Gene Wilder Slams Tim Burton's 'Wonka' Remake

Director Tim Burton had plans to shoot a remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory while doing the promotional push for the 2003 film Big Fish.

This reporter, who considers the original Wonka a classic not easily duplicated, asked Burton at the time about his plans for the project.

“Have you seen the original,” Burton asked me, his question dripping with condescension.

A decade later, Wonka star Gene Wilder returned fire.

Wilder, during a chat with TMC personality Robert Osborne, shared his distaste for Burton’s 2005 remake starring Johnny Depp as the eccentric chocolate mogul. 

“I think it’s an insult,” Wilder, 80, said of Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” “It’s probably Warner Bros.’ insult.”