Roald Dahl on Screen

The fantastical books of Roald Dahl (1916-1990) remain some of the most popular for children around the world. Known for his novels and short stories, they have also had their run as popular film adaptations and musicals. I wanted to take a trip through some theatrical films and the music that accompanied.

Dahl's novel became the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), now regarded as a family classic.  Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse provided the songs like "Pure Imagination", "The Candy Man" and "Oompa Loompa" with Walter Scharf as adaptor and music director.  They were all nominated for a Oscar for Song Score/Adaptation.

The Witches (1990) was next to hit the big screen - a darkly comic version with standout makeup, creature effects and a terrifying performance by Anjelica Huston.  Stanley Meyer's fun dark score has never been released.

James and the Giant Peach (1996) saw the fanciful world become stop-motion animated.  Providing the few songs and score would be Randy Newman, fresh from his Pixar success.  Newman's score would be nominated for the Musical or Comedy score at the Oscars.

Also released the same year was Matilda (1996).  The adaption kept pretty close to the original book and focused on much of the story's fanciful humor.  Frequent collaborator with director Danny DeVito, David Newman's score is energetic, comedic and generally heartfelt.

Tim Burton directed his take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) with Johnny Depp's odd portrayal as Wonka.  Even with its mixed results, the film was a box office hit.  Danny Elfman wrote an extravagant score in addition to writing new songs for the Oompa Loompas (adapting Dahl's original lyrics) - each an eclectic style of music and all performed by Elfman.      

Dahl's work returned to the stop-motion world with Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).  Director Wes Anderson expertly used Alexandre Desplat's quirky mixing of musical styles and whimsical orchestration.  The playful and sentimental score was nominated for an Oscar.  

Steven Spielberg brought The BFG to the big screen in 2016 with John Williams providing the score.  He focuses on the tender music for the lead Sophie, with the score coming alive once she heads to Dream Country.  Williams clearly enjoyed the balletic nature of catching dreams, with magical orchestration and warmth.

Alan Silvestri provided a darker score for the remake of The Witches (2020) - another collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis.  His Grand Hight Witch theme covers much of the score, with some lighter musical antics and sweeping heroics.  In the US, the film was quietly taken off HBO Max, making the film a brief sidenote.               

Tim Minchin wrote the loveable show Matilda the Musical, appearing in the West End in 2011-current and Broadway in 2013-2017.  The endearing show was adapted to film in 2022, with many of the songs left in.

In 2023 Wes Anderson to Dahl with The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar in a collection of short films that also included Poison, The Rat Catcher and The Swan.  Strangely enough, the short films have no score.  

Returning to the world of chocolate was the prequel Wonka (2023).  Featuring a younger Willy Wonka, it also featured a score by Joby Talbot, new songs by Neil Hannon, including past songs from 1971.

In addition to the screenplay to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Dahl wrote the screenplays for The Night Digger (1971) with music by Bernard Herrmann.  He also surprisingly adapted two Ian Fleming novels to the screen: You Only Live Twice (1967) with a great James Bond score by John Barry and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) with songs by the great Sherman Brothers.