Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) estranged father-son relationship had previously appeared in "Big Fish", similarly directed by Burton and written by August. Warner Bros. and the director held differences over the characterizations of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka. The studio wanted to entirely delete Mr. Bucket and make Willy Wonka the idyllic father figure Charlie had longed for his entire life. Burton believed that Wonka would not be a good father, finding the character similar to a recluse. Burton said, "In some ways, he's more screwed up than the kids." Warner Bros. also wanted Charlie to be a whiz kid, but Burton resisted the characterization.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (musical) March 2017 with the opening night on 23 April 2017. Reviews of the production were mixed to negative, with some critics citing poor staging and restructuring of the story as primary issues. The Broadway production is notably darker than the original production, with the four rotten Golden Ticket winners meeting grisly ends in the second act. For this production, the characters of Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt and Mike Teavee are played by adult actors, unlike the child actors in the London production, while the character of Charlie is still filled by a child actor. On 15 November 2017,