From pygmies to puppets: what to do with Roald Dahl’s enslaved Oompa-Loompas in modern adaptations?
Reading Time: 5 minutes There is a troubling aspect to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the first edition, the Oompa-Loompas are black pygmies who Wonka imports from “the deepest and darkest part of the African jungle” and enslaves in his factory.