[gaijin]

remember the Oompa Loompas?

early test audiences and black activist panicked at the idea that they were actually Africans so they had to paint them blue or something.

it was such a huge hullabaloo that at the time the movie almost was not made only because of the Hang-Ups about the Oompa Loompas.

[coop71]

In the original version of Roald Dahl’s book, the Oompa Loompas were African pygmies. That was changed in later versions of the book. By the time the film came around, it’d be pretty unlikely that any remnants of the pygmies remained. But throw a link my way if you have one proving me I’m wrong on this assumption. Thanks.

[sharpee]

Willie Wonka was written in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. The Oompa Loompas are based on a tribe in Africa. They are considered lazy and looked down on. The basis for the chocolate factory is a huge building that I could see off in the distance.