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:

Enter a world of pure imagination.

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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

For the 30th Anniversary DVD release of the movie, the DVD commentary is done by all five of the (now grown-up) children: Peter Ostrum, Michael Bollner, Julie Dawn Cole, Denise Nickerson, and Paris Themmen.

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Goofs

When Mike Teevee is telling his mom he feels fine after he got shrunken and put into the television, you can see where his platform ends to the left (at 01:29:29 after he has jumped down from the screen, but the platform on which he is standing can't be seen on the widescreen version which crops the platform and crops his feet at mid-calf).

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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

In the 70's, a short, truncated print was made available for schools, etc. It skips over the entire first half, only showing scenes in the factory (except portions of the scene where everyone waits for the gates to open). It cuts out everything following the "Fizzy Lifting Drinks" scene, and the only two scenes even near their complete versions are the Fizzy Lifting Drinks and the Inventing Room-the lickable wallpaper is cut altogether, only the first half of the Chocolate Room is shown (ending when "Pure Imagination" ends-ommitting Agustus's exit from the film), the parts with the giant contract, and the room with only one door are gone. The scene where Charlie and Grandpa look at the sign for "Hair Cream" is intact, but the boat scene that went before it is gone (meaning a confusing cut from the Chocolate Room to the area outside the inventing room). The scenes with everyone waiting for Wonka to come to the gates are severely shortened-all dialogue is gone. In fact, it makes it appear as if people randomly walked into the factory, rather than a selected group, as is made obvious in the full film. To keep continuity, one scene is shown out of order. The last scene in this version is the final reprise of "Pure Imagination" (beginning with wonka singing "If you want to view paradise...." on the tree), and is shown right after the Fizzy Lifting Drinks scene. It would lead the viewer to believe that the group went back to the chocolate room after the Fizzy lifting drinks room. This version ran appriximately 20 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Corporations that Would Be Hell to Work For (2017)

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Soundtracks

Wondrous Boat Ride
(uncredited)
Lyrics and Music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Performed by Gene Wilder

User Reviews

"WE are the music-makers, and WE are the dreamers of dreams!"

When I was a kid, my mom made me sit through this a trillion and one times. It's one of her favorites. I liked it well enough back then, but it's only now that I'm older that I can appreciate the true sinister glory of this movie. It's so deliciously creepy! For those who have to whine about how messed up it is, consider the original "Cinderella." Now that was awful. Willy Wonka is the stranger with a bag of chocolate that parents are always warning their kids about, but what he's really offering is a seductive nightmare in a kaleidescope of candy colors, a cautionary tale told with fairy story whimsy. I got it when I was 5, but the thrill didn't register. "A dirty trick on innocent children?" Some people out there obviously don't remember what it's really like to be a kid. Childhood is full of booby traps and the allure of the forbidden, and that which is evil frequently looks divine. "Willy Wonka" is about giving in and seeing the horrors and delights, the choices and pratfalls on the other side. It's disturbing because it strikes a certain primal chord: freedom and danger are entwined, and people have never wanted to associate children with either.