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{{Infobox Film | name = Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory |
image = WillyWonkaMoviePoster.jpg |
imdb_id = 0067992 |
writer = '''Screenplay''':
[David Seltzer (uncredited)
based on the book by [Roald Dahl|
starring = [Gene Wilder,
[Jack Albertson,
[Peter Ostrum|
director = [Mel Stuart |
released = June 30, [ |
producer = [David L. Wolper,
[Stan Margulies|
distributor = [Paramount Pictures (original release); later [Warner Bros.|
runtime = 100 minutes |
language = [English language |
followed_by = [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) |
music = |
awards = |
budget = $2.9 million
-->
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 in film motion picture starring
Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is based on the 1964 children's book
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by
United Kingdom author
Roald Dahl.The film opened to generally well received reviews from critics upon its opening in 1971, but it was only a low commercial success, however over the years the film has developed into one of the most beloved, well known family films ever made—and despite its age, and original creative intent as a musical film for children—it has also since grown into a major Cult film with both children and adults.
In 2005 another film adaptation of the novel was released, titled
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film). 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 bedridden grandparents. Charlie is bravely struggling to support his family (including delivering newspapers after school) 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), neither of which contains a ticket. 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.
,
Veruca Salt,
Mrs. Gloop, Violet Beauregarde,
Sam Beauregarde, Willy Wonka,
Augustus Gloop {Background},
Mike Teavee {foreground},
Mrs. Teavee, Charlie Bucket, Grandpa Joe
Once he steps outside, however, he hears that the fifth finder had forgery his ticket, and one last opening is still available. Charlie excitedly opens the bar of chocolate in his hand, and finds the final ticket. Escaping the mob which immediately surrounds him, Charlie is then accosted 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 with the assistance of a
cane. As he walks toward the front
gate, his cane becomes lodged in the cobblestones, and Wonka finds himself suddenly no longer holding it. He begins to topple forward, apparently unable to maintain his balance, as the crowd gasps. At the last moment, Wonka does a forward somersault and lands on his feet, doffing his hat in a whimsical demonstration of showmanship and agility.
Upon entering the Chocolate Factory, previous conceptions of reality's limits are broken, as Wonka's abode is a
psychedelic wonderland full of chocolate
rivers, giant edible mushrooms, lickable
wallpaper, ingenious inventions, and Wonka's workers, the small, orange-tinted men known as
Oompa-Loompas. Each child is eventually given his or her own
Everlasting Gobstopper, a candy that can be sucked forever without dissolving or losing flavor. As the tour progresses, the four other children reveal themselves to be
gluttony, greedy, spoiled, or 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.
During a tour of the factory, the first four ticket-winning children are one by one tempted by something relating to their personality flaw, causing a strange accident that eliminates the child and their worried, accompanying parent from the tour. In every case, Mr. Wonka seems indifferent, even sarcastic ("stop, don't, come back" and "help, police, murder"); it is implied, both in this and the later Burton film, though not in the book, that he planned for the 'accidents' to occur. Each accident is followed by a song of
morality led by the Oompa-Loompas.
The accidents with the tourists, in order of occurrence:
- Augustus Gloop compulsively drinks from the chocolate river in the Chocolate Room against Mr. Wonka's warnings, falls in, and is sucked away by a pipe that leads to the Fudge Room.
- Competitive gum chewer Violet Beauregarde chews an experimental piece of Three-Course Dinner Chewing Gum despite Mr. Wonka's warning. The defects of the blueberry pie within it turn her into a giant blueberry; she has to be taken to the Juicing Room to squeeze the juice out of her to avoid fatal bursting.
- Spoiled Veruca Salt demands her father purchase Wonka's goose that lays golden eggs, but Wonka refuses to sell it. After throwing a temper tantrum, and singing her song "I Want It Now", she is deemed a "bad egg" by the egg-sorting machine and discarded down the garbage chute. Before the Oompa-Loompas' song about her, her father jumps down the chute in a vain attempt to save her.
- Mike Teavee, who is obsessed with violent television, teleportation himself over Mr. Wonka's TV waves, shrinking him down to miniature size, and is taken to the Taffy Pulling Room to be stretched back to normal.
