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“There’s no earthly way of knowing / Which direction we are going / There’s no knowing where we’re rowing / Or which way the river’s flowing (…) Not a speck of light is showing / So the danger must be growing…”
When Roald Dahl wrote those words for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” – a ditty delivered by the incomparable Gene Wilder in the 1971 adaptation Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory – the author did not have AI in mind.
Still, his nightmarish little poem seems fitting considering the way artificial intelligence is plaguing the artistic world and how it stands as one of its biggest existential threats.
As if to prove the point, Netflix has unveiled the first look at their new competition series inspired by Dahl’s classic novel.
Titled Wonka’s The Golden Ticket, the show will feature 12 “lucky Golden Ticket winners” and their partners entering “the gates of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and into a world of pure imagination, delicious mischief, and unexpected challenges.”
They’ll also be faced with AI – specifically, Gene Wilder’s “recreated voice”, courtesy of “AI company ElevenLabs.”
Wilder – who died in 2016 at the age of 83 – can be heard in the teaser clip for the show, with his AI voice saying: “For the first time in decades, I’m opening my beloved chocolate factory… A whole new generation of real life golden ticket holders will compete for a life-changing prize, or say a most unfortunate goodbye.”
Fans immediately took to social media to call out the show and decry the simulation of Wilder.
“Gene is rolling in his grave,” wrote one, while another added: “Someone should have voiced this better, the ai voice lacks emotion, no soul no depth.”
Check out some of the reactions below:
Sadly, it turns out that Wilder’s estate consented to the use of the beloved actor’s voice.
Wilder’s wife Karen commented on the news: “More than five decades after Gene brought Willy Wonka to life, people of all ages and backgrounds around the world continue to find joy, laughter and inspiration in his performance. Gene had a remarkable ability to bring humour, wonder and heart into people’s lives, and that connection has endured for generations.”
She added: “We are delighted that Wonka’s The Golden Ticket celebrates the warmth and imagination that he brought to the role, introducing that magic to a new generation while honoring the fans who have cherished it for decades.”
Fans aren’t feeling the magic. Nor a world of pure imagination.
Wonka’s The Golden Ticket is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on 23 September.
