Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

        After an extended period of time, I’m glad to be back. Since this is the back-to-school phase of the year, it only made sense to talk about the movies that are adapted from beloved author Roald Dahl. Quite a journey he had since he fought during World War 2 and was ranked Wing Commander. From there he transitioned to being an author for both children and adults, with his famous works being remembered by kids. I’ve only read one of his books “The BFG” when I was in elementary. More so, he wrote for Hollywood. One of them being a James Bond film. 

1. Charlie and The Golden Tickets

        One last thing I wanted to bring up about Dahl, he’s one of the few authors to write their adaptation for film. Albeit, the songs were written before an actual script was made. Anyways, we follow Charlie as he’s the lone breadwinner for his mother and his grandparents. Him and everyone else receive news that the elusive Willy Wonka has created a contest by placing Tickets inside a select few chocolate bars. 

        Aside from Gene Wilder who I’ll get into, Charlie Bucket is the main star of the film. We really get a sense of who he is as a character before he steps into the factory. One scene that best represents his situation is when we first see the candy shop. When he looks through the window, it’s like the kids are at a party and he’s not invited. Context wise, they have money but Charlie spends his money just for his family. 

        He really is the selfless one, and he’s determined when he tries to look for the Tickets when he gets the Wonka bars. The only person that sticks up for him is his Grandpa Joe. He’s the only positive one since his relatives and in laws are bed-ridden. Some may think that Charlie’s mom is too realistic, especially when she sings her song about him. I believe that she is just pragmatic by telling her son that he has to be realistic since the chances of him winning are slim. 

        This is one of those films where it’s about the reward for the meek and Charlie fits that role. Aside from the kids and their guardians, the movie doesn’t really have any villains. I think that Grandpa Joe is fits the bill, but how I interpret it is that he’s like the devil in Charlie’s shoulder. By telling him to not tell anyone that they veered away from the tour. The young boy is too honest and wholesome that it’s refreshing to see that he’s not just a little turd. 

        Speaking of turds, the other five kids are something else. I think it's everyone's opinion that Veruca Salt is the worst out of all them. She's constantly pestering her father to give her everything that she gleans at. All the other kids are just tokens, with Augustus being gluttonous, Mike being an avid T.V. watcher and Violet being a compulsive gum chewer. This is something that i've noticed, I could be wrong with the assessment. The kids represent the various Deadly Sins and the Factory is in one way Hell. 

2. Willy Wonka

        I find it interesting that the this character practically changed the title of the book whenever people or kids tried to find it. Gene Wilder was an excellent actor, mostly in his comedic work like Young Frankenstein and The Producers. With this one, he’s such an odd and interesting fellow where his quirks and idiosyncrasies don’t get too distracting in the film. He isn’t annoying at all, he’s charming and man I love his personality. For instance, he’s mysterious and has that slight of hand personality. 

        More so that we never really know if he’s telling the truth or not. When people first see him as he exits the factory, he appears to be hobbled and limp. Until he drops the act and does a front roll to show that he’s a showman. He is not one to be honest about himself but sees the tour as more of a game since he always messes with people’s heads and is just sarcastic when kids get their comeuppance. 

        Aside from giving the tour, his best moment is near the end when he accuses both Charlie and Grandpa Joe with stealing a new drink. Just his anger and the duo’s surprise that he’s basically mad beyond belief sell that he failed to find the new heir to his chocolate factory. That was actually the intention of the director since he didn’t want it to feel staged at all. Since he wanted the reaction from both Grandpa and the young boy to be real given the context of the story. 

3. The Chocolate Factory

        I got to talk about the factory, no review of the film can’t continue unless they spew poetics of how freaking cool the factory is. When the opening credits start and we see just how the chocolate are made give it the idea that it’s just a regular factory that’s owned by Hershey’s or something. After the kids go in, the factory is anything but normal. 

        Just like I brought up earlier, the Factory is representative of Hell. How else can you explain the tunnel scene with all the weird images popping up?  Okay, just hear me out. Both kids and adults are going through a test to be humble, yet their own hubris and vice get the better of them as they each become affected by the factory. And we never see the kids exit out the factory. Alright, I think that’s about enough of that. To me, everything inside the factory is so reality warping where it’s weird and hokey. 

        I’m glad that there’s never really an explanation as to how exactly Wonka created or invented the machines or candies. Everything is left up and has that child-centric imagination where the possibilities are endless. One thing that I notice is that the factory is an extension of Wonka, we never know if the whole factory is an act to have the kids be enraptured by the factory. Just like the man where he looks normal, but everything else is abnormal.  

4. Legacy

        The film didn’t do well initially when it came out. More so that it wasn’t publicly received very well. Ironically, Paramount didn’t renew their distribution rights, thus handing it over to Quaker Oats, who handed off to Warner Bros. It was actually during the 80s when the film had multiple viewings in television that it gained a new audience and reached that title of classic. Roald Dahl didn’t even like the movie, and negated a sequel being commissioned based on his sequel book. 

        My very first exposure to Wonka was when they had candies that had the Wonka brand of it. Ultimately, Tim Burton remade the film with Johnny Depp and rightly titled the adaptation. Cinematically speaking, this was my first exposure to the film before the original. In my opinion, it’s just ok. I never really understand the hate towards it since it’s a completely different adaptation, with someone who has that artistic aesthetic like Tim Burton helming it. Sometime this year, an origin movie about the owner is coming out. Why have a movie explain the background to an interesting character? I don’t know.  

5. Overall

        Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is considered one of the best films of Roald Dahl’s work. It’s timeless after 50 years it came out.