The Art of Adaptation: Cracking the Case for Classic IP

When you take on an iconic brand such as Sherlock Holmes, you are not just adapting a story, you are stepping into a pantheon that’s been growing incrementally for more than a century. Every generation has found its own Sherlock: from Basil Rathbone’s crisp deduction to Benedict Cumberbatch’s modern London savant.

With our True Sherlock animated adaptation of The Unexpurgated Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (in development at Harry King Television), we wanted to explore what comes next; what happens when you take one of literature’s most enduring characters and place him in an environment where modern animation techniques drive the narrative?

The process of adapting a classic IP like this for animation made me think deeply about how we keep beloved stories alive for the next generation of audiences. There is a case to crack: balancing authenticity and loyalty with innovation and attracting new audiences.

Finding the Story’s Core

The USP of Unexpurgated Sherlock is to re-tell Conan-Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories with added humanity. The first step in adapting them for animation is to separate what’s essential from what’s ornamental to fit into a shorter running time. Every iconic story has an emotional or philosophical through-line that defines its longevity. For Sherlock Holmes, of course it is our titular iconic detective, but in True Sherlock, it is the relationship between Holmes and Watson.

Understanding that core allows you to evolve the story without distorting it. If you try to replicate a previous version frame by frame, you merely end up with imitation, not adaptation. Animation gives storytellers a unique opportunity to distil and adapt rather than duplicate — to express a familiar story through shape, rhythm and tone instead of literal recreation, and then lean into the unique format.

Follow the Medium’s Clues

Animation offers many opportunities that cannot be taken with live action. Its elasticity lets creators heighten emotions, exaggerate comedic perspectives, and make the impossible happen. A chase scene through foggy Victorian streets can become an expression of the protagonist’s psyche; a subtle gesture can be amplified through timing and design to reveal character depth — in episode one, for instance, we reveal Holmes’s ability for sleight of hand.

But animation shouldn’t just be used just for spectacle, but also for insight. When adapting an established and familiar world, think about what animation technique enables: the ability to explore new perceptions, to visualize thought and mood more boldly, and to make fresh environments part of the storytelling.

Animated retellings of classic IP might appear limited in terms of creative freedoms on the surface — you write differently, you employ A list talent in a different way that relies on their voice rather than their physicality and facial recognition for audiences.

In reality, you get a different type of freedom. Animation style transports the viewer to another universe entirely and can be an unlocking of their imaginations. Take the Jim Carrey-starred retelling of A Christmas Carol given that family orientated festive feel in its 2009 remake shrouded in dark tones or MGM’s gaudy The Addams Family from 2019 as two cases in point.

Designing for a Global Audience

Viewers from different regions of the world encounter different emotions from stories they already know. That means creative teams need to think beyond language translation — they must consider visual translation, too.

Color palettes, lighting and even pacing can resonate differently across regions. A noir aesthetic may feel sophisticated in one region and overly grim in another. The most successful adaptations build a cohesive visual identity that feels both specific and universal — one that honors the original world while allowing global audiences to connect through shared emotions. In animation, that balance is particularly powerful. The abstraction of the medium allows creators to emphasize tone over literal geography, enabling a broader appeal without losing authenticity.

Futureproof the Storytelling

As technology and viewing habits evolve, so must the stories we tell, and how we tell them. Futureproofing an adaptation isn’t just about visual fidelity or format compatibility; it’s about narrative adaptability.

Can your story still resonate when viewed on a phone instead of a cinema screen? Very tricky! Thinking ahead to address this during early development ensures the IP remains flexible for emerging trends rather than constrained by traditional production methods.

Perhaps the greatest creative paradox of all is, how do you honor a legacy without being trapped by it? Too much reverence risks only appealing to nostalgic fans; too much disruption risks alienation. The trick is to treat the source material as a collaborator, not a monument. But never forget that you can please all of the audience all of the time.

Ask what the story means now. What aspects of its worldview deserve re-examining? Which values still speak clearly, and which need translating for modern audiences?

The Final Deduction

When handled thoughtfully, adaptation for animation with its blend of artistry and universality offers one of the most powerful mediums of all. At its best, an adaptation becomes a dialogue between the past and future – a simple reminder that the most timeless stories are those that never stop evolving.

Nicholas Sercombe is CEO & Founder of Harry King Television, producer of the upcoming animated series True Sherlock and author of The Unexpurgated Adventures of Sherlock Holmes books.