Behind the Scenes Facts You Did Not Know: The Making of Burton’s Iconic 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'

It is the second cinematic adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved 1964 British novel of the same name, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket.

The Dahl Estate was granted complete artistic freedom for this adaptation, following the earlier version titled Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which was produced in 1991 — twenty years after the original film. Tim Burton, renowned for his distinctive style, immediately enlisted his frequent collaborators Johnny Depp and composer Danny Elfman. Notably, this film marked Elfman’s return to contributing original songs and voice work for a film score since The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Before Burton’s involvement, other directors such as Gary Ross, Rob Minkoff, Martin Scorsese, and Tom Shadyac had been considered or involved in earlier stages of development. Warner Bros. also discussed casting options including Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton and Adam Sandler for the role of Willy Wonka.

Upon release, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory received critical acclaim and was a commercial success, grossing approximately $475 million worldwide. The film is renowned not only for its imaginative visuals but also for its fascinating behind-the-scenes facts:

• Forty squirrels were trained specifically for the scene where they pounce upon Veruca Salt.
• Nestlé supplied 1,850 bars of real chocolate used during filming.
• The giant candy props — lollipops on trees, pink sugar canes, and humbugs — were all made from actual confectionery.
• Deep Roy played every single Oompa-Loompa himself, performing each character multiple times with identical movements before their digital combination. His performance was so impressive that his salary was increased to $1 million.
• The buttons on the Glass Elevator featured whimsical labels such as “Incompetent Fools,” “T-Bone Steak Jell-O,” “Secretarial Poodles,” “Cocoa Cats,” “Mechanical Clouds,” “Stars in their Pies,” “Nice Plums,” “Up And Out,” “Fragile Eggs,” “Black Box of Frogs,” “Weird Lollipops,” “Mighty Jam Monitor,” “Creative Dog Flip,” “Elastic Forest,” “Leaky Canes,” “Dessert Island,” “Pie Cream,” “Spewed Vegetables,” “Naffy Taffy,” “Lickety Split Peas,” “Honeycombs and Brushes,” “Old Sneezes and Smells Dept. Television Room,” “Whizzdoodles,” “Chocolate Lip Rookies,” “Blackberry Sausages,” “Yankee Doodles,” “Orange Egg Flip,” “Root Beer Goggles,” “Pastry Room,” and many more.

This enchanting film continues to delight audiences worldwide two decades after its debut, cementing its place as a modern classic in British cinematic history.