After these four (and their adult accompanists) are eliminated, Charlie and Grandpa Joe mistakenly assume they have won the grand prize, based on the fact that they're the only ones left remaining. However, just before entering the Egg Room, Charlie and Grandpa Joe had apparently drunk some experimental beverage known as "Fizzy Lifting Drinks", which lifted them so high they nearly were sucked into an overhead exhaust Fan (mechanical) until their burping at the last minute caused them to descend, thus saving them both from the fan and putting them back on the ground, but not saving them from Wonka's ire. Mr. Wonka, to Charlie's and Grandpa Joe's surprise, kindly but hastily dismisses them and quickly disappears into his office. They both feel like they've been taken aback, and suspect that something's up. Grandpa Joe goes into Wonka's office to find out exactly what, with Charlie following him. When Grandpa Joe gets to Mr. Wonka and tries to ask him about Charlie's chocolate grand prize, Wonka informs Grandpa Joe that Charlie has lost it because of breaking the rules. Grandpa Joe is skeptical, but then Mr. Wonka, in a rising tirade, informs both him and Charlie of the
forfeiture clause in the contract Charlie and the other four golden ticket winners had signed (Section 37-B), and because they both "stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks, bumped into the ceiling which now has to be washed and sterilized", they had lost their chance of the lifetime supply of chocolate, and apoplectically dismisses them. Grandpa Joe gets livid at this development and also with great hostility calls Mr. Wonka "a crook, a cheat, a swindler an inhuman monster," severely berating him for "building up a little boy's hopes and then smashing his
dreams all to pieces". He promises to get even with Wonka no matter what it takes and encourages Charlie to hand over the secrets of the Gobstopper to the rival Slugworth. However, Charlie has a heart of gold and so returns the Gobstopper to Wonka despite the riches it could mean for him and his family. "So shines a good deed in a weary world", says the candy-man, who then embraces Charlie and reveals to him that he has won "everything." He introduces Charlie and Grandpa Joe to the supposed Mr. Slugworth, who is actually Mr. Wilkinson, an employee of Wonka's, and begs Charlie's forgiveness for the charade.
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 looking for a successor to run his factory, and that the tickets were all part of a test to find a good and worthy child to fill that role. Wonka tells Charlie he was looking for a child rather than an adult, so as to have an open-minded student. As such, in addition to the chocolate, Charlie and his family will move into the factory, and someday take over its operation. Wonka warns Charlie of "the man who got everything he ever wished for … he lived happily ever after," and hugs the boy as the Wonkavator sails off into the sky.
Cast
{| class="wikitable"|- bgcolor="#efefef"! Actor !! Role|-|
Gene Wilder ]|-| Jack Albertson ]|-|
Peter Ostrum ]|-| Roy Kinnear ]|-| Julie Dawn Cole ]|-|
Leonard Stone ]|-| Denise Nickerson ]|-| Nora Denney ]|-|
Paris Themmen ]|-| Ursula Reit ]|-|
Michael Bollner ]|-| Diana Sowle ]|-| Aubrey Woods ] || Mr. Turkentine|-| Gunter Meisner ]|-|
Peter Capell ] || Mr. Jopeck|-|
Peter Stuart ] || Computer Man|-|
Colin Jeavons || Candy Store Owner|}
Production
Pre-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, and get "Uncle Dave" (producer
David L. Wolper) to produce it. Stuart showed the book to 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.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. However, Wolper was unimpressed with the first draft by Dahl and brought in screenwriter David Seltzer to streamline the script to his specifications, though he asserts that the script is mostly Dahl's. Several Differences between book and film versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the story in order to successfully adapt it to the big screen, most notably the addition of musical numbers. The film is much darker in tone than the original book. The title of the film was changed from
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to further promote the chocolate bars being marketed by the film.
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 Seltzer for the film ("We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams."). Seltzer also introduced the sinister Arthur Slugworth (only mentioned as a rival candy-maker in the book) as an actual character to the story, whispering in the ear of each child that found a golden ticket.
Roald Dahl, author of the novel, who had rights to the film production, originally wanted
Spike Milligan to play Willy Wonka; however he was later turned down. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067992/trivia After this, Ron Moody was requested to play Wonka; Moody eventually turned the role down. Also initially considered was
Joel Grey, a then well-known
Broadway theatre singer and dancer, who ultimately wasn't 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. Little people from around the world were cast to play the Oompa Loompas.
