Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Cast: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole, Denise Nickerson and Paris Themmen.

Director: Mel Stuart

Release Date: 1971

Running Time:  1hr 40 minutes

Genre: Family/Musical

Rating: G

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

Willy Wonka a famous candy maker remains secret in his factory for years, when suddenly golden tickets begin to appear in his famous chocolate bars on stores all over the world, people around the world go in search of a ticket in the hope to win a tour and a lifetime supply of chocolate from Willy Wonka!

This movie is a film adaption of the brilliant children's story "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by hit author Roal Dahl. If you have young children they are probably very familiar with the story. This is an absolute classic! Starring Gene Wilder as the wonderful and flamboyant Willy Wonka. I honestly think what is so appealing about this film is the story in which it's told. Mel Stuart has taken a beautiful story that everyone can probably relate to in one way or another and brought it to life. For a movie that was produced in 1971, it still to this day looks absolutely stunning!

Gene Wilder was the perfect choice to play Willy Wonka in my opinion. Jack Albertson is equally as fantastic as Grandpa Joe. His characterization is fantastic, his character is kind and lovable and cares deeply about Charlie. I love their relationship on screen, the chemistry between them is really good and very convincing. I love the characters in this film, Verruca Salt played by the wonderful Julie Dawn Cole, she's incredibly irritating and annoying, but she's perfect! It's exactly how I'd see someone in that role. She's spoilt rotten and the filmmakers made it clear to the audience. Violet Beauregarde, in some ways equally as irritating as Verruca with  a serious obsession with chewing gum. Peter Ostrum is absolutely fantastic as Charlie, he's sweet and innocent and wants a ticket more then everyone else. Peter sadly didn't continue acting after making this movie, but for what it's worth, I think he was perfect as Charlie, I feel like a lot of people will relate to his character and sympathize with him. I love the characterization between each of the children, Mike TeeVee and Augustus Gloop being the other two.

For a film adaption this movie is really very good, I don't think you can go wrong with a film that anyone can watch, and based on a book that anyone can read, children, grandparents, parents, anyone. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory captures the imaginations of everyone that watches it. It's been really well edited and beautifully shot. The humour in this movie is great too, especially coming from Charlie's school teacher near the beginning of the film. The scene in which Charlie finds his golden ticket is magical and heartwarming.

The set design in this film is quite astonishing, before we've even got to the factory, there's some pretty amazing sets, including an old fashioned sweet shop where Charlie finds his golden ticket. It's exactly how I'd picture a old sweet shop and in some ways wished shops looked more like that these days. There's so much to look at the whole time, did anyone else, desperatly want to know what other sweets were available in that shop? I particularly love the candy canes, that are on the front of the bar. You can't have a sweet shop without candy canes! The cinematography is really fantastic, I love how in the opening shot, we see chocolate being made in a factory, it just adds to the magic of the film.

There's so much to look at all the time, the factory itself is something else, wow, what a set! It's like something out of a dream, it's one of those awesome moments where you wish you could jump into the TV and walk around. Giant gummy bears, giant lollipops, giant candy canes that come in all sorts of different colours, flowers that look like teacups, there is so much, I absolutely love the creativity and hard work that went into making the factory look truly awesome. Did I mention a chocolate waterfall? There's a great deal of colour. I love how the song lyrics come up on screen during a couple of songs, that is definitely something you don't see anymore. Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly have done a wonderful job with the score, you'll find yourself singing along to songs like "Pure Imagination" and "I've got a golden ticket" the soundtrack adds to this movie wonderfully and adds even more magic. I'd highly recommend this film to people of all ages, be sure to have a chocolate bar or some sweets on stand by too, because I can guarantee after watching this film, you'll be craving some.

Heartwarming, entertaining and fun!

5/5 stars