Photo Faux Pas: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

File Under: What are You Smoking?

Like most people, I think, I’m confused by Penguin UK’s adultified 50th anniversary cover choice for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

According to the Facebook post, where the cover was revealed, “This new image for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory looks at the children at the centre of the story, and highlights the way Roald Dahl’s writing manages to embrace both the light and the dark aspects of life.”

The original image by Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello is called “Mommie Dearest,” and it’s even creepier uncropped. Check it out:

By way of comparison, here are a few old, appropriate covers through the years: