Roald Dahl Film Adaptations: Ranked From Worst To Best

7. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

Recently selected for the US National Film Registry for preservation as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", this first film adaptation of Dahl's work is arguably the most iconic on screen take on a Dahl story and has inspired many people's image of his writing. Dahl himself, however, disliked the film so much that he refused to sell the film rights to any more of his books, preventing sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator from coming to the screen. Although Dahl wrote the original draft of the screenplay, it was taken out of his hands and significantly rewritten by David Seltzer. With the film largely made to serve as a marketing campaign for the Quaker Oats Company to launch their Wonka Bar, the emphasis shifted from contest winner Charlie Bucket to the maverick chocolatier Willy Wonka, resulting in a change to the film's name that put Wonka front and centre. For Dahl this change in focus completely misread the purpose of the book. When casting for the role, Dahl wanted Spike Milligan as Wonka, but the studio and director Mel Stuart instead went for Gene Wilder. Wilder was nominated for a Golden Globe for the film and his performance does indeed find the right balance between oddball charm and a sinister edge. The performance, though, does unbalance the film, as Dahl complained, something that is not helped by the bland, blank child performances and a rewriting of Charlie as just as tempted to break the rules as everyone else. Ultimately it's hard to relate to or care about what happens to this Charlie. Visually and musically the film does not live up to its reputation for "pure imagination", coming across instead as kind of flat.