Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: an adaptation long in the making for Tim Burton

The family film starring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore returns to television this evening.

When Wonka a hit in theaters, TF1 is programming a special Roald Dahl evening. First of all with the free adaptation of Charlie and the chocolate factory (2005), by Tim Burton, then with Holy witches (2020), by Robert Zemeckis. It’s a shame that these two films based on the work of the British writer are not his most successful adaptations…

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Tim Burton therefore re-opens at 9:10 p.m. the doors of Charlie and the chocolate factoryhis adaptation of the classic children’s literature by Roald Dahl in 1964, released in cinemas 41 years after its publication. Burton brings to the big screen the story of young Charlie Bucket (played by the still young Freddie Highmore), who one day discovers in a chocolate bar a golden ticket which allows him to visit the marvelous chocolate factory of the extravagant Willy Wonka, played by his favorite actor Johnny Depp. From Dahl’s childish and colorful universe, the director drew his own version where the strange constantly oscillates between the dazzling and the disturbing.

Added to a positive critical reception was popular success, with more than 4.3 million admissions in France, and nearly $500 million in revenue. But if in the end Charlie and the chocolate factory was the film that we know, the latter was delivered in pain, after around fifteen years of adventures in the production process. If the long-term work ended up paying off, things were not a foregone conclusion at the start.

Here is the backstage of its creation, while waiting to know who will succeed Depp in the costume of Willy Wonka, an “origin story” of the character being currently under study (latest news, Timothée Chalamet and Tom Holland were courted by Warner Bros.).

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The reluctance of Dahl (and his heirs)
Warner’s first discussions with the widow of Roald Dahl for a new adaptation of his work date back to 1991. At the time, Tim Burton is not yet involved in the project, and, more annoyingly, the writer absolutely does not want to hear about the project. In question: the previous adaptation of Charlie and the chocolate factory, dating from 1971, had left him very bitter and disappointed to the point of disowning him. The version of Mel Stuartincluding Willy Wonka played by Gene Wilder gave birth to one of the most famous memes ever, had nevertheless received excellent response upon its release to the point of garnering multiple nominations at the Oscars and Golden Globes.

But the changes made to the scenario and the omnipresence of Willy Wonka compared to young Charlie did not at all please the author, who was opposed to the adaptation of the sequel to the book, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, At the movie theater. It was therefore necessary to wait for the author’s death in November 1990 for the situation to resolve itself, but it was not until seven years later, in February 1998, that Warner finally acquired the exploitation rights to the work. by Dahl in the cinema. All under the very watchful eye of the writer’s widow and daughter, who have the right to review and veto all creative decisions. It was their insistence which blocked the development of the project for a long time in the 1990s. They notably opposed one of Warner’s proposals which wanted to re-associate the tandem Tom Shadyac – Jim Carreywhich led to the worldwide success ofAce Ventura.

A prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory about Willy Wonka from the producer of Harry Potter

Burton, a unifying choice, or almost
The project was nevertheless able to move forward quite quickly thanks to the work of the screenwriters Scott Frank then Gwyn Lurie, the latter having already worked in the past on an adaptation of Good Big Giant of Roald Dahl for Paramount, which ultimately did not see the light of day (the script for Steven Spielberg’s film released in 2016 was written by Melissa Mathison, the author ofAND). With the approval of the rights holders, it is finally Tim Burton who will commit to the project in 2003 after the withdrawals of Rob Minkoffthen Martin Scorsese. The choice of Burton was quickly unanimous because not content with being a regular in the works of Roald Dahl (with James and the Giant Peachwhich he produced and adapted for his friend Henry Selick), Burton had already criticized the 1971 film in the past.

All that remained was to find an actor to play the iconic Willy Wonka. Before Burton’s arrival, multiple names had been mentioned besides that of Jim Carrey ; names as varied as Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt (whose company Plan B ultimately co-produced the film), Michael Keaton or Will Smith And Adam Sandler. All these names were quickly swept aside with the arrival of the director, who imposed the choice of Johnny Depp for the role, motivated in particular by the discovery of the first manuscripts of Charlie and the chocolate factory, which reveal a very different, less politically correct Wonka. It is then Johnny Depp himself who whispered the name of Freddie Highmorehis partner already in Neverland, to play young Charlie. If the film ultimately received the approval of all the heirs of Roald Dahlthere was one who was clearly less enthusiastic about the final result: Gene Wilder, the original voice of Willy Wonka. In a 2013 interview, the actor virulently criticized the film, calling the film“insult“: “I think Johnny Depp is a good actor, but I don’t care about the director. He’s a talented man, but I don’t care what he did on film.”.