It’s Screenwriting 101. When you’re taking a beloved character, who’s lasted decades or even centuries with a simple, streamlined origin, the first thing you do is add something terrible to his or her childhood. Because why would you ever want to preserve the character’s classic simplicity?
Lately, we’ve been just drowning in well-known characters who suddenly have a newly-introduced childhood misfortune. We won’t go into some of them here because it’s a bit of a spoiler—but feel free to go to town in comments. Please mention the name of the character, where he/she appears, the terrible childhood mishap that was added to their past—and please throw in a picture or clip!
Top image: Willy Wonka, from Tim Burton’s reimagining. Why? Seriously, WHY?
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