Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

A poor boy wins the opportunity to tour the most eccentric and wonderful candy factory of all.

Director:

Mel Stuart

Writers:

Roald Dahl (screenplay), Roald Dahl (book),

Stars:

Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Wilder	...	Willy Wonka
Jack Albertson	...	Grandpa Joe
Peter Ostrum	...	Charlie
Roy Kinnear	...	Mr. Salt
Julie Dawn Cole	...	Veruca Salt
Leonard Stone	...	Mr. Beauregarde
Denise Nickerson	...	Violet Beauregarde
Nora Denney	...	Mrs. Teevee (as Dodo Denney)
Paris Themmen	...	Mike Teevee
Ursula Reit	...	Mrs. Gloop
Michael Bollner	...	Augustus Gloop
Diana Sowle	...	Mrs. Bucket
Aubrey Woods	...	Bill
David Battley	...	Mr. Turkentine
Günter Meisner	...	Mr. Slugworth (as Gunter Meisner)

Storyline

The world is astounded when Willy Wonka, for years a recluse in his factory, announces that five lucky people will be given a tour of the factory, shown all the secrets of his amazing candy, and one will win a lifetime supply of Wonka chocolate. Nobody wants the prize more than young Charlie, but as his family is so poor that buying even one bar of chocolate is a treat, buying enough bars to find one of the five golden tickets is unlikely in the extreme. But in movieland, magic can happen. Charlie, along with four somewhat odious other children, get the chance of a lifetime and a tour of the factory. Along the way, mild disasters befall each of the odious children, but can Charlie beat the odds and grab the brass ring?

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Plot Keywords:

factory | chocolate | candy | ticket | chocolate factory | 

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Taglines:

Your golden ticket to imagination and adventure!

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Genres:

Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

30 June 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Willy Wonka y la fábrica de chocolate

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

David L. Wolper Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 89 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregard) and Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) had a crush on Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket). During filming, the girls would alternate days over which one would spend time with Ostrum. Bob Roe was also an object of attraction for the two. On the day they didn't get to spend with Peter, they would spend it with Bob Roe. Bob Roe was the son of first assistant director Jack Roe.

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Goofs

When the kids in the candy store are yelling, "Me, me!" their lips don't move (at 04:15 in a quick shot down on the kids with their hands up in the air when Bill, the candy store clerk is on the ladder ready to shower a hand full of candy down on them).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bill, candy store owner: All right, all right, all right, what's it going to be? A Triple Cream Cup for Christopher. A Sizzler for June Marie. And listen!
[the children fall silent]
Bill, candy store owner: Wonka's got a new one today.
Children: What is it?
Bill, candy store owner: This is called a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.

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Crazy Credits

At the same time as the end credits are playing, the film shows the Wonkavator rising higher and higher.

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Connections

Referenced in Psych: Dis-Lodged (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Pure Imagination"
(uncredited)
Lyrics and Music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Performed by Gene Wilder

User Reviews

Simply indispensable

All the ideas that Rould Dahl puts into his book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" are here in an imaginative visual form appropriate to the time it was made. A lot of attention was paid to the sets and visual effects, clever special effects such as a trap door and miniturization testify to the care that the producers put into making this movie. The theme of the movie is difficult for adults. There are bad children in the world. They come from bad parents, they're not created by emulation, but rather the parents "produce them", much like chocolate is produced in a factory. The factory is populated by miniature people named oomphaloopas that remind the listener at intervals of Dahl's moral points: Too much TV is bad for children, books should be read instead, and children need to adhere to an ethical code of some sort in order to grow up strong. And who knew Gene Wilder had such a beautiful singing voice! The music is some of the best show music of it's time, including "The Candy Man".