Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Mel Stuart
My rating: 4 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

The reclusive owner of a giant candy factory in England hides "golden tickets" in chocolate bars. The winners get a free guided "tour", and perhaps a few surprises along the way. Charlie is the kid from a poor family, who has the least hangups of the group of kids. The others suffer from overeating, gum chewing, being a spoiled brat and watching too much TV, and each meet appropriate fates during the tour. Charlie and his grandpa Joe do break one of the rules and are denied their ultimate prize, a lifetime supply of chocolate, by the apparently cruel antics of Wonka. However, Charlie's final act is described perfectly and succinctly by Wonka himself when he says, "so shines a good deed in a weary world". And so goes the movie itself, an enduring children's fantasy that made an indelible impression on kids everywhere, for better or worse.

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