Apple TV+ Signs Deal To Adapt Maurice Sendak’s Works Into Animation

Apple TV+ is where the wild things will soon be. The tech giant’s streaming platform has inked a deal with the Maurice Sendak Foundation to adapt the famed author’s works into animation.

Here are the details:

• As part of the multi-year overall deal, animated specials and series based on Maurice Sendak’s books and illustrations will be produced exclusively for Apple TV+. The pact is the first of its kind for the non-profit foundation, which supports the late author’s artistic legacy.
• All projects will be overseen by Arthur Yorinks, a writer and long-time collaborator of Sendak’s, at his Night Kitchen Studios, which was founded last month.
• Lynn Caponera, president of the Maurice Sendak Foundation, said, “We are delighted to be collaborating with Apple to bring the work of Maurice Sendak to screens around the world. Though most know him through his iconic books, Sendak’s legacy also resides in theater, film, and tv, and this partnership with Apple will further the awareness of his unique genius.”
• Sendak wrote and illustrated over a dozen children’s books, including In the Night Kitchen, Seven Little Monsters, and the 1963 classic Where the Wild Things Are, and illustrated many works by others. He is the recipient of multiple awards and his books have sold tens of millions of copies. His books have been adapted into animation before, notably by Gene Deitch.
• Yorinks is a prize-winning author of children’s books in his own right — among his best-known works is Hey, Al. He has also written extensively for the stage and radio, and collaborated on books and plays with Sendak. The pair met when Yorinks, aged 17, rang Sendak’s door, hoping to show the author his own writings; they became close friends.
• This deal fits Apple’s broad streaming strategy to date — basically, to partner with established brands and creators — and adds to the platform’s modest line-up of animation. The only animated series released on Apple TV+ so far are Snoopy in Space and Central Park. Cartoon Saloon’s feature Wolfwalkers will follow in the fall.