Anchor Struck

The disdain I showed for Oompa-Loompas in my last post has in no way modified, but I

thought it would be a gesture of good will to give the lithe little lads some equal time be-

fore one of them ambles down the driveway and breaks my knees because he can’t reach

my ribcage.

The eleven actors who played the O-L’s in the 1971 version with Gene Wilder were not

listed in the credits.  They are (or were) Rudy Borgstaller, George Claydon, Frank Delfino,

Malcolm Dixon, Rusty Goffe, Ismen Hassan, Norman McGlen, Angelo Muscat, Pepe Poupee,

Marcus Powell and Albert Wilkinson.

None of them are household names, although it’s easy to imagine how one could work Pepe

Poupee into a conversation with a toddler.

In the 2005 version, director Tim Burton opted to clone all 165 O-L’s from one person, using

split screen, front projection and digital effects.  The clonee was Deep Roy, a 4′ 4″ (1.3 metres)

Kenya-born English actor of Indian descent.  Roy had already worked for Burton, portraying

two gorillas in Planet of the Apes.

Roy trained in yoga and dance at length for the role, and learned to play some musical instru-

ments.  “Tim told me that the Oompa-Loompas were strictly programmed, like robots,” he said,

“so when it comes time to dance, they’re like a regiment.”  He also contributed to the project by

suggesting that the song “Augustus Gloop” be performed as a Bollywood spectacle.

The chocolate river that the O-L’s worked near was the real deal in the 1971 film — chocolate

cream mix in 150,000 gallons (570,000 litres) of water.  But it looked muddy and turned

rancid, befouling the soundstage.  Burton went with 192,000 gallons of “faux melted candy”

because he liked the way it clung to the oars of Willy Wonka’s Viking boat.  It took nine tries

to find the most delicious-looking colour.

The Burton version also featured 40 co-workers of the O-L’s: live squirrels that were trained

for ten weeks to sit on tiny bar stools, tap open walnuts and put the meat on a conveyor belt.

Although their scene was enhanced by CGI and animatronics, Burton said that “for the close-

ups and the main action, they’re the real thing.”

The two films have made their marks.  The one from 1971 is a cult classic.  It earned only

$4 million U.S. from its original run, but found greener pastures on TV and home video.

The 2005 effort made $475 million world-wide.  It received better reviews than the first

one, mainly because it was much more faithful to the book it was based on.

Its writer Roald Dahl so hated the the first version that he disowned it and refused to let his

book Charlie and the Great Grass Elevator be filmed.  Dahl is credited with the screenplay,

but it was rewritten by David Seltzer when Dahl missed deadlines.  Dahl was also miffed

that his suggestion of British comic legend Spike Milligan to play Wonka was ignored.

Also, tragically, the first version featured the song “The Candy Man Can”, possibly the most

sugary tune ever set to screen.

P.S.  I just learned that Mel Stuart, director of the 1971 film, died last Thursday at age 83.