History Trivia / WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory

* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: The length of Veruca Salt's hair becomes progressively shorter throughout the movie, as the filmmakers kept burning off Julie Dawn Cole's split ends.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Julie Dawn Cole says that Creator/RoaldDahl was a candy enthusiast and that he could accurately recite the dates that specific candies were debuted to the public. Dahl's fondness for sweets and especially chocolate began as a schoolboy, when he dreamed of inventing new chocolate bars for the Cadbury company. In his globe-trotting days as an adult, he made a habit of searching for the best local chocolate everywhere he traveled. A feature of his dinner parties was the box(es) of gourmet chocolate in the center of the table, which he invited his guests to sample. He even kept a box of chocolates in the backyard shed he used for writing.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: An inversion. Julie Dawn Cole actually hated chocolate and was not a fan of filming the scene in which she scoops melted chocolate from one of the candy eggs. Reportedly Dahl himself thought Julie was a weird girl for not liking chocolate.

** David Seltzer was an uncredited script doctor on the screenplay.
* VindicatedByCable: The film was a failure at the box office, but has become a classic in the years since thanks to repeats on cable networks.

** Not so much "throw" as "work," the (real) restaurant where Augustus is interviewed actually became a favourite of the cast and crew during shooting.

* TroubledProduction: Both Julie Dawn Cole and Paris Themmen claim that director Mel Stuart was unpopular with the child actors, who all went as far as to call him "mach es nochmal Stuart" during filming. [[note]]"mach es nochmal" is German for "Do it again", which is what Mel would frequently yell at Michael Bollner (who's German) whenever he messed up on a scene.[[/note]] Themmen also released a bunch of wasps onset, which delayed the filming schedule.

* ChannelHop: Creator/{{Paramount}} distributed the movie during its premiere. After it flopped, they decided not to renew distribution rights. Creator/WarnerBros then added the movie to their library after buying the Wolper Organization, where it belongs to this day, and went on to produce two further adaptations of the original source material (the 2005 film and 2013 West End musical).

* AdoredByTheNetwork: Since their days as ABC Family, Creator/{{Freeform}} has frequently run this film as part of their weekend lineups, especially around holiday periods. Until the HBO networks reclaimed the TV rights to the [[Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory 2005 adaptation of its source novel]] in 2014, ABC Family loved running ''both'' versions as a double feature!

** Creator/JonPertwee was the first choice for the role of Willy Wonka before Creator/GeneWilder was cast. However, Pertwee turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Series/DoctorWho''.

*** Creator/FredAstaire, Creator/PeterCook, Creator/MichaelCrawford, Creator/JoelGrey, Creator/DudleyMoore, Creator/RonMoody and Creator/PeterSellers were considered for Willy Wonka as well before the casting of Wilder.

** For the role of Willy Wonka, several names came and went:
*** Creator/JonPertwee was the first choice before Creator/GeneWilder was cast. However, Pertwee turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Series/DoctorWho''.
*** Creator/SpikeMilligan was Creator/RoaldDahl's initial candidate for Willy Wonka, but was turned down due to CreativeDifferences, much to the unhappiness of Dahl. Creator/PeterSellers reportedly begged Dahl for the role.
*** Creator/RonMoody was considered, based on his role in ''Film/{{Oliver}}'', but wasn't available. Creator/JoelGrey was considered, but was deemed too short. Creator/FredAstaire lobbied for the role, but was deemed too old. Creator/FrankieHowerd was offered the role, but he was busy with ''Film/UpPompeii'' and ''Film/UpTheChastityBelt''. All six members of Creator/MontyPython were considered, but as they hadn't taken off in America yet, they were deemed too obscure for the US-oriented film.
*** Other candidates included Creator/PeterCook, Creator/MichaelCrawford, Creator/SidJames, Creator/DudleyMoore and Creator/KennethWilliams.
** Creator/JeanStapleton was offered the part of Mrs. Teevee before the casting of Nora Denney, but turned it down due to filming conflicts with ''Series/AllInTheFamily''.
** Creator/SammyDavisJr was considered for the role of Bill, but the producers wanted to cast a lesser-known actor; in the end, the role went to Aubrey Woods. He did, however do a recording of "The Candyman" that became a hit.
** [[Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein Richard Rodgers]] and Music/HenryMancini were asked to do the music, but they declined.

** A Willy Wonka Candy Company has existed since 1971, and was originally a tie-in to the film. It was started by Quaker Oats and then eventually became the property of Nestle. The company tried to launch Wonka chocolate bars twice, in 1971 and 2005, but both times they were relatively unsuccessful. Instead, the real hits out of the Wonka line have been candies that have nothing to do with the film at all, but reflect the fictional candy company's quirky ethos. In the late 90's, pre-existing Nestle candies such as Nerds, Sweet Tarts, Laffy Taffy and Fun Dip were moved to the Wonka brand, where they've thrived under new branding. In the late 90s-early 2000s, there were even animated commercials featuring a caricature of Gene Wilder as Wonka (though Wilder did not reprise his role; instead, Creator/JeffBennett voiced this Wonka character).

* BoxOfficeBomb: Its original release only grossed $4 million at the box office against a budget of $3 million. Later averted when the re-release grossed $21 million.