Why Willy Wonka's First Movie Was Forced To Change Its Name - And Failed Anyway
With the December 2023 arrival of the prequel movie "Wonka", author Roald Dahl's children's novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" officially spawned a multi-film franchise that now extends beyond the confines of its original story. Of course, whereas the book centers protagonist Charlie Bucket in its title, its first film adaptation is titled "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." As it turns out, this was contrary to Dahl's wishes. Furthermore, that first "Willy Wonka" movie nearly bombed upon its premiere in 1971, while the precise reason for its name change failed in turn.
According to a history of the film's development that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation published online, Dahl's first point of contact once he became interested in a "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" film was a producer named David Wolper. At that time, Wolper happened to be working on a different project for Quaker Oats, during which he learned that the company wanted to start selling candy. Together they determined that an adaptation of Dahl's novel could tie into a real-life line of chocolate candy bars.
Key to this strategy was including the name "Willy Wonka" in the movie's title in order to reflect the planned Willy Wonka branding of their chocolates. Distributor Paramount Pictures greenlit this proposal, leaving Dahl unhappy with the change — one of many differences between the book and the first "Wonka" film. This strategy, however, didn't ultimately pay off, with the film initially flopping and the real-life Wonka chocolates failing to get off the ground.
The first Willy Wonka movie began as a failure
Today, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is an all-time children's classic, to the extent that a major Christmas 2023 release served as a direct prequel to its story and earned more than $600 million. When "Willy Wonka" premiered in theaters, however, its total box office return came as a disappointment, clearing its budget but only just barely. It was a VHS release years later that earned the film its place in the canon of children's movies.
Quaker Oats' line of Wonka chocolate bars, meanwhile, simply failed with no subsequent turnaround. For whatever reason, the company couldn't concoct a candy bar that could satisfactorily withstand melting, with Wonka chocolates losing their structure even in temperate conditions. Instead of committing to the pursuit of a perfect recipe, Quaker opted instead to shut down production of Wonka chocolates altogether.
The very catalyst for changing the title of Roald Dahl's book, then, crashed and burned, while "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" eventually found its footing nevertheless and continues to impact popular culture to this day.