Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. Dahl was famously dismissive of the adaptation, though he reportedly did not enjoy the process of turning any of his books into films, period. While Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory enjoyed immense success, Dahl himself was perhaps the film's biggest critic, attacking several core elements of its filmmaking.
The Willy Wonka movie was different to its source material, not least due to changing the title from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; a change Dahl reportedly despised. The writer also apparently took issue with the casting of Gene Wilder, finding him "pretentious", while Dahl wanted Spike Milligan or Peter Sellers to portray the candy man. Additionally, Dahl was reportedly frustrated by the film's iconic musical score, apparently finding it "sappy" and "overly sentimental". This dislike also extended to the character of Charlie Bucket and the 1971 Willy Wonka film as a whole, which was definitely more optimistic than Dahl's novel.
Tim Burton's Adaptation Was More Faithful To Dahl's Book
In many ways, it was the darker take on Willy Wonka in 2005's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory by director Tim Burton that was more in line with Dahl's original book. The film retained the book's original title, and barely featured Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka for the first third of its runtime. Additionally, the surreal, strange tone of the film gave it a dark vibe that was similar to Dahl's original story, which was meant to act as a cautionary tale for misbehaving children. While it is impossible to say what Dahl would have thought of Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, the actor's performance was very different from Wilder's, so the author may have liked it.
However, while Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was more similar to Dahl's book than Willy Wonka was, it was still a big departure from the original story. Though the title emphasized Charlie's role, this film was arguably more about Willy Wonka than the 1971 movie, as it explored his strained relationship with his father. This, in addition to Danny Elfman's pop songs and Burton's decision to make Charlie as sentimental and absurdly nice as he was in the 1971 movie would have likely seen Dahl dislike Tim Burton's adaptation as much as the original movie.
Why Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory Is Still A Classic
Willy Wonka did what many of the best book-to-movie adaptations do: it made changes while still honoring the main plot of the book. Dahl's story was a classic, but its slightly meaner approach to the way children like Violet Beauregarde and Augustus Gloop were punished would have made a straight adaptation a hard sell for some families. Though Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory had its fair share of frightening moments, including the movie's infamous boat ride scene, it was ultimately a better adaptation that gave Dahl's story a more optimistic tone and made the film a family classic, despite the author's dislike for it.
