Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.

Director:

Mel Stuart

Writers:

Roald Dahl (screenplay), Roald Dahl (book)

Stars:

Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

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 | ticket | candy | golden ticket | 

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Taglines:

Charlie is let loose in the chocolate factory and every kid's dream comes true.

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Genres:

Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Italian

Release Date:

30 June 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Filming Locations:

Emmy-Noether-Straße, Munich, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,126,226, 2 February 1971, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolper Pictures Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 89 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bees that were used in the gum machine were actually wasps. Paris Themmen, a notorious troublemaker on the set, apparently released them from their bell jar and was stung on the face as a result.

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Goofs

When Charlie and his family are watching the television (at around 12 mins), you can see and hear the anchor talking about the chocolate bars. In the next scene when you see Charlie talking to his grandpa, you can only hear the anchor talking because in the background (Full-screen only) the television is off. Although, in the next shot the television is on again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bill: 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: Wonka's got a new one today.
Children: What is it?
Bill: 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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Alternate Versions

The original theatrical version of this film was released by Paramount, but all television, video, and theatrical re-issue versions of the film are distributed by Warner Bros. As a result, the current version in circulation opens with a Warner Bros. logo. This happened as a result of Quaker's and Paramount's reaction to the film's poor initial box-office returns; Quaker bowed out early, and Paramount let their distribution rights expire. Since Wolper Productions had been acquired by Warners by that time, the rights reverted to them.

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Connections

Referenced in Mark Lamarr Uncensored and Live (1997)

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Soundtracks

Cheer Up, Charlie
(uncredited)
Lyrics and Music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Performed by Diana Lee

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".