child who overcomes adversity in the shape of her neglectful and grotesque parents and her tyrannical headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. Matilda soon discovers that she has a very special power, a power she can use to triumph over her parents and teach the horrible Miss Trunchbull a lesson she will never forget, all while changing the course of her own story forever…

• The Witches – launching September
• Running time: approx. 180 minutes, suitable for 6+

BEWARE. There are witches everywhere. And witches absolutely detest children. To a witch, a child smells like dogs' droppings, and the Grand High Witch has a plan to get rid of every child in England…

When a boy and his Norwegian grandmother find themselves at the same hotel as the Grand High Witch and her coven, they must do everything in their power to foil the witches' evil plans to turn every child in the world into a mouse. Before they are both frizzled like fritters, can one boy and his grandmother stop them?

• James and the Giant Peach – launching January
• Running time: approx. 61 minutes, suitable for 6+

After his parents die in a rhinoceros accident, young orphan James Henry Trotter is forced to live with his two beastly aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. James is sad and lonely, with not one friend in the whole world, until one day, at the end of the garden, a peach begins to grow and grow and grow. Curious, James soon finds himself inside the giant peach where he meets a bunch of friendly insects waiting to take him on a magical adventure.

Liz Peters, Head of Portfolio UK & IE at tonies® says: "We are so delighted to welcome some of the world's best loved Roald Dahl stories into our tonies® portfolio and can't wait to introduce these stories to a new generation of tonies® listeners!

Our commitment to engaging young readers by introducing them to brilliant stories that nurture the imagination continues with the launch of this special partnership."

Laura Antonacci, Director of Content, tonies® USA: "From the day I started at tonies® I knew that I wanted to add Roald Dahl and his classic storytelling to our portfolio. Introducing these wonderful and entertaining stories to little listeners in such a fun and engaging way has been an absolute delight. We are looking forward to adding more popular Roald Dahl titles over the next few years."

Matilda is available from selected toy retailers, bookshops and via the tonies® website www.tonies.com, RRP $14.99.

Now, more than ever before, parents are searching for screen-free ways to entertain, educate and inspire their children. The interactive Toniebox and its wide range of appealing content will spark imagination and instil a love for storytelling, fact-finding and books in even the youngest of listeners.

There are two types of Tonies available:

• Content Tonies include both classic and contemporary tales and popular bedtime songs. 'How and Why' Tonies allow children to bring the magic of learning to life, with educational audio content exploring the world of horses, dinosaurs, astronauts, whales and more.
• Creative-Tonies play recorded or pre-downloaded content which can be uploaded via the Toniecloud or the free Tonie-App. Perfect for when kids want to listen to something a little bit more personal. tonies® release free content for download every month.

The Tonies and Toniebox operate through a wireless digital system that connects to an NFC chip within each Tonie using Wi-Fi. Each Tonie is beautifully hand-painted, making them desirable and collectible for kids. 

Toniebox RRP $99.99, Tonies RRP $14.99, Creative-Tonies RRP $11.99

Key product details:

• Suitable for children 3+
• Sewn from sustainable, quality fabric
• Portable (seven-hour battery life)
• Can be used with headphones
• Available in multiple colours
• Re-chargeable
• Robust
• Screen-free

Notes to Editors:

tonies® was launched in Düsseldorf Germany in 2016 by two fathers Patric Faßbender and Marcus Stahl who wanted to create a playful audio system aimed at changing the way children listen to stories and music. Since their launch, they have developed over 300 different Tonies and sold more than 3.5 million Tonieboxes and 44 million Tonies. On Black Friday in Germany last year, they were the third most searched-for brand.

The Roald Dahl Story Company protects and grows the cultural value of the Roald Dahl stories with its unique breadth of characters and worlds. With 300 million books sold and 1 new book sold every 2.6 seconds, Roald Dahl stories continue to grow in popularity globally, attracting new audiences with innovative new developments in book, entertainment and beyond. The Roald Dahl Story Company is committed to sharing the positive messages at the heart of all Roald Dahl stories - messages of the strength and possibility of young people and of the power of kindness.

SOURCE tonies