I have just been watching the children's classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with my two daughters and we have all really enjoyed it. I had seen it years ago but had forgotten just waht a good film it is, and watching it as an adult has been just enjoyable.
The film was made in 1971 and is based on the wonderful book by Roald Dahl. It tells the story of Charlie Buckett, a small boy who lives in almost penniless conditions in a rundown cottage with his mother and his four bedridden grandparents. He is a very uncomplaining boy and all of his family wish they could provide more for him.
One day, everybody all over the world becomes very excited when Willy Wonka, who runs a big chocolate factory announces that he has placed five golden tickets in chocolate bars. The recipients of these tickets will win all the chocolate that can eat for life and also a visit to the chocolate factory. This send the whole world into an excited frenzy with many people buying chocolate bars
by the hundreds! Charlie would love to win a golden ticket but sadly there is no money for buying loads of chocolate bars.
This is not the case for Veruca Salt who's father has all of his factory workers opening chocolate bar wrappers for a whole week until a ticket is found. Mike Teevee, Violet Beaurogarde and Augustus Gloop are also in the lucky position of being able to buy loads of chocolate until they also possess the golden tickets. None of these children present particularly pleasant characteristic with Augustus always stuffing food in his face, Mike watching TV, Violet forever chewing gum and Verucca demanding that she wants everything in sight. They don't seem very worthy winners and you can't help feeling that Charlie would have been a more deserving winner.
After the fifth winner is announced it seems that all hope is lost for Charlie until it turns out that the final ticket was a fake. By lucky chance, the same day Charlie finds a coin on the roadside and buys some chocolate for himself and his Grandpa Joe. Guess what? He finds the final ticket!
The film moves forward to the day of the factory visit. Charlie is accompanied by Grandpa Joe and the other four winners are accompanied by their equally unpleasant parents. The factory is amazing and Charlie is quite in awe of everything. However, the other children seem intent on displaying their unpleasant traits which causes them, one by one, to get into trouble and be transported away. For example Violet eats a sweet she was told not to and ends up blowing up and changing colour to resemble a huge blueberry. Every time this happens, Willy Wonka's helpers, the Oompa Loompas, are called upon to take the child and their parent away, singing as they do. Finally it is only Charlie and his Grandpa left and to his great surprise, he discovers that he has won much more than he ever dreamed of!
This is a wonderful film that grabbed my daughters' attention from the very start and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy every minute. It's a wonderful story and lovely to see the good child reap rewards at the end. It's very much amoral tale too showing that children who misbehave end up not being rewarded. I was very pleased to note that my daughters recognised this message and agreed that most of the children were very undeserving of their prize!
The cast is excellent although sadly many of the actors are no longer alive including the wonderful Roy Kinnear who plays Mr Salt. Jack Albertson, who died in 1981, also put in a wonderfully moving performance as Grandpa Joe. Gene Wilder makes an excellent Willy Wonka and young Charlie is played by an actor called Peter Oustram, who according to imdb did not make any other films which seems to be a real shame.
It's a very lively film on the whole with the action being interspersed with lots of lively songs. My daughters love these songs and having heard them a couple of times, are now to be found singing them all around the house. Visually, it's great too, especially when you get to view the factory and the many zany machines and inventions.
Overall this is a wonderful family film. There are some films that my daughters love to watch that I can't stand, but I could happily sit and watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with them many times!
There are no DVD extras to mention. The DVD is currently available on Amazon for £2.97 and has a U classification.
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Sep 3rd, 2009
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