On the Dixonverse Forum, someone raised the point that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory should have been made with kids in mind, but it wasn’t. While I still consider the original Gene Wilder version to be a fun classic, I do have to disagree with this point.

First off, why remake it at all if the original movie is so fondly remembered? I’m sure we’ve all wondered that. The reason is that “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005) is an attempt to make the movie as much like the book as possible, whereas “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971) deviated from the book by having mostly-new songs and a script that had been greatly rewritten from Roald Dahl’s first script. Dahl never liked the movie, especially as Wonka was toned down.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, as originally intended, is supposed to be a horror story for kids. It’s like the Grimm fairie tales used to be, where kids that did the wrong thing got chopped up by a goblin and the kids who behaved got rewarded.

Ever hear the original Snow White, with the woodcutter killing a deer and turning the severed heart to the queen claiming it’s Snow White’s? Then Disney gets a hold of it and makes it into this marketable cute story with seven merchandisable Dwarves…excuse me, Dwarfs…all ready to be turned into players on a Franklin Mint Chess set. Now, because of Disney, if someone tried mounting an actual production of the real tale of Snow White, they’d be accused of corrupting a children’s story…and that’s essentially what you’re doing by decrying “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Willy Wonka is intended to be a bit of a boogeyman figure. All these kids go to Willy Wonka’s factory expecting the time of their dreams, but their inhibitions lead them into trouble…and as we can see, they are also the victims of parents who spoil them. The book/movie is just as much a Grimm Faerie Tale for parents: “Don’t spoil your selfish little pig child or he could get stuck in a high pressure chocolate release valve or shrunk to an inch tall.”

Is this inappropriate for kids? Well, sure, if by kids you mean tiny tykes who should be watching Pooh Bear. If they’re 8-10 years old, then absolutely. Kids love being scared. I know I loved a good fright. Heck, it’s really the age when you can be legitimately frightened, before you start rationalizing everything. Parents are way too overprotective these days.