Evangeline Lilly Reads from Her Children's Book 'Squickerwonkers,' Envisions a Movie Version

The Squickerwonkers, the darkly charming children’s book that marks the writing debut of actress Evangline Lilly, could soon be making its way to the big screen. The imaginative tale of a haughty young girl who wanders into a house inhabited by a ghastly band of marionettes, fits the off-kilter sensibilities of a Tim Burton, or LAIKA, the animation studio behind Coraline and The Boxtrolls.

Not only that, but there’s already some powerhouse Hollywood players behind the book: Hobbit and Lord of the Rings maestro Peter Jackson — along with his wife/co-producer Fran Walsh and writer-co-producer Philippa Boyens — provides the foreword to Squickerwonkers. The book was co-created and illustrated by Johnny Fraser-Allen of Weta Workshop, the cutting-edge design studio behind not only the movies of Middle-earth but various other sci-fi and fantasy blockbusters. The whole collaboration came together while Lilly was with Jackson shooting The Hobbit movies in New Zealand (the trilogy’s final installment, The Battle of Five Armies, hits theaters Dec. 17).

Lilly, who read a passage from The Squickerwonkers exclusively for Yahoo Celebrity (which you can watch above), doesn’t hesitate when asked if she foresees her passion project becoming a motion picture – and even has a specific format in mind. “I hope so,” she says when asked if the movie version is inevitable. “When Johnny Fraser-Allen and I were creating the book originally, there was definitely conversation about what the movie would be like. And I know Johnny created the illustrations with a slant towards with stop-motion animation film.” She adds that Richard Taylor, who runs WETA Workshop and lends a quote to the book’s inside cover, “called first dibs” on making the movie version.  

The stop-motion process, which has produced such recent as Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of Were-Rabbit, Coraline, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox, is perfectly suited “to the antiquity of the book,” Lilly says. “And it lends itself perfectly to the darkness and creepiness of it… I’m crazy about LAIKA, and I’m obsessed with The Boxtrolls right now.” 

Lilly even knows who she’d try to bring on to voice the eccentric cast of puppets. “I think if I did end up casting all the characters, I would ask Sylvester McCoy (who plays Radagast in The Hobbit movies and also voices the audio book) to play Sparky the Spectacle, and I would ask Alan Cumming to play either Gilligan the Guilty or Papa the Proud.” As for Mama the Mean, her fantasy casting choice would be easy: Helena Bonham Carter. “I love and adore and worship her.”

Lilly, meanwhile, continues to be loved and adored and worshipped by fans, especially the fantasy community. After wrapping up J.J. Abrams’ mega-hit TV series Lost, she became an audience favorite for playing the sharp-shooting Elf Tauriel in the last two The Hobbit movies. After The Battle of Five Armies, she will next be seen opposite Paul Rudd as Hope Van Dyne in Marvel’s Ant-Man.

The Squickerwonkers, from Titan Books, is available now. Get it well in advance of the movie.