Filming
The location chosen to shoot the film was Munich, Germany, because it was significantly less expensive than various
Los Angeles locations and the setting was conducive to Wonka's factory. Director Stuart also liked the unfamiliarity with the location that audiences most certainly would have. Stuart wanted the setting to be ambiguous.
Visual artist
Harper Goff was hired as the set designer, centering 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.
The external shots of the Chocolate Factory were filmed at the Old Gasworks from Emmy-Noether-Strasse near Munich U-Bahn station Westfriedhof. The flats and clocktower still exist.
The closing sequence when the Glass Elevator is flying above the factory is footage of
Nördlingen in Bavaria.
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, which the film proved to be a low box office success. Even with less than average sales, critics such as
Roger Ebert http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19710101/REVIEWS/50720001/1023 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 (though producer David L. Wolper stated that
Great Glass Elevator would likely have been too hard to film, and suspected that Dahl had simply refused the rights for publicity purposes). 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 (movie).
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 (candy), Wonka Donutz,
Fun Dip, Gobstoppers,
Laffy Taffy,
Nerds, Oompas,
Pixy Stix, Runts,
Shock Tarts, Tart 'n' Tinys, and
Wonka Bars).
The film heavily grew in popularity beginning in the mid-1970s, thanks in large part to repeated television airings and
VHS sales. It was first released on DVD in 1997, allowing it to reach an even larger audience of a different generation, and on DVD and VHS again in
2001, in a Special Edition - celebrating the film's 30th anniversary.
DVD Release
A special edition DVD was released in 2001, celebrating the film's 30th Anniversary. It was also released on VHS, with only one of the special features (a making of feature). Several original cast members reunited to film documentary footage for this special edition DVD release. The two editions featured restored sound, and better picture quality. The DVD consisted of the following features:
- Trailer
- Pure Imagination (documentary, also featured on the VHS)
- Commentary with Original Cast
- Photo Gallery
- Sing-Along Wonka Songs (3 plus 1 jump-to-scenes)
- Cast & Crew
HD DVD Release
In 2007 Warner Brothers released the film on HD DVD, it included:
- A restored version of the original film
- Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- Commentary with the Wonka Kids
- Sing-Along Songs
- Vintage Featurette
- Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
- Theatrical Trailer
Music and soundtrack
The original musical score and songs were composed by famed
United Kingdom songwriters
Leslie Bricusse and
Anthony Newley. Musical direction was by
Walter Scharf. The original motion picture soundtrack was released on Paramount Records in
1971, and again on CD.
The music and songs in the order that they appear in the film are:
"Main Title" An instrumental medley of "(I've Got A) Golden Ticket" and "Pure Imagination"
"The Candy Man" Performed by Aubrey Woods (A pop version by Sammy Davis, Jr. reached #1 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972)
"Cheer Up, Charlie" Performed by Diana Sowle
"(I've Got a) Golden Ticket" Performed by Jack Albertson and Peter Ostrum
"Pure Imagination" Performed by Gene Wilder
"Oompa Loompa Doompa-De-Do" Performed by the Oompa Loompas
"The Wondrous Boat Ride" Performed by Gene Wilder
"I Want It Now!" Performed by Julie Dawn Cole
"The Rowing Song" Performed by Gene Wilder
"Ach, so fromm" (alternately entitled "M'appari") from the opera Martha (opera) by Friedrich von Flotow, performed by Gene Wilder on the Wonkamobile
Awards
1972
References to other media
Among Wonka's lines are the following quotations:
- "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." from Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode.
- "Is it my soul that calls me by my name?" from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
- "Tell me where is fancy bred, or in the heart or in the head?" from William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
- "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by" from the John Masefield poem "Sea Fever".
- "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" from John Keats's "Endymion: A Poetic Romance".
- "Round the world and home again, that's the sailor's way!" from the William Allingham poem "Homeward Bound".
- "In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; Sweet lovers love the spring." from William Shakespeare's "It Was a Lover and His Lass".
Shooting locations
The opening credits sequence was filmed at a real chocolate factory in
Switzerland.
Records
- This film was ranked #74 on Bravo (television network)'s 100 Scariest Movie Moments for the "scary tunnel" scene.
