Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is now a beloved classic, eagerly viewed by generations of children. Who can resist a magical world of chocolate and fantasy?
The motives behind the production of this film, however, were as impure as the chocolate river after Augustus Gloop contaminated it. Quaker Oats was eager to produce a new line of candy. Producer Mel Stuart convinced them that the best way to do this was to make a film featuring the chocolate and he had the best property to do it- Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The film would heavily feature Quaker's newest candy treat- the Wonka Bar, a confection that would be introduced alongside the film. To Roald Dahl's chagrin, the title was changed in order to highlight Willy Wonka instead of Charlie. (Quaker needed to move those bars.) It would be the perfect promotion.
The promotion backfired, however, when the chocolate was found to be inedible. Quaker had to pull the chocolate from store shelves. To add insult to injury, the film underperformed at the box office. Quaker would eventually sell the film to Warner Brothers and the candy line to Nestle.
