Year: 1971
Director: Mel Stuart
Country: US
Language: English
In 1964 author Roald Dahl wrote a morality tale about a group of children who visit a chocolate factory and seven years later the film version, released in 1971, would hit theaters worldwide. It's a mainstream children's film so psychedelic and off-the-wall that it could have only been made during the hippies movement of the early 70's.
In this adaptation, Charlie (Peter Ostrum) receives a golden ticket to a chocolate factory. Filled with chocolate waterfalls and orange oompa loompas, this trip is anything but ordinary.
Willy Wonka tells a fairy-tale like story about a child transported to a fantasy wonderland, with brightly costumed little people singing and dancing and strange dangers to be negotiated. It doesn't immerse you in its world quite like Wizard of Oz (1939) does, but it's quite more engaging than the universe of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and, dare I say it, Mary Poppins.
Though not quite a film of "pure imagination", the picture does deliver in set design, creativity and casting. Gene Wilder's Wonka seems to be quite a mad character who is unpredictable in nature. At times I found myself in awe of him, then terribly frightened. He is the main reason to watch this film. Charlie? Not so much. Peter Ostrum always looks like he's in pain, albeit I do wish he made more films after this.
A bit dated, Wonka's punishments now seem eerily close to child abuse, Willy Wonka is a memorable film that did create some decent tunes ("the candy man can", "oompa loompa", "golden ticket") Viewing it as a child, I was intrigued but not overly enthusiastic about the premise. Would this have a significant impact on today's children? I doubt it, but it's message is still fun to analyze.
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