Timothee Chalamet’s upcoming film Wonka has been adapted from a beloved Roald Dahl novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The novel has been adapted for the big screen multiple times and the role of the fictional whimsical chocolate maker Willy Wonka has been portrayed by several stars like the late Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp.
Wonka, who is credited for coming up with extraordinary (albeit fictional) treats like Everlasting Gobstoppers, Laffy Taffy and blueberry gum, is obviously not real. However, the Wonka Bars from the movies were a reality for a brief period! Not many people know that the renowned 1971 film adaptation, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," was financially backed by the Quaker Oats Company.
The Chicago-based food company wasn’t a big name in the world of film production but the company harboured an interest in entering the candy industry. A film producer David L. Wolper expressed an interest in bringing the Willy Wonka story to the big screen. He pursued the top bosses at Quaker Oats to not only acquire the rights to the book but also commit to fully financing the movie. This decision was essentially conceived as a promotional tactic for Quaker Oats' upcoming candy line.
Quaker agreed to the full $3 million production budget but insisted the title be changed. The company wanted to start manufacturing Willy Wonka-branded candies and candy bars and insisted the film’s titles be changed from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Paramount Studios and Wolper both agreed to the change. Celebrities like Fred Astaire and Peter Sellers were considered for the role of Wonka. Roald Dahl, the novel's creator, wasn't happy with the changes. Moreover, although Gene Wilder was cast as Willy Wonka, Dahl had wanted Spike Milligan. Dahl also had issues with the film being a musical.
The Fate Of The Real Wonka Bars
Quaker Oats did introduce a Wonka Bar the year the movie released, but the company wasn't pleased with the final product. The Wonka Bar was only briefly available on shelves around the time of the original film's release.
As it turned out, Quaker couldn't get the recipe right. Insider reports claimed that the bar kept melting, even in cool temperatures. The company eventually pulled the candy from the shelves. Though the film received good reviews, it did not turn a big profit. When the rights lapsed in 1977, Paramount declined to renew and sold the rights to Warner Brothers for $500,000.
Eventually, the Willy Wonka Candy Company was sold to Nestle, which did go on to produce a new Wonka bar, but not until the early 2000s. Under the Willy Wonka Candy Company brand, Nestle’s Wonka Bars were available in the United States until January 2010. These bars consisted of small graham cracker pieces coated in milk chocolate. Alongside Wonka Bars, other products produced included Wonka Xploder, Wonkalate, and Wonka Biscuits.
The Real Golden Ticket?
In a promotional tie-in with the 2005 film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," starring Johnny Depp, five different Wonka products, including a Wonka bar, were packaged with a Golden Ticket, mirroring the Golden Ticket idea from the novel and films. Each Golden Ticket offered a different prize, with the one in the Wonka bar granting the finder a cash prize of $10,000.
A Nestlé factory in Europe began producing Wonka Bars in flavours and wrappers showcased in the movie, such as Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight and Triple Dazzle Caramel. Almost a decade after the movie hit theatres, Nestlé brought the Wonka Bar back in 2013. The general demand for candy bars were high during that time and it was reported that Nestle was raking in over £3 million a month in the U.K.
However, sales quickly declined and pretty soon stores began selling the Wonka Bars at a discounted price, and eventually Nestle decided to discontinue the candy bars altogether. "Novelty is by its nature often short-term and Nestlé has reintroduced the Wonka brand a number of times," the company said in a statement. Although Nestlé pulled Wonka Bars out of circulation in 2014 due to low sales, there was no confirmation of the brand planned to discontinue the bars forever. But the Wonka bars have never been revived since then.