When the internet spent the better part of a week in February roasting a Willy Wonka-themed family event in Glasgow gone wrong, there was a lot to laugh about: the mostly undecorated warehouse venue, the AI-generated advertising, the lack of chocolate, and, of course, the sad Oompa Loompa. The local …
Read More »Justice for 'The Unknown,' the Roald Dahl Character That Wasn't
It’s just a fact that, for all their wonder and whimsy, Roald Dahl‘s children’s books can be terrifying. The heroine of Matilda, abandoned to a strict school by uncaring parents, must survive the cruelties of the headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. Unlike the friendly giant of the title, the other giants in …
Read More »Wes Anderson's 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Is Barely a Movie — and One of His Best
The golden rule is usually, “Show, don’t tell.” And Wes Anderson is a filmmaker who — judging by the overly meticulous mise-en-scène, the highly mannered methods of his storytelling, the obsessive curating and compulsive footnoting of onscreen bric-a-brac — seems to love the structure that comes with obeying unwritten rules. …
Read More »Wes Anderson Speaks Out Against Roald Dahl Book Censorship in Venice
Nobody — outside of maybe Henry Selick — can adapt a Roald Dahl story quite like Wes Anderson, whose 2009 stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox remains a high watermark. Well, the Texas auteur is back at this year’s Venice Film Festival with another take on Dahl, this time taking on …
Read More »'Wonka' Director Can't Wait for You to See Hugh Grant's Sassy Oompa Loompa
Paul King is no stranger to exploring the fantastical world of a children’s storybook. After two Paddington films, the dark whimsy of Roald Dahl proved to be an exciting new challenge for the director, who has imagined an origin story for the iconic character of Willy Wonka. In the first …
Read More »Agatha Christie Novels Edited to Remove Racist Language
Several Agatha Christie novels have been edited to remove racist language. Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries written between 1920 and 1976 are among those with new editions with words and descriptions amended to strip them of offensive language, particularly passages that involve characters portrayed outside the U.K. Per The Guardian, …
Read More »Roald Dahl's Children's Books to Be Republished With 'Classic' Text Alongside Edited Versions
Following the uproar and “debate” over the decision to republish Roald Dahl’s children’s books with less offensive language, the author’s estate and publisher have announced that they would re-release those same books with the original text intact. Earlier this month, the Roald Dahl Story Company and publishers Puffin announced that …
Read More »Roald Dahl's Children's Books to Republish With Offensive Language Removed
Eagle-eyed readers of Roald Dahl might notice some small-but-significant changes within an upcoming republishing of the legendary author’s children’s books as some language has been changed to make it less offensive and more inclusive. Dahl’s own literary estate approved of the edits, which include changing the description of Augustus Gloop …
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