Dan Lewis
Miranda Piker and the Chocolate Factory
by Dan Lewis - September 14, 2011 - 8:00 AM

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If you have not read the book noted below, nor seen either of the two movies, take a few hours to fix that — I suggest the cult classic 1971 movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder as the protagonist candy man. Fair warning: some plot points from the story follow below. —Dan

In 1964, Roald Dahl published his third book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The book is a tale of a poor child, Charlie Bucket, who lucks into (quite literally) a golden ticket, one that entitles him (and his Grandpa Jack) entry into Willy Wonka’s famous chocolate facotry. Four other children also find golden tickets and join Charlie on the tour.

One by one, each child (other than Charlie) befalls an odd fate. The obese Augustus Gloop, unable to control his love of chocolate, falls into a river of chocolate and is sucked into a pipe — to be made into fudge. Another, compulsive gum chewer Violet Beauregarde, turns into an ever-expanding human blueberry, filling with blueberry juice. A third, the bratty Veruca Salt, is systematically determined to be a “bad egg” (in the movie, literally) and sent off to the furnace. The fourth, television addict (and aptly named) Mike Teevee shrinks himself in a television transportation device. Only Charlie avoids horrific accident. And all but Charlie are, on their way out, serenaded. Wonka’s pygmy-like servants, the Oompa-Loompas, gleefully mark the occasion of each child’s fall from grace with a song and dance.

Miranda Piker, the straight-laced daughter of a school headmaster, was child number six. Her story did not make the final version of the book. In Dahl’s original draft, Wonka develops a candy that makes the child break out in spots — a fake illness designed to get the child out of a day of school. Piker objects and she and her schoolmaster father storm the room in which the candy is being made. Something explodes and Piker and her father, per Wonka, are turned into a necessary part of the recipe: “We’ve got to use one or two schoolmasters occasionally or it wouldn’t work.”

Piker’s story was cut because the book publishers believed it to be too gruesome for young audiences. But a few years ago, The Times (UK) obtained and printed the excerpt, replete with the Oompa-Loompas’ song.
***
BONUS FACT: The actor who played Charlie in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is named Peter Ostrum. It is Ostrum’s only movie. He turned down the opportunity to reprise the role in the second book in the Charlie Bucket saga (and a third, which was never written). Later in life, Ostrum became a large animal veterinarian, a profession he still practices today.

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Comments (15)

  1. I can imagine Gene Wilder playing Willy Wonka to perfection when the people were added to the candy. Creepy, fun goodness.

    posted by dianeygirl on 9-14-2011 at 8:49 am

  2. I love Roald Dahl almost as much as I love the Muppets. His book “The Twits” is the funniest thing I’ve ever read. I’m glad you are awesome enough to have the same taste as me :)

    posted by bet on 9-14-2011 at 8:58 am

  3. “Later in life, Ostrum became a large animal veterinarian….”

    In this sentence, does ‘large’ refer to his sprawling practice and notoriety or his weight?

    posted by Pink Coat on 9-14-2011 at 9:19 am

  4. I love getting the Now I Know email everyday…very cool info about the extra character in the story.

    @Pink Coat – “large” refers to the size of the animals. Large Animal Veterinarians work with large animals like horses, cows, etc.

    posted by krissie_d on 9-14-2011 at 9:32 am

  5. @ Dan – I believe it was Grandpa Joe, not Jack.

    posted by Ha! on 9-14-2011 at 10:00 am

  6. @ Ha! – I was thinking the same thing! I remember because the grandparents had matching names – Joe and Josephine, George and Georgina.

    After reading the excerpt, I kind of wonder why Roald Dahl didn’t go into detail of what happened to Miranda Piker and her father, like he did for the other kids. Wonder if there was more to it originally?

    posted by Jina on 9-14-2011 at 10:15 am

  7. Interesting that Piker’s story was cut because the book publishers believed it to be too gruesome for young audiences, but Veruca Salt being sent off to the furnace was okey-dokey fine.

    posted by alsale on 9-14-2011 at 11:43 am

  8. Thanks for introducing me to Now I know.

    I’ll be spending all day in the archives and I just signed up for the daily email.

    Superad!

    posted by Lola on 9-14-2011 at 12:12 pm

  9. does the book explain why those darned lazy grandparents don’t get out of bed and get a freakin’ job?
    Drives me nuts every time I see the movie- too “sick” to help out. But as soon as a golden ticket comes along suddenly we’re dancing a jig!

    posted by loopiecajunboudreaux on 9-14-2011 at 4:44 pm

  10. Points of contention: In the book, Veruca Salt was deemed to be a bad nut, not a bad egg. That whole scene in the movie with Gene Wilder was changed. In the book, Willy Wonka had squirrels testing nuts and throwing the bad ones into the furnace, there were no geese laying golden eggs. Veruca inveded the area because she wanted a squirrel to take home for a pet.

    Also, in the book, non of the children were killed, as suggested by the movie. They left the factory safely, but changed, hopefully having learned valuable lessons. Augustus and Veruca, if I recall correctly, just needed a bath to set them right, physically anyway. Violet was returned to her normal size after being juiced, but she remained blue. Mike TV had to be stretched out, so he became tall and skinny.

    The movie with Johnny Depp stayed truer to the book, including the Oompa Loompa songs. Nowhere in the book do they sing, “Oompa Loompa doopaty-doo.” Or any of that other nonsense.

    I loved the Gene Wilder version when I was a child. But now, having read the book, not so much.

    posted by Carole on 9-14-2011 at 4:46 pm

  11. …oops, typo…none of the children were killed…

    posted by Carole on 9-14-2011 at 4:47 pm

  12. @alsale: don’t worry about Veruca. The furnace was not lit when she fell in. She just fell into the garbage and got dirty.

    posted by Carole on 9-14-2011 at 4:49 pm

  13. It is funny how the book, when later read, can change childhood perceptions. The “Wizard of Oz” was, and still is, my favorite movie. However, after reading “Wicked” I see the characters in a new light.

    posted by gus on 9-14-2011 at 5:33 pm

  14. Well the excluded tale had no moral —Well unless you think ‘If your too uptight you might explode’ is a moral— the gruesomeness is just icing on the cake.

    posted by Thatoneguy on 9-14-2011 at 6:20 pm

  15. @ Pink Coat, “large” refers to the size of the animal, not Mr. Ostrum himself or to his practice.

    posted by pamela in nh on 9-14-2011 at 11:34 pm

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