Notes and references
- Stuart, Mel, with Josh Young, Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, St. Martin's Press (2002) ISBN 0-312-28777-1, ISBN 0-312-35240-9
- 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
- "Wonka Vision" — Failure Magazine's article about director Mel Stuart's book, with many interesting details
{{Infobox Film | name = Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory |
image = WillyWonkaMoviePoster.jpg |
imdb_id = 0067992 |
writer = '''Screenplay''':
[David Seltzer (uncredited)
based on the book by [Roald Dahl|
starring = [Gene Wilder,
[Jack Albertson,
[Peter Ostrum|
director = [Mel Stuart |
released =
June 30, [ |
producer = [David L. Wolper,
[Stan Margulies|
distributor = [Paramount Pictures (original release); later [Warner Bros.|
runtime = 100 minutes |
language = [English language |
followed_by = [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) |
music = |
awards = |
budget = $2.9 million
-->
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a
1971 in film motion picture starring
Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is based on the 1964
children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by United Kingdom author Roald Dahl.The film opened to generally well received reviews from critics upon its opening in 1971, but it was only a low commercial success, however over the years the film has developed into one of the most beloved, well known family films ever made—and despite its age, and original creative intent as a
musical film for children—it has also since grown into a major Cult film with both children and adults.
In 2005 another film adaptation of the novel was released, titled
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film). 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 bedridden grandparents. Charlie is bravely struggling to support his family (including delivering
newspapers after school) 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), neither of which contains a ticket. 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.
,
Veruca Salt,
Mrs. Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Sam Beauregarde,
Willy Wonka,
Augustus Gloop {Background}, Mike Teavee {foreground},
Mrs. Teavee, Charlie Bucket, Grandpa Joe
Once he steps outside, however, he hears that the fifth finder had forgery his ticket, and one last opening is still available. Charlie excitedly opens the bar of chocolate in his hand, and finds the final ticket. Escaping the mob which immediately surrounds him, Charlie is then accosted 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 with the assistance of a
cane. As he walks toward the front gate, his cane becomes lodged in the cobblestones, and Wonka finds himself suddenly no longer holding it. He begins to topple forward, apparently unable to maintain his balance, as the crowd gasps. At the last moment, Wonka does a forward somersault and lands on his feet, doffing his hat in a whimsical demonstration of showmanship and agility.
Upon entering the Chocolate Factory, previous conceptions of reality's limits are broken, as Wonka's abode is a psychedelic wonderland full of chocolate rivers, giant edible
mushrooms, lickable wallpaper, ingenious inventions, and Wonka's workers, the small, orange-tinted men known as
Oompa-Loompas. Each child is eventually given his or her own Everlasting Gobstopper, a candy that can be sucked forever without dissolving or losing flavor. As the tour progresses, the four other children reveal themselves to be
gluttony,
greedy, spoiled, or 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.
During a tour of the factory, the first four ticket-winning children are one by one tempted by something relating to their personality flaw, causing a strange accident that eliminates the child and their worried, accompanying parent from the tour. In every case, Mr. Wonka seems indifferent, even sarcastic ("stop, don't, come back" and "help, police, murder"); it is implied, both in this and the later Burton film, though not in the book, that he planned for the 'accidents' to occur. Each accident is followed by a song of morality led by the
Oompa-Loompas.
The accidents with the tourists, in order of occurrence:
- Augustus Gloop compulsively drinks from the chocolate river in the Chocolate Room against Mr. Wonka's warnings, falls in, and is sucked away by a pipe that leads to the Fudge Room.
- Competitive gum chewer Violet Beauregarde chews an experimental piece of Three-Course Dinner Chewing Gum despite Mr. Wonka's warning. The defects of the blueberry pie within it turn her into a giant blueberry; she has to be taken to the Juicing Room to squeeze the juice out of her to avoid fatal bursting.
- Spoiled Veruca Salt demands her father purchase Wonka's goose that lays golden eggs, but Wonka refuses to sell it. After throwing a temper tantrum, and singing her song "I Want It Now", she is deemed a "bad egg" by the egg-sorting machine and discarded down the garbage chute. Before the Oompa-Loompas' song about her, her father jumps down the chute in a vain attempt to save her.
- Mike Teavee, who is obsessed with violent television, teleportation himself over Mr. Wonka's TV waves, shrinking him down to miniature size, and is taken to the Taffy Pulling Room to be stretched back to normal.
