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.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory to buy the rights to the book and finance the picture for the purpose of promoting a new Quaker Oats "Wonka Bar". David L. Wolper and Roald Dahl agreed that the film would be a children's musical, and that Dahl himself would write the screenplay. However, Wolper changed the title to "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". Screenwriter David Seltzer conceived a gimmick exclusively for the film that had Wonka quoting numerous literary sources, such as Arthur O'Shaughnessy's "Ode", Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and William Shakespeare's "The Merchant