Roald Dahl Publisher Edits “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” To Cut The Word “Fat” For “Inclusion And Accessibility”

Penguin’s children’s imprint Puffin took a red pencil to works by divisive British writer. Roald DahlIt is best known for its “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” und “Matilda” Among many others.

An Comprehensive report by The Telegraph U.K. newspaper Says “language related to weight, mental health, violence, gender and race has been cut and rewritten.”

1964: The first novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” The phrase was adapted into two films, in 1971 and 2005. Johnny Depp and Gene Wilder starred respectively. “enormously fat” This article has been edited to just “enormous.” The same sentence was used in the 1970 book. “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” This animated film, which was made by Wes Anderson and starred Meryl Streep and George Clooney in voice roles in 2009, was also edited. “enormous.”

This report compares Dahl’s 2001 and 2022 editions of Dahl’s children’s books. It finds that Dahl’s word is more popular than the 2022 editions. “fat” It has been carefully edited, including in “The Enormous Crocodile” (1978), “James and the Giant Peach” (1961), “The Twits” (1980) “The Witches” (1983).

Puffin also edited Miss Trunchbull’s description. “Matilda” Modified from “most formidable female” To “most formidable woman”; The Oompa Loompas “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Changed from “small men” To “small people” “Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf” “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Bunce, not everything. 

Puffin and the Roald Dahl Stories Company edited the story with Inclusive Minds. This collective specializes in inclusive minds. “inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature,” According to a spokesperson.

The following is a quote from the copyright page for Puffin’s new Dahl’s book editions: “This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today.”

Roald Dahl Story company spokesperson said Variety“We want to make sure that Roald Dahl’s fantastic stories and characters are enjoyed by all children today. It’s common to revise the language used when publishing new printing runs of books written many years ago. This includes updating details such as the book’s cover or page layout. The storylines, characters, as well as the irreverence, sharp-edged spirit and humor of the original text, have been our guiding principles. All changes have been made in a small and thoughtful manner. 

“As part of our process to review the language used we worked in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature. The current review began in 2020, before Dahl was acquired by Netflix. It was led by Puffin and Roald Dahl Story Company together.”

Dahl, who passed away in 1990, was accused of misogyny as well as racism and antisemitism. His family issued an apology in 2020 for his actions. “prejudiced remarks.”

Variety Puffin has been contacted for comment.