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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (30th Anniversary Edition - Widescreen)Rating:
Release Date: 13 November, 2001 Retail Price: $19.96 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (6 total) |
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (30th Anniversary Edition - Widescreen) Reviews
Pretty Good Movie
This is one of those movies that appeals to both children and adults. It takes us into a fun world of make-believe ... where candy is valued as if it were gold and chocolate seems to make the world go round.
The movie stars Gene Wilder as the mysterious and eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka. Wilder is perfect as Willy Wonka. When the casting for the movie was taking place, he (Wilder) arrived at the audition, and the director (Mel Stuart) took one look at him and said, "You got the part."
The story centers on Willy Wonka's decision to give five lucky people a lifetime supply of chocolate. He hides five "golden tickets" inside the wrappers of five different Wonka Bars ... and sends these out world-wide with his normal shipments of candy. He then announces the contest, and this sets off a frenzy all over the globe. Everybody buys up all the Wonka Bars they can afford, and this part of the movie is a lot of fun. Eventually the five winners (all children) are located, and, with each being accompanied by one adult, they are given a tour of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. And the the fun really starts.
It's a good movie, it really is, but if you know anything about Roald Dahl (the man who wrote the original book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" in addition to "Matilda" and "James and the Giant Peach") he has what might be called a sense of humor with a dark side to it. And in Willy Wonka, four of the children (contest winners) are very selfish, with three of them being ... brats from hell. And this keeps the movie from being super fun.
Still, Peter Ostrum as Charlie (the one good kid) is excellent ... maybe the best performance in the movie. And Jack Albertson as Charlie's "Grandpa Joe" is good too. Diana Sowle, as Charlie's mom, is pretty good also. The movie was filmed in Germany, and that setting seems to work nicely for the story.
A Child's Paradise
"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" is one of those rare films that bridges the child-adult film gap. Persons of all ages can watch, eyes wide, and revel in Willy Wonka's eccentricities and Charlie's inate goodness and splendid luck. The film, more than 30 years old, hardly feels its age. Made in a time before computerized special effects, the relative cheese quotient only serves to make the film that much more charming.
Gene Wilder is superbly cast as the unconvential confectioner, Willy Wonka, who is partial to brightly colored leisure suits, large hats and not averse to breaking into song when the moment requires it. Rather than being simply odd and borderline unsettling as Johnny Depp would portray him three decades later, Wilder's Wonka is obviously an overgrown kid himself, a person who truly enjoys making candy and making people smile. There is not a hint of any darkness hiding behind those dancing eyes.
The children are all marvelously cast, each one befitting their character's physical description on Roald Dante's classic book. Despite hating seeing them go, their individual come-uppances are rewarding and indulging. The parents have very little to do, other than watch their respective children get into trouble, bemoan the fact and watch the Mystic-Tanned Oompa Loompas break into early karaoke about it.
Watching this movie reminds me of what is so fun about being a child - - the innocence involved in believing that such a place as the Wonka Factory can exist, and the good kid (Charlie) comes out on top in the end, while the bad kids go home empty-handed and having learned their lesson.
"Willy Wonka" is good, clean fun for the whole family, with catchy lyrics provided by the Oompa Loompas to boot. Pop it in, break out some chocolate bars or gobstoppers and enjoy!
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