After these four (and their adult accompanists) are eliminated, Charlie and Grandpa Joe mistakenly assume they have won the grand prize, based on the fact that they're the only ones left remaining. However, just before entering the Egg Room, Charlie and Grandpa Joe had apparently drunk some experimental beverage known as "Fizzy Lifting Drinks", which lifted them so high they nearly were sucked into an overhead exhaust
Fan (mechanical) until their burping at the last minute caused them to descend, thus saving them both from the fan and putting them back on the ground, but not saving them from Wonka's ire. Mr. Wonka, to Charlie's and Grandpa Joe's surprise, kindly but hastily dismisses them and quickly disappears into his office. They both feel like they've been taken aback, and suspect that something's up. Grandpa Joe goes into Wonka's office to find out exactly what, with Charlie following him. When Grandpa Joe gets to Mr. Wonka and tries to ask him about Charlie's chocolate grand prize, Wonka informs Grandpa Joe that Charlie has lost it because of breaking the rules. Grandpa Joe is skeptical, but then Mr. Wonka, in a rising tirade, informs both him and Charlie of the
forfeiture clause in the contract Charlie and the other four golden ticket winners had signed (Section 37-B), and because they both "stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks, bumped into the ceiling which now has to be washed and sterilized", they had lost their chance of the lifetime supply of chocolate, and apoplectically dismisses them. Grandpa Joe gets livid at this development and also with great hostility calls Mr. Wonka "a crook, a cheat, a swindler an inhuman monster," severely berating him for "building up a little boy's
hopes and then smashing his dreams all to pieces". He promises to get even with Wonka no matter what it takes and encourages Charlie to hand over the secrets of the Gobstopper to the rival Slugworth. However, Charlie has a heart of gold and so returns the Gobstopper to Wonka despite the riches it could mean for him and his family. "So shines a good deed in a weary world", says the candy-man, who then embraces Charlie and reveals to him that he has won "everything." He introduces Charlie and Grandpa Joe to the supposed Mr. Slugworth, who is actually Mr. Wilkinson, an employee of Wonka's, and begs Charlie's forgiveness for the charade.
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 looking for a successor to run his factory, and that the tickets were all part of a test to find a good and worthy child to fill that role. Wonka tells Charlie he was looking for a child rather than an adult, so as to have an open-minded student. As such, in addition to the chocolate, Charlie and his family will move into the factory, and someday take over its operation. Wonka warns Charlie of "the man who got everything he ever wished for … he lived happily ever after," and hugs the boy as the Wonkavator sails off into the sky.
Cast
{| class="wikitable"|- bgcolor="#efefef"! Actor !! Role|-| Gene Wilder ]|-| Jack Albertson ]|-|
Peter Ostrum ]|-|
Roy Kinnear ]|-| Julie Dawn Cole ]|-|
Leonard Stone ]|-| Denise Nickerson ]|-|
Nora Denney ]|-| Paris Themmen ]|-|
Ursula Reit ]|-| Michael Bollner ]|-| Diana Sowle ]|-| Aubrey Woods ] || Mr. Turkentine|-|
Gunter Meisner ]|-|
Peter Capell ] || Mr. Jopeck|-| Peter Stuart ] || Computer Man|-|
Colin Jeavons || Candy Store Owner|}
Production
Pre-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, and get "Uncle Dave" (producer David L. Wolper) to produce it. Stuart showed the book to 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.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. However, Wolper was unimpressed with the first draft by Dahl and brought in screenwriter David Seltzer to streamline the script to his specifications, though he asserts that the script is mostly Dahl's. Several Differences between book and film versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the story in order to successfully adapt it to the big screen, most notably the addition of musical numbers. The film is much darker in tone than the original book. The title of the film was changed from
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to further promote the chocolate bars being marketed by the film.
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 Seltzer for the film ("We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams."). Seltzer also introduced the sinister Arthur Slugworth (only mentioned as a rival candy-maker in the book) as an actual character to the story, whispering in the ear of each child that found a golden ticket.
Roald Dahl, author of the novel, who had rights to the film production, originally wanted
Spike Milligan to play Willy Wonka; however he was later turned down. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067992/trivia After this,
Ron Moody was requested to play Wonka; Moody eventually turned the role down. Also initially considered was Joel Grey, a then well-known Broadway theatre singer and dancer, who ultimately wasn't 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. Little people from around the world were cast to play the Oompa Loompas.
Filming
The location chosen to shoot the film was Munich, Germany, because it was significantly less expensive than various
Los Angeles locations and the setting was conducive to Wonka's factory. Director Stuart also liked the unfamiliarity with the location that audiences most certainly would have. Stuart wanted the setting to be ambiguous.
Visual artist
Harper Goff was hired as the set designer, centering 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.
The external shots of the Chocolate Factory were filmed at the Old Gasworks from Emmy-Noether-Strasse near Munich U-Bahn station Westfriedhof. The flats and clocktower still exist.
The closing sequence when the Glass Elevator is flying above the factory is footage of
Nördlingen in Bavaria.
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, which the film proved to be a low box office success. Even with less than average sales, critics such as Roger Ebert http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19710101/REVIEWS/50720001/1023 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 (though producer David L. Wolper stated that
Great Glass Elevator would likely have been too hard to film, and suspected that Dahl had simply refused the rights for publicity purposes). 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 (movie).
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 (candy), Wonka Donutz,
Fun Dip, Gobstoppers,
Laffy Taffy, Nerds,
Oompas, Pixy Stix, Runts,
Shock Tarts, Tart 'n' Tinys, and
Wonka Bars).
The film heavily grew in popularity beginning in the mid-1970s, thanks in large part to repeated television airings and
VHS sales. It was first released on
DVD in 1997, allowing it to reach an even larger audience of a different generation, and on DVD and
VHS again in 2001, in a Special Edition - celebrating the film's 30th anniversary.
DVD Release
A special edition DVD was released in 2001, celebrating the film's 30th Anniversary. It was also released on VHS, with only one of the special features (a making of feature). Several original cast members reunited to film documentary footage for this special edition DVD release. The two editions featured restored sound, and better picture quality. The DVD consisted of the following features:
- Trailer
- Pure Imagination (documentary, also featured on the VHS)
- Commentary with Original Cast
- Photo Gallery
- Sing-Along Wonka Songs (3 plus 1 jump-to-scenes)
- Cast & Crew
HD DVD Release
In 2007
Warner Brothers released the film on HD DVD, it included:
- A restored version of the original film
- Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- Commentary with the Wonka Kids
- Sing-Along Songs
- Vintage Featurette
- Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
- Theatrical Trailer
Music and soundtrack
The original musical score and songs were composed by famed
United Kingdom songwriters Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. Musical direction was by
Walter Scharf. The original motion picture soundtrack was released on Paramount Records in 1971, and again on CD.
The music and songs in the order that they appear in the film are:
"Main Title" An instrumental medley of "(I've Got A) Golden Ticket" and "Pure Imagination"
"The Candy Man" Performed by Aubrey Woods (A pop version by Sammy Davis, Jr. reached #1 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972)
"Cheer Up, Charlie" Performed by Diana Sowle
"(I've Got a) Golden Ticket" Performed by Jack Albertson and Peter Ostrum
"Pure Imagination" Performed by Gene Wilder
"Oompa Loompa Doompa-De-Do" Performed by the Oompa Loompas
"The Wondrous Boat Ride" Performed by Gene Wilder
"I Want It Now!" Performed by Julie Dawn Cole
"The Rowing Song" Performed by Gene Wilder
"Ach, so fromm" (alternately entitled "M'appari") from the opera Martha (opera) by Friedrich von Flotow, performed by Gene Wilder on the Wonkamobile
Awards
1972
References to other media
Among Wonka's lines are the following quotations:
- "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." from Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode.
- "Is it my soul that calls me by my name?" from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
- "Tell me where is fancy bred, or in the heart or in the head?" from William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
- "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by" from the John Masefield poem "Sea Fever".
- "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" from John Keats's "Endymion: A Poetic Romance".
- "Round the world and home again, that's the sailor's way!" from the William Allingham poem "Homeward Bound".
- "In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; Sweet lovers love the spring." from William Shakespeare's "It Was a Lover and His Lass".
Shooting locations
The opening credits sequence was filmed at a real chocolate factory in Switzerland.
Records
Notes and references
- Stuart, Mel, with Josh Young, Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, St. Martin's Press (2002) ISBN 0-312-28777-1, ISBN 0-312-35240-9
- 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
- "Wonka Vision" — Failure Magazine's article about director Mel Stuart's book, with many interesting details
