Review: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Directed by: Mel Stuart

Written by: Roald Dahl

Starring: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Denise Nickerson

Rating: [4/5]

Even in worlds with heightened sensibilities and behaviors, the general rules of honesty and pleasantness reign supreme with individuals of high character. Something that children may not necessarily grasp, especially when spoiled rotten as we see in the wondrous tale of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. A film unafraid to display the bite of its source material while also displaying the magic that exists in a world so strange. 

After years of silence, the famous confectioner, Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) has decided to open up his factory once more with an invitation with five golden tickets hidden within his candy bars. As everyone worldwide fights to find the bars carrying the tickets, the final ticket falls to an impoverished young boy named Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) attends with his grandfather for the opportunity of a lifetime. 

The story of a true underdog, but one where sincerity wins out ultimately can sum up the experience of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where many theories can spring about the interpretations. This mostly stands out in the differences between Charlie and the other four children who all win the golden tickets and the opportunity to enter this chocolate factory. Of them all, Charlie has the lowest means as his family sits firmly in poverty. He has an appreciation for the small things the other children do not simply because of the life provided to them by their parents. We have Veruca Salt’s (Julie Dawn Cole) father buying up every box of chocolate he could find in order to produce it for her. Sure, Charlie hopes to find one of the golden tickets but the way he cherishes each opportunity for candy shows his true heart, which displays the inherent sweetness of the young lad. 

As these children reach the factory and act out in the way they do presents the lesson of entitlement and lack of humility presented by these children. No one quite displays it as much as Veruca in her demand of her father to buy her an Oompa Loompa as if one could purchase them like a pet. The other children display this as well, including Augustus Gloop (Michael Böllner) as he breaks the expressed rules of the chocolate river. Navigating this factory essentially becomes a test for these children and with each phase they break the rule and face the consequences of it. How these children experience these consequences allows the audience to perversely laugh at them when in reality they could die because of it. Violet Beauregarde (Denise Nickerson) could have devastating circumstances to inflate like a blueberry and Mike Teevee (Paris Themmen) shrinks to a tiny size and needs to be stretched out again. All very silly but contains the right amount of humor and mean-spiritedness to leave a mark. 

Gathering all of these children in the factory then introduces the man whose name is on the title, Willy Wonka. Truly one of the most definable characters in film history played brilliantly by Gene Wilder. Serving as the first occurrence most have with this character with more recent iterations of him in the 21st century. Wilder’s performance brings a sense of mystery and strangeness to Wonka here and it all begins right from the first instance of his screen appearance. Walks towards the crowd with his cane and brings them into this strange factory filled with wonder and some elements of horror. Wilder not only hits where he needs to musically, but he helps form Wonka as this enigma that’s difficult to nail down and certifies him as a bit of maniac who has no qualms with these children putting themselves in danger. Nothing takes the cake as much as when he knows one of these kids will put themselves in a treacherous situation in his factory and he just lets it happen for them to suffer the consequences of their actions. Yes, these children signed a contract waiving the liability even though children legally cannot sign them, it’s quite funny to see the glee he gets from it. 

As we enter this factory we also get quite the treat of seeing the effort put into the production design on display to build a world of pure imagination. From the tight hallways that shift as they walk through it and the main room where everything they can touch is edible, everything in this factory feels tangible. The bright pops of color in these rooms reveal the possibility of everything in the room being edible by the individuals who traverse the space. It truly sells this tour as a magical experience, which makes the more nightmarish moments all the more striking as a result. 

Wildly fun and filled with memorable characters Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory sets the bar high for this story that all other adaptations have failed to hit. For one, it walks the right balance of sharpness of the source material and the proper whimsy combining for quite the entertaining watch. Gene Wilder steps into his career-defining role and delivers something so comedically dark that further adds to the overall mystery at the center of this film. Plenty goes unexplained but it ultimately does not matter because we’re strangers to this factory just as the children are and we can just sit back and go on this ride with them.