Aaron Tracy

Now, if Quaker Oats had just funded the movie and stepped away, that might have been fine with Dahl.

But that's not how Hollywood works.

Everyone wants their say, especially those opening their wallets.

In my conversation with David just now, I suggested Dahl didn't like the shift in focus to Wonka away from Charlie.

The reason this change was made was because Quaker Oats needed Wonka's name front and center.

Otherwise, the film wouldn't help sell the line of Willy Wonka-branded candy bars they were manufacturing.

And it was this change that shifted the entire focus of the film.

It's pretty hard to blame Dahl for being annoyed about this.

It's one thing to receive an annoying note from a studio executive.

We all get that.

It's quite another to get a creative note from a company known for their oatmeal.

Honestly, even though I love the movie, learning this backstory has definitely put me in Dahl's camp.

Of course he resents his hard-fought story becoming a crass money grab for product placement.

One of the great ironies in all this, that Dahl probably really enjoyed, is that although Quaker Oats did indeed develop a Wonka bar, apparently they couldn't get the recipe right.

The chocolate kept melting before being opened, which is like the one thing you don't want your candy bar doing.

The company eventually had to remove it from shelves.

And to add insult to injury, the movie kind of bombed.

It got some good reviews, but no one went to see it in the theater.

It wasn't until VCRs came around years later that the movie became the classic we now think of it as.

Eventually, Nestle was able to buy the Willy Wonka candy factory and started making a new Wonka bar to ride off the goodwill the movie has since accrued.