Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) is an Academy Award nominated musical film based on the 1964 children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Norwegian-Welsh author Roald Dahl. It was directed by Mel Stuart and starred Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and Peter Ostrum as Charlie Bucket.

While the film was not a commercial success at the time of its release, it has since grown into a cult classic with both children and adults. Some find the film's dated look and special effects to be unintentionally campy or psychedelic, though Wilder's acting is usually singled out for praise. A second film adaptation of the children's book, titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was released in 2005. It was directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket.

Plot overview

Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) is a poor boy living with his mother and four grandparents, none of whom have been out of bed in twenty years. Charlie is bravely struggling to support his family when he hears that the famous recluse Mr. Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) has placed "Golden Tickets" into five of his Wonka Bars. The finders of these special items will be given a full tour of Wonka's world-renowned candy factory – the inner workings of which are a tightly kept secret – and a lifetime supply of chocolate.

Charlie wants to win more than anyone. He receives one Wonka bar as a birthday present, then later a second bar is bought for him by Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson), both of which turn out to be ticket-less. He is heartbroken when the news soon reports that all five tickets have been found. The next day, as he is walking through town, he finds some money in the gutter. He goes into the local candy shop and buys a bar of Wonka chocolate, which he promptly wolfs down. Just as he is about to leave, he decides to buy another one for his Grandpa Joe.

Once he steps outside, however, he hears that the fifth finder had forged his ticket, and one last opening is still available. Charlie opens the bar of chocolate in his hand, and finds the final ticket. Escaping the mob which immediately surrounds him, Charlie is then stopped by a sinister-looking man claiming to be Arthur Slugworth (Günter Meisner), a rival candy-maker, who offers an enormous sum of money in exchange for a sample of Wonka's latest creation, the Everlasting Gobstopper. Charlie races home with the good news, and his Grandpa Joe rises from his bed to be the adult who accompanies him to the factory.

Upon arrival at the factory the next day, the ticket holders are made to wait until Wonka comes to the gate. Wonka approaches them with his face obscured by the brim of his hat, and he walks with a limp and the help of a cane. As he walks toward the front gate, his cane becomes stuck in the cobblestones, and Wonka finds himself suddenly no longer holding it. He begins to topple forward, apparently unable to maintain his balance. At the last moment, Wonka does a forward somersault and lands on his feet, demonstrating his youthful prowess. (Wilder would later explain that he added this feat himself to ensure that the audience would never completely trust his character in the movie.)

Upon entering the Chocolate Factory, reality is checked at the door, as Wonka's abode is a psychedelic wonderland full of chocolate rivers, giant edible mushrooms, lickable wallpaper and Wonka's workers, the small, orange men known as Oompa Loompas. Each child is eventually given his or her own Everlasting Gobstopper, a candy that can be licked forever without dissolving or losing flavour. As the tour progresses, the four other children reveal themselves to be gluttonous, greedy, spoiled and ill-behaved; traits that backfire, bringing bizarre disasters down upon their heads. One by one, the small tour is reduced in number, until only Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe remain.

They mistakenly assume they have won the promised lifetime supply of chocolate, but are told that their own drinking of an off-limits experimental soda has disqualified them, and they are curtly dismissed. Grandpa Joe is incensed, promising to get even with Wonka no matter what it takes and encouraging Charlie to hand over the secrets of the Gobstopper to the rival Slugworth. But Charlie has a heart of gold, and returns the Gobstopper to Wonka despite the money it could mean for him. "So shines a good deed in a weary world", says the candy-man, who then says that Charlie has won the "jackpot," before revealing that the "Mr. Slugworth" whom Charlie encountered earlier was an imposter who actually works for Wonka.

Wonka and his two guests get in the Wonkavator (known as the Great Glass Elevator in Dahl's book) and blast through the roof of the factory. As the Wonkavator floats high over the city, Wonka tells Charlie that he was really looking for a successor, and that the tickets were all part of a test to find a good and worthy child to fill that role. As such, in addition to the chocolate, Charlie and his family will move into the factory, and someday take over its operation. They embrace, and the Wonkavator sails off into the sky.

Production

The idea for adapting the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory into a film came about when director Mel Stuart's 10-year-old daughter read the book and asked her father to make the movie version. Stuart then showed the book to producer David L. Wolper, who happened to be in the midst of talks with the Quaker Oats Company regarding a vehicle to introduce a new candy bar. Wolper convinced the company, who had no previous experience in the film industry, to buy the rights to the book and finance the film for the purpose of promoting a new Quaker Oats Wonka Bar.

Writing

It was agreed that the film's format would be a children's musical, and that the book's author, Roald Dahl, would write the screenplay; although screenwriter David Seltzer was brought in as an uncredited contributor. Several changes were made in the story in order to successfully adapt it to the big screen, most notably the addition of musical numbers. Contrary to popular belief, the title of the film was changed, not to give Willy Wonka an expanded role, but because it was released around the time of the Vietnam War and "Charlie" was the slang used for the Viet Cong. Also, at the time, 'Charly' was slang for 'white person'. It could have been considered racist for a 'charly' to enter a chocolate factory.

Casting and setting

Director Mel Stuart and producer David Wolper ignored Dahl's request to cast British comedian Spike Milligan in the lead role of Willy Wonka. The two initially considered Joel Grey, a Broadway singer and dancer, who ultimately was not chosen due to his small physical stature. Auditions were held for a week in New York City's Plaza Hotel until Hollywood actor Gene Wilder came in and was immediately chosen to play Wonka. The producers worked with casting directors in New York, London and Munich to find actors to play the children and their parents. Midgets and dwarves from around the world were cast to play the Oompa Loompas.

The location chosen to shoot the film was Munich, West Germany, because it was significantly less expensive than Hollywood and the setting was conducive to Wonka's factory. Visual artist Harper Goff was hired as the set designer, centring the factory around the massive Chocolate Room. The two-foot deep chocolate river and waterfall was created by adding buckets of chocolate ice cream mix to 150,000 US gallons (570 m³) of water, which eventually created a sour smell that permeated the entire soundstage. Filming began on August 31, 1970 and ended on November 19, 1970.

Reception

During Willy Wonka's production, Quaker Oats made several failed attempts at a satisfactory chocolate bar, ultimately deciding to abandon their plans to release a Wonka Bar. The film was released on June 30, 1971, but, without a marketing scheme, the box office figures were less than desirable. It ended the year as the #53 film and grossed approximately $4 million. Even with less than average sales, critics such as Roger Ebert [link] and moviegoers reacted positively to the film. Dahl ended up disliking the film adaptation of his novel and became disillusioned with the film industry, refusing to sell the rights to the book's sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. It was not until 1989, a year before his death, that he agreed to another film adaptation of one of his stories, the animated The BFG.

Seeing no significant financial advantage, Paramount Pictures decided against renewing its distribution deal for the film when it expired seven years later. Quaker Oats sold the rights to Warner Bros. in 1977. In 1988, Nestlé bought The Willy Wonka Candy Company name that was created for the release of the film, and launched their new successful line of candies featuring a cartoon likeness of Willy Wonka (including Bottle Caps, Wonka Donutz, Fun Dip, Gobstoppers, Laffy Taffy, Nerds, Oompas, Pixy Stix, Runts, Shock Tarts, Tart 'n' Tinys, and Wonka Bars).

The film steadily grew in popularity beginning in the mid-1970s, thanks in large part to repeated television airings and VHS sales. It was released on DVD in 1997, allowing it to reach an even larger audience. The original cast members reunited to film documentary footage for the 2001 special edition DVD and VHS release. In 2005 a second film adaptation of the children's book, titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was released. The new film inevitably brought about comparisons to the 1971 film, but director Burton states that it is not a remake of the first movie, but rather a new adaptation of the book. Today, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is considered to be a cult classic.

Controversy over the full screen DVD

An example of the devotion towards Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is the controversy over the special edition DVD. When first released in 2001, it was presented in full screen. The reason for this is that it was shot in matted widescreen, which is when a film is shot in aspect ratio of 1.37:1, but has the top and bottom masked to form a widescreen image when shown in the cinema. Warner Home Video felt that it would be reasonable to show it in the format that it was shot in. However, most viewers were unaware of its format, and thought that part of the image was missing. Due to many complaints, Warner released a widescreen version of the film. Not surprisingly, many internet DVD reviewers updated or revised negative comments complaining about the full screen version, thinking that the newer version had more image. Though the widescreen version preserves the picture in the way it was originally exhibited and the way the director/cinematographer intended it to be seen, it contains less image than the full screen version.

Cast

Role	Actor
Willy Wonka	Gene Wilder
Grandpa Joe	Jack Albertson
Charlie Bucket	Peter Ostrum
Mr. Salt	Roy Kinnear
Mrs. Salt	Pat Coombs
Veruca Salt	Julie Dawn Cole
Mr. Sam Beauregarde	Leonard Stone
Violet Beauregarde	Denise Nickerson
Mrs. Scarlett Beauregarde	unknown
Mrs. Teavee	Nora Denney
Mike Teavee	Paris Themmen
Mr. Teavee	unknown
Mrs. Gloop	Ursula Reit
Augustus Gloop	Michael Bollner
Mr. Gloop	Kurt Großkurth
Mrs. Bucket	Diana Sowle
Bill, candy store owner	Aubrey Woods
Mr. Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson	Günter Meisner
Computer programmer	Tim Brooke-Taylor

Quotes

Willy Wonka

• You LOSE!! Good DAY, sir!!
• Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple. [A reference to Thomas Alva Edison's aphorism.]
• A little nonsense now and then... is relished by the wisest men.
• [softly singing, then shouting, on the famous boat ride] 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. Is it raining? is it snowing? is a hurricane a-blowing? Bah! Not a speck of light is showing, so the danger must be growing. Are the fires of hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing? YES! The danger must be growing, for the rowers keep on rowing and they're certainly not showing any signs that they are slowing! STOP THE BOAT! [In the documentary, Wilder's co-actors indicated that they were unnerved by his performance in this scene, thinking that perhaps Wilder had lost his mind completely.]
• [singing] There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be.
• [singing] If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world? There's nothing to it.
• If the Good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates.
• Hurry! We have so much time and so little to do! Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.
• We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.
• Don't forget what happened to the man who got everything he ever wanted. He lived happily ever after.

Taglines

• It's everybody's non-pollutionary, anti-institutionary, pro-confectionery factory of fun!
• It's Scrumdiddlyumptious!
• Enter a world of pure imagination.

Music

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The original musical score and songs were composed by famed British songwriters Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The original motion picture soundtrack was released on Paramount Records in 1971.

The songs in the order that they appear in the film are:

1. "The Candy Man" Performed by Aubrey Woods (A pop version by Sammy Davis, Jr. reached #1 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972)
2. "Cheer Up, Charlie" Performed by Diana Sowle (Director Mel Stuart regrets the inclusion of this slow song in the film, having arranged it cut from several television airings)
3. "(I've Got A) Golden Ticket" Performed by Jack Albertson and Peter Ostrum
4. "Pure Imagination" Performed by Gene Wilder (Covered by several artists, most recently by bands Smoking Popes and Maroon 5. The song is heavily sampled in Mariah Carey's "I Still Believe" Pure Imagination Remix.) [sample] ([Media helphelp]·[info])
5. "Oompa Loompa Doompa-De-Do" Performed by the Oompa Loompas (Sampled by Da Backwudz in the song "I Don't Like the Look of It," and by Get Rich Clique in "Do the Bunny Hop.")
6. "The Wondrous Boat Ride" Performed by Gene Wilder
7. "I Want It Now!" Performed by Julie Dawn Cole

Awards

1972

• Nominated: Academy Award for Best Original Score—Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley
• Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy—Gene Wilder

Trivia

• Gene Wilder accepted the role of Willy Wonka only on the condition that he could have his way with one key scene, in which Wonka first presents himself to the crowd gathered outside of his factory. He wished to have Wonka walk out as an apparent cripple on a cane, then somersault to full health, in order to keep the audience guessing from the start if he was telling the truth or a lie.
• The original book character of Willy Wonka did not quote literary sources. The quotes from such works as Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, John Keats' poetry, and many more were added by screenwriter David Seltzer for the film.
• Peter Ostrum (Charlie) refused a ten-picture movie offer with Warner Brothers and did not do any more acting after this film. Today he is a practicing veterinarian in upstate New York, and makes occasional appearances at local grade schools, discussing his post-Wonka life and career.
• Filming began in late August 1970, and wrapped up the following October.
• The film has been popular for inflation fetishism and the blueberry inflation scene involving Violet Beauregarde inflating and turning into a blueberry and being rolled around by Oompa Loompas is arguably the scene that began the whole inflation movement.
• Amongst the film's notable cameos is Tim Brooke-Taylor, from TV's The Goodies as the nervous Computer Operator.
• Diminutive actor Angelo Muscat, most well-known for playing the dwarf butler in the cult '60s TV show The Prisoner, can be spotted as an Oompa Loompa.
• When the South American newscaster holds up the photo of the fifth Golden Ticket "winner" (who is a fake) it is a picture of Martin Bormann. The joke was that Bormann was Hitler's right-hand man who, in theory, escaped and wound up in Paraguay.
• In a rather sophisticated joke, Willy Wonka plays the opening to Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) on his musical lock. Mike Teavee's mother quips, "Rachmaninoff," exposing her self-satisfied ignorance.
• The movie ended with Wonka, Charlie and Grandpa Joe in the glass elevator hovering over the town. It was meant to set up the potential for the movie version of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, but that never happened due to Dahl's refusal to sell the film rights to that book.
• The excited looks on the faces of the characters as they enter the chocolate room are pretty candid. It was the first time any of the actors had seen the set and they were amazed about what a spectacle the room was.
• Most of the chocolate room was actually edible. Some of it was not, such as the tea cup Gene Wilder eats at the end of "Pure Imagination." That was actually wax, and Wilder would spit out the pieces at the end of the song when the director yelled "cut."
• Ostrum turned 14 during the filming of the movie and his voice changed. It's noticeable in some scenes of the movie (particularly the fizzy-lifting drinks scene) where his voice is much deeper than other scenes.
• The squirrels were replaced with geese instead because of the difficulty the crew thought might be had with using squirrels.
• The film is often thought to have been a disaster at the box office. However, it was #53 on the box office chart in 1971. It did not generate a loss; however, the film did not do as well as the makers of the film probably hoped.
• 1990s alternative rock band Veruca Salt named themselves after the film's character who refused to accept "no" for an answer.
• In 1999, in the same spirit that discovered The Dark Side of Oz (playing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon while watching The Wizard of Oz), a similar strain of serendipity uncovered Willy Wonka's 2112—playing the Rush album 2112 beginning at a point near the entrance into the factory. Specific instructions and instances of synchronicity can be found [online].
• A snozzberry is a flavour (presumably of a fruit) which Veruca Salt doubts as truly existing. Wonka then seems to imply that it does not matter if it exists.
• Veruca and Violet can be seen feuding as Wonka sings Pure Imagination. In real life, Julie Dawn Cole and Denise Nickerson became good friends and both had a crush on Peter Ostrum (they would alternate days over who would spend time with Peter).
• Mr. Teavee's line "Not 'till you're twelve, son" took over forty takes to film.
• Sammy Davis Jr. was considered for the role of the candy store owner. He would later make "Candyman" one of his signature songs during his shows.
• Some of the Oompa Loompa actors did not speak English well, which is why some of them do not appear to know the musical numbers.
• Dahl disliked this film, because he felt offended by the large numbers of differences to his book — he felt the producers were calling him a bad writer. However, his wife Felicity believes large changes are always necessary when converting a book to a movie.
• German-born Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop) could not speak English during the filming, and had to be coached when saying his lines.
• Is the favorite film of goth rocker Marilyn Manson

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Parodies

• In a 2001 episode of Saturday Night Live, the 30th Anniversary DVD is parodied with new comments and bonus features. They include: The Oompa Loompa song being turned into a music video featuring Nelly Furtado; "never-before seen" screen tests with Telly Savalas and Sidney Poitier; child actor Peter Ostrum as having had a homosexual relationship with the actor who portrayed Augustus Gloop (Michael Bollner); child actress Julie Dawn Cole as having moved back to London, trying to start her own band named "Veruca Salt", and becoming a prostitute who for £75 would say sexually-suggestive phrases from the movie, and outtakes with Gene Wilder questioning whether the movie was directed towards children during the riverboat scene.
• The animated television show Futurama has an episode in which Fry and company Win a trip to the Slurm Factory. The Factory part of the episode is mainly parodying the "Pure Imagination" Scenes.The episode is named Fry and the Slurm Factory The Oompa Loompas are also parodied as the Grunka Lunkas in the episode.
• Family Guy also parodies Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, when Peter Griffin wins a ticket to the fictional Pawtucket Patriot beer factory.
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of several films parodied in the music video for the Alien Ant Farm song "Movies".
• The Simpsons episode Sweets and Sour Marge includes a scene where a lethargic Oompa Loompa can been seen smoking a cigarette.
• On an Arthur episode, Buster tries to learn to read. One books he tries to read was Sam and the Sandwich Factory. Oompa Loompa-like elfs made a brief appearance singing, and the nameless snadwich maker talks about how Sam was lucky to come by winning a golden sandwich (Golden Ticket).

See also

• Differences between book and film versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Ezzy Dame

References

• Stuart, Mel, with Josh Young, Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, St. Martin's Press (2002) ISBN 0312287771, ISBN 0312352409
• [Golden Tickets to Hell : Willy Wonka – Tour Guide of the Abyss. Lou Anders. 2005. (plot summary taken from article with author's permission)]

External links

• [}}}] at Rotten Tomatoes
• [Ask Yahoo! - Whatever happened to the five kids in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?] - Friday June 24, 2005
• ["Wonka Vision" — Failure Magazine's article about director Mel Stuart's book, with many interesting details]
• [Complete listing of all literary quotes spoken by Wonka, with sources.]
• [Golden Tickets to Hell - Willy Wonka Tour]
• [The Wonka kids 7 years ago]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Characters: Willy Wonka | Oompa-Loompas | Charlie Bucket | Augustus Gloop | Veruca Salt | Violet Beauregarde | Mike Teavee | Grandpa Joe | Mr. Slugworth | Candy Store Owner | Prince Pondicherry | Vermicious knid | Mr. and Mrs. Teavee | Scarlett Beauregarde Books: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator Films: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Misc.: Differences between the book and film versions | Golden Ticket | Wonka Bar | Video Game | |

 

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