A poor little boy wins a ticket to visit the inside of a mysterious and magical chocolate factory. When he experiences the wonders inside the factory, the boy discovers that the entire visit is a test of his character.Having proven itself as a favorite film of children around the world, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is every bit as entertaining now as it was when originally released in 1971. There’s a timeless appeal to Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel, which was playfully preserved in this charming musical, from the colorful carnival-like splendor of its production design to the infectious melody of the “Oompah-Loompah” songs that punctuate the story. Who can forget those diminutive Oompah-Loompah workers who recite rhyming parental warnings (“Oompah-Loompah, doopity do…”) whenever some mischievous child has disobeyed Willy Wonka’s orders to remain orderly? Oh, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves … it’s really the story of the impoverished Charlie Bucket, who, along with four other kids and their parental guests, wins a coveted golden ticket to enter the fantastic realm of Wonka’s mysterious confectionery. After the other kids have proven themselves to be irresponsible brats, it’s Charlie who impresses Wonka and wins a reward beyond his wildest dreams. But before that, the tour of Wonka’s factory provides a dazzling parade of delights, and with Gene Wilder giving a brilliant performance as the eccentric candyman, Wonka gains an edge of menace and madness that nicely counterbalances the movie’s sentimental sweetness. It’s that willingness to risk a darker tone–to show that even a wonderland like Wonka’s can be a weird and dangerous place if you’re a bad kid–that makes this an enduring family classic. –Jeff Shannon
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January 29, 2006
#1
It amazes me that people think that this is a children’s film. No child should be allowed to view this ‘horror’ film. I still have nightmares about the fat little boy getting sucked up the pipe in the chocolate river and Charlie and and his grandpa floating up to the rotating blades. What a horrible movie!
January 30, 2006
#2
I love movies. I love them a lot. When my friends ask me about the best films to show their children, I respond with the classics: “Wizard of Oz”, “Mac and Me”, “D.A.R.Y.L.”, “Flight of the Navigator”, “The Apple Dumpling Gang”, “The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again” and “Baby Geniuses”. All are genuine classics with nothing subversive on their mind, except for fun, which is not subversive. Inevitably, someone will ask about this film, to which I always reply, “What?! Are you kidding??!!”
Somewhere along the line, it was decided that this was an ideal children’s movie. I’m not sure why; perhaps it was the presence of children and candy. Perhaps the character of Willy Wonka reminded us of late Halloween nights munching on Wonka classics like Nerds, Pop Rocks, Gobstoppers and Almond Joys. But any logical person viewing this film will see it as a cruel, mean-spirited, feature-length advertisement with nothing more on its mind than bumping off kids in progressively gruesome ways.
If you’re a parent, think twice before screening this film. Think about what’s more vital to show a kid: kids dying and eating lots of sweets (this movie), or robot children finding families that love them (as in “D.A.R.Y.L.”). Or heck, even the sweet beauty of little Michael bonding with MAC in the timeless “Mac and Me”.
Save your money and your time. There’s nothing in this candy bar but nougat and cruelty.
January 30, 2006
#3
I do not understand why this bigoted movie became so popular. I find it to be extremely offensive. The suggestion that Willie Wonka has midgets as his own personal slaves is horrible. This clear exploitation of a genetic disorder is disgusting. Not only are they midgets, but they are also orange. This leads me to believe that Willie Wonka would favor the days of slavery when non-whites were put to work on plantations. I have heard that this is a very popular movie among members of the KKK. You sheep are blind and have allowed this racist, bigoted, piece of filth to enter your children’s’ minds and make them believe in a world of white supremacy. Consider yourself warned.
January 30, 2006
#4
I used to love this film a couple years ago, then when I saw Tim Burton’s remake, my love for this movie fell apart totally! It’s just waaaay off the book! THERE ARE NO GOLDEN GEESE! THERE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SQUIRRELLS! If you love the book, you’ll love the new Willy Wonka movie.
January 30, 2006
#5
I grew up watching this movie as a little kid. The thing about it is that the boat ride scene ruins the rest of the movie. I think that in a certain way, this movie tricks the viewer because the rest of the movie is so sweet and child-friendly, seemingly overshadowing that one boat sequence. But after you finish watching the movie, the boat scene can come back to haunt children, because it sticks out so much from the rest of the movie. I don’t understand how the filmmakers could be so stupid!!! Gee, this is a family movie about a chocolate factory but let’s have a boat ride with very disturbing images shown such as a live chicken’s head being chopped off with a butcher’s axe and a centipede crawling across a dead man’s face!!! Oh, little kids and their parents alike will love that! Geez, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that that is an awful idea!!! Yes, thousands of chickens are slaughtered to be eaten each day, but why the [...] would someone show the slaughtering of a chicken to a child. It’s disturbing enough to watch for an adult. If this were a horror film, it would be different. The boat ride scene is present to shock viewers with grisly images, but it literally comes out of nowhere, with no true significance to the plot about the chocolate factory. And after the disturbing scene, it’s back to candy land! Bizzare. It is clear that this movie wants to have a little bit of everything, so it becomes a horror film for a few minutes, but if the creators wanted to scare viewers for a few minutes, couldn’t they tone this down? For the love of [...], there are 5-year-olds in the audience (!) — I’m sure parents don’t want little kids to see an on-screen chicken decapitation! Now, if the creators wanted this portion to be scary and succeeded, that would be different — but it is just demented and disgusting. Just how messed-up were the creators to put this in a family movie? They look like tid-bits from a graphic R-rated picture. Why couldn’t they save these ideas for a different movie? And why couldn’t they have something scary along the lines of a monster, but a beheaded chicken — good [...]! Too demented and random for words! Parents, even if you have seen this film before and didn’t find the boat ride much of a bother, please DO NOT SHOW THIS SCENE TO YOUR CHILDREN! An executed animal and some other things one would not think this film to have! This is a really great movie except for this one scene, so I do quite strongly recommend it, but I very strongly suggest fast-forwarding the boat ride, and if you have youngsters with you, be sure to have them cover their eyes until the scene is finished being fast-forwarded. (Just before they enter the tunnel, start fast-forwarding.) Shame on the creators for letting this sequence pass and shame on Roahl Dahl for including this really-far-too-gruesome sequence in his otherwise really great screenplay!!! Think of the little ones!