In a statement obtained by TIME, the Roald Dahl Story Company also noted that the company and Dahl’s family “have apologized unreservedly for the hurt and suffering caused by Roald Dahl’s anti-Semitic comments. We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words.” “Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl’s stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations. “The Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologize for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahl’s statements,” it reads.
It’s unclear exactly when the statement first appeared on the site. In December 2020, it came to light that the Dahl family and Roald Dahl Story Company, in what some saw as a preemptive move to deflect criticism of forthcoming projects, had issued an apology for Dahl’s history of anti-Semitism on the official Dahl website. He may have been a great children’s writer but he was also a racist and this should be remembered.” “Many of his utterances were unambiguously anti-Semitic. “The Royal Mint was absolutely correct to reject the idea of a commemorative coin for Roald Dahl,” she said. In 2018, The Guardian reported that the British Royal Mint had rejected a proposal to mark the 100th anniversary of Dahl’s birth with a commemorative coin due to the fact that he was “associated with anti-Semitism and not regarded as an author of the highest reputation.” In response to the Royal Mint’s decision, Amanda Bowman, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, also spoke out against Dahl. In recent years, some have sought to shine a brighter light on the troubling nature of Dahl’s personal views. Fox (2009) and The BFG(2016) have also found success.ĭespite Dahl publicly admitting he was anti-Semitic in an interview shortly before his death at age 74, in addition to a number of reports of his alleged misogyny and racism, for a long time it seemed that the immense popularity of his books, and their accompanying adaptations, overshadowed concerns regarding his reputed prejudices. Big-screen versions of The Witches (19), James and the Giant Peach(1996), Matilda (1996), Fantastic Mr. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has twice previously been made into a movie-once in 1971, with Gene Wilder starring as the titular candy man in the much-beloved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and again in 2005, with Johnny Depp taking up the Wonka mantle for Tim Burton’s take on the classic. Of course, this isn’t the first time one of Dahl’s books has been adapted for the screen. Taika Waititi ( Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) is writing, directing and executive producing both shows.
THE WITCHES ROALD DAHL ANTISEMITIC SERIES
Netflix, which reportedly paid the Roald Dahl Story Company at least $1 billion in 2018 for the rights to 16 of the author’s works, also has two animated series based on the world and characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in development.