Summary

• The 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a beloved classic that captures the imagination with vibrant sets, memorable songs, and a heartfelt narrative.
• The 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory offers a different take on the source material, delving deeper into Willy Wonka's backstory and emphasizing the peculiar and sometimes macabre aspects of the story.
• Burton's version is more faithful to the original book, with songs directly lifted from the novel and characters and their flaws staying truer to their descriptions.

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been adapted twice, and Willy Wonka vs. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a commonly heated debate given their drastically different portrayals. 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory has etched itself into the hearts of audiences worldwide, becoming a cultural touchstone that transcends generations. Starring Gene Wilder as the eccentric candy manufacturer, the whimsical tale captures the imagination through its vibrant set designs, memorable musical numbers, and a heartfelt narrative that explores themes of innocence, greed, and the sheer joy of wonder.

In stark contrast, the 2005 movie directed by Tim Burton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, offers a distinctly different vision that delves deeper into the source material's more eccentric elements. Starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, this version is noted for its closer adherence to Dahl's original narrative, including some exploration of Wonka's backstory and a heightened emphasis on the peculiar and sometimes macabre. While both films share the same foundational story, Burton's approach reinterprets the material through a lens that blends the fantastical with the bizarre, leading to the Willy Wonka vs. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory debate.

The 2023 prequel Wonka fills in the story of Willy Wonka's early years, though isn't directly adapting any Roald Dahl novel. It is, however, canonically set before 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Willy Wonka In The Original Movie & Tim Burton’s Remake

Burton's Version Of Wonka Is More Faithful To The Novel

Wonka’s reputation as a candymaker is unlike any other, as he’s known for creating truly unique candies that are a whole experience rather than just a regular sweet. The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book describes Wonka as a man with a black top hat, a purple jacket, silver gloves, bottle-green pants, and a cane. Both big-screen versions of Willy Wonka are different from the one in the book, but they keep some characteristics. Wilder’s portrayal of Wonka is eccentric and more subtle, but there’s also a lot of anger in him and a touch of evil at times.

On the other hand, Depp's performance is over the top and childlike, which is funny when seeing how much Wonka dislikes children. Depp’s version also has an evil side, and because he is not subtle like Wilder’s, it’s perceived by most viewers as a psychotic version of the character, though they both have that quality — it’s just portrayed in different ways. Depp’s is also more tragic as he was given a backstory, which explains (in part, at least) why he acts the way he does and why he isn’t fond of children and families in general.

The Oompa-Loompas

The Oompa-Loompas In The 1971 Movie Are More Mysterious But Have Less Relevance

In early editions of the novel, Oompa-Loompas were described as African Pygmies, but they were changed to be white-skinned and golden-haired, and their country of origin was Loompaland. When Willy Wonka found them, they lived in huts in the trees to escape from various creatures and were struggling to get food. Each film has had its own version of the Oompa-Loompas: in the 1971 version, they were orange-skinned, with green hair, and wore brown shirts with striped wrists and collars, and baggy lederhosen-like pants.

Their roles were the same (as Wonka Factory workers), but they were given more relevance in Burton’s film, as they also served as Wonka’s confidants.

They were all played by different actors, whereas in Burton’s version, they were all played by Star Trek 4's Deep Roy, who also played the female Oompa-Loompa, Doris. In this film, the Oompa-Loompas wore uniforms of different colors, depending on the area they worked in. Their roles were the same (as Wonka Factory workers), but they were given more relevance in Burton’s film, as they also served as Wonka’s confidants.

The Chocolate Factory

Both Movies Feature Practically Built Chocolate Rivers

The sets and effects in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory may now look outdated, but they’re actually quite impressive when considering the limitations in special effects at the time. Its effects are practical, and the factory is as colorful and unreal as expected. Burton’s version, on the other hand, is more spectacular as the auteur has always put an emphasis on spectacle in his movies, and also because the technology was already advanced enough to allow him to bring heavily detailed and colorful scenarios to life.

Additionally, Burton had the technology to make horrific chocolate factory scenes like Violet blowing up into a giant blueberry and Mike getting trapped in a TV look more believable, even if some argue that Burton relied too much on CGI. It’s worth noting that the Chocolate River was a practical effect on both movies, but a bigger budget helped the production crew of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory make it look better than in the first film.

The Story

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory Feels More Like A Charlie Bucket Story, & Vice Versa

Both films follow the book's central idea: Willy Wonka hid five golden tickets in chocolate bars, and the children who found them were granted entrance to the factory. Throughout the tour, various mishaps resulted in the group being reduced more and more until only one child was left, who got a big prize at the end. Willy Wonka included scenes from the book (some of them with a couple of changes, like the “fizzy lifting drink”), and added elements that weren’t that necessary, such as turning Slugworth into a spy (who, in the book, is only a minor character).

Willy Wonka feels more like a Charlie Bucket story and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory like a Willy Wonka one.

A significant addition to the story in Burton’s version was Willy Wonka's backstory, which explained in part why he’s so dedicated to candy, why he doesn’t like children, and why he has trouble with parents and the whole concept of “family.” To some, Willy Wonka feels more like a Charlie Bucket story and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory like a Willy Wonka one, while others think it’s the other way around.

The Songs

The 2005 Movie Directly Lifts Its Songs From The Novel

One of the most significant differences between Willy Wonka and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is that the first one is a musical, with Wonka himself and other characters breaking into songs (such as “Pure Imagination” and “The Candy Man”). In contrast, in the second film, only the Oompa-Loompas have their musical numbers.

...the 2005 movie's songs are far less memorable and iconic.

In the 1971 film, the Oompa-Loompas’ songs are puzzles, and Burton’s version was more faithful to the book as Danny Elfman took the songs directly from the novel. However, as a result, the 2005 movie's songs are far less memorable and iconic.

Tim Burton’s Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Is More Faithful To The Book

Roald Dahl Even Disowned The 1971 Version Because Of Its Creative Liberties

When discussing Willy Wonka vs. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it's worth noting that the 2005 movie is more faithful to the book. While Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory added many scenes from the book, many were changed for narrative and visual purposes. Both omitted some scenes from the book that weren’t important (such as the square candies that look ‘round), but the characters and their flaws (including Wonka himself), their appearance, the songs, and the factory are truer to the book’s descriptions in Burton’s version.

In addition, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author Roald Dahl disowned the 1971 version for several reasons, mainly because he thought it placed “too much emphasis on Willy Wonka and not enough on Charlie,” and he wasn’t happy with Gene Wilder being cast instead of Spike Milligan (via Yahoo). Dahl also wasn’t on board with making Slugworth a spy, the way the “fizzy lifting drink” scene was written, the inclusion of music other than the Oompa-Loompa compositions, and the ending dialogue.

Which Version Of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Is Better

Both Movie Adaptations Excel In Different Areas

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is more of a family film than Burton’s version (even if the tunnel scene was the source of nightmares for many) and is a true classic, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a better version of Roald Dahl’s book. Burton’s version is more faithful to the book: the songs come directly from the source material, the children and their flaws are as described in the book, and Johnny Depp’s performance as Wonka, though with his own quirks and style, is more like the one in the book.

Even though Charlie and the Chocolate Factory omitted scenes from the book, it expanded on Willy Wonka’s backstory

Burton modernized the scenarios and stories so they could connect with the audience, and even though Charlie and the Chocolate Factory omitted scenes from the book, it expanded on Willy Wonka’s backstory and gave other characters more screen time. Burton’s production design, accompanied by a score by Danny Elfman and the performances of Johnny Depp help make a fantasy world like the one inside Wonka’s factory believable. Highmore’s portrayal of Charlie Bucket is more moving and believable than the 1971 portrayal, as he genuinely managed to play the part of an innocent kid who comes from a humble home.

Wonka Has More In Common With The 1971 Film

Wonka Was A Prequel From 2023

In 2023, a Willy Wonka prequel movie came out called simply Wonka. Unlike the other two movies, which were mostly family movies with songs, this was an actual musical movie with large production numbers, a big departure from either of the other two movies. With Timothée Chalamet starring as Willy Wonka, this movie shows how he started his chocolate empire, how he met the Oompa Loompas, and why he became so weird over the course of his life.

Wilder's version was weird but more absent-minded and dismissive, which is clearly what Chalamet's character veers for.

With that in mind, Chalamet's Wonka is much more comparable to Gene Wilder's version than Johnny Depp's. While Depp's movie was closer to the source novel, his portrayal of Wonka was a little too far over the edge, making him at turns creepy and overtly childlike. Wilder's version was weird but more absent-minded and dismissive, which is clearly what Chalamet's character veers for. There is no creepiness at all to the character in Wonka, and his childlike innocence is never off-putting.

However, at the same time, there is something different between Chalamet's version and Wilder's as well. Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka is manipulative and someone who has as much mean spirit in his soul as he makes his love of making chocolate for people. It is almost impossible to see Chalamet's Wonka grow up to become this person, as he is never cruel, and even has a soft spot for the cartels who want to hold him down. However, when compared to the two, he is clearly more Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory than he is Johnny Depp's version.