Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Classic DVD Musical
Review: I love this movie. I've owned a copy of the VHS version for about 11 years now, and last week I purchased the DVD. Yes, its full frame, but I don't know why everyone is so upset about it. If you look on the back of the case of the DVD, it tells you that the movie was filmed in full frame, not widescreen. They had to change it for the theatrical release. You are not missing anything with this DVD, this is how the director intended it! The transfer is very crisp, especially the "Pure Imagination" room, it looks luscious with bright colors. The extras are great. Its a delight with the audio commentary, for the actors, thirty years later, enjoy making fun of each other as they watch the film for the first time ever together. They also tell how about how some of the effects were done. They are so funny, especially Julie Dawn Cole (whole played snobby Veruca Salt). The documentary is intesting to watch. The intro of the DVD and the transition to each feature is spectaculare. You entre the Wonka Elevator and are transported to the Special Features and such. Great buy, great DVD, spectacular quality.
Rating:
Summary: Timeless classic!
Review: (Spoiler included) I watched this movie on TV for rhