Oompa Loompa's Snub Fury  8/1/05

Original Oompa Loompa Malcom Dixon is heartbroken he was not invited to star in Tim Burton's  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake.

The 70-year-old performer, who is 1.2 meters (4 feet 1 inches) tall, starred alongside Gene Wilder in the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and was keen to repeat history in the Johnny Depp remake.

But he was furious when he discovered the parts of the miniature helpers were axed in favor of computer-generated clones of one actor.

He complains, "I'd have loved to have been in the new film.

"My agent had a call asking if I'd be interested but we never heard anything else from them.

"Then I learnt that it would just be one actor reproduced by computer. It's a real shame because I don't think technology can replace people.

"The Oompas are meant to be a race of little folk, not clones."