MovieChat Forums > Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) Discussion > No wonder Roald Dahl hated the movie

No wonder Roald Dahl hated the movie

posted 9 years ago by fistoffury
66 replies | jump to latest

The movie made some main changes in Charlie and his family and so I can see why Roald Dahl hated the book. In the book Charlie's dad was alive and worked as a toothpaste cap screwer, he would screw caps onto toothpaste tubes in a factory. Also though, most importantly Charlie did not break any rules by stealing a drink of Wonka Lift and Grandpa Joe was not a jerk as people have pointed out on this board and he didn't entice Charlie to steal the Wonka Lift like he did in the movie. Charlie was supposed to be the good guy and that's how Roald Dahl made him out to be in the book. It was only the other children who broke rules and got in trouble for doing so and while in the movie Wonka tells Charlie that they will all be restored in the book it describes the bad children having been restored, somewhat, while Charlie is flying overhead with Wonka and Grandpa Joe in the glass elevator. Also even though the children broke rules they nonetheless do get their lifetime supply of chocolate in the book. Wonka does not yell at Charlie telling him he lost since Charlie did nothing wrong so its no wonder Roald Dahl hated the movie, it deviated from some important stuff in the book.

[–] big_garr_2002 8 years ago

One way in which both of the movies differ from the book, is in depicting that the Bucket family live in Europe. In the book, it states that they live in a "Large, Middle-American City"..... I've always believed that to mean Chicago, Cleveland, or someplace like that.

[–] meisterburger23 8 years ago

I think many authors despise their books being made into movies

Look at PL Travers who wrote Mary Poppins, she hated the disney version and gave the Sherman brothers grief. EB White who was the author of Charlottes web and despised the cartoon, I think EB White would also have not liked the live action movie

Ronald Dahl would have hated the Tim Burton remake because it made Willy Wonka a child inner person and also the dentist dad was unnecessary

[–] arkayenether 8 years ago

Or just plain Alan Moore

[–] KristenStewartForever 8 years ago

The authors had very good reasons for hating the film versions of their work. When you make a movie, you should follow the AUTHOR. Not your own. Or else you do it wrong. I prefer the book of Mary Poppins because it's the right way to do it. P.L. Travers did the right thing fighting for it. Disney was an ass and a monster. He was Just a King Midas wanting Mary Poppins for another brick in his gold wall. Same with Roald Dahl and EB White. They had reasons for hating the movies. I agree.

Tim Burton's version may have added stuff, but it was much more true to the book. I mean hell, in the original, they did NOT have to turn squirrels into golden geese. That was Just stupid. They did put way too much emphasis on Wonka and not enough on Charlie.

And for the final time, Tim Burton's film is NOT a goddamn remake. It is Just another interpretation of the story and a better one.

I love you, Kristen Stewart. :) You are so beautiful and talented. I would love to perform with you.

[–] kiboshz 8 years ago

Wrong. Book and film are different mediums, and need different storytelling techniques.

Virtually everyone who reads and follows movies knows this.

[–] gcarras (2778) 8 years ago

The only thing we agree on is Kristen Stewart (rowr rowr meow).

Burton used the same people over and over (former and one time great Warner Bros. cartoon director Chuck Jones really started to slide down the proverbial shark by hiring Mel Blanc over and over to do the same voice, and I was surpised Tim Burton and his buddies outside Depp weren't in that Godawful looking Rango cartoon 5 years ago, given both the creep look and the Depp conneciton..[blah])

[–] movienchill31 (225) 4 years ago

I think you have it backwards, Tim Burton's version put too much focus on Wonka with that whole daddy issues subplot! The 71 version started off being about Charlie and continued to be throughout the movie.

And for the record yes it is a REMAKE!

[–] Destinata (3514) 8 years ago

Thank you! I'd never read the book. I just noticed the movie didn't make any sense. If breaking the rules disqualified someone, then Charlie would have been disqualified, too.

I'm not a "kid" person, and so I can identify with this movie, here in the modern world. Few kids I see seem to have been taught a respect for any rules. Remind them of them, and they just curse you out. But that's true of the adults, too, so you can't expect the kids to be any better than the adults around them.

[–] strntz (12675) 8 years ago

That point is what has bothered me all these years. Repeated watchings have not clarified this a bit. In other words, how was Charlie different than any other kid? Augustus drank from the choco river to Wonka's distress, Violet chews the gum Wonka tells her not to, Veruca tries to grab a goose despite Wonka's protestations, Mike jumps in the transmitter in direct disregard to Wonka's orders, and Charlie steals and drinks the beverages that Wonka specifically told him not to.

Maybe the only difference is that Charlie didn't give his gobstopper to what he thought was Sluggworth. Fair enough, but the other kids were basically rejected on the spot for disobeying orders as Charlie did and I don't even think the others even had the chance to sell out Wonka.

The Burton version fixed this gaff.

[–] movienchill31 (225) 5 years ago

Could be a number of things.

1). When Wonka meets the children outside before going into the factory he talks to them. Just from talking to them he probably knew who the trouble makers would be. Not to mention when they get inside and he has them sign that wall and the way Veruca talks to her dad anyone could see she wasn't going to make it.

2). The whole Slugworth plot was the reason for choosing a kid. That's why when each child won Slugworth told them to give him the recipe for the ever lasting gobstopper. Add this plot to Wonka's view of each child it wasn't hard to see that Charlie was very different from the other kids. Sure he disobeyed orders but he was repentant by giving up the gobstopper and not telling Slugworth. Wonka knew had any of the other kids won, they would have dropped dime on that recipe the second they won. It was a test and Charlie redeemed himself.

3. Just listen to the oompa loompa songs and you can figure it out.

[–] macken74 (660) 7 years ago

The film is better than the book !!!!!

[–] gcarras (2778) 6 years ago

Then maybe a movie about that (a la SAVING MR.BANKS, maybe not neccesarily directed by SMB's/THE FOUNDER's?THE BLIND SIDE'/J.L.Hancock) should be made.....

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I wonder what he would think of the 2005 Johnny Depp version.

[–] movienchill31 (225) 5 years ago

Do people seriously not know the meaning of a REMAKE? I don't care what looney Johnny says, Charlie and the Chocolate factory was a REMAKE. It was pretty much the same movie with the exception of adding in Charlie's dad and Wonka's daddy issues, therefore making it a REMAKE. END OF!

That said, I prefer the OG even though it deviated from the book like everyone keeps pointing out. Truthfully they both deviated from the book. Where in the book did Wonka have daddy issues? If the Dahl didn't like this one, I know he wouldn't have liked the remake either because that one focused more on Wonka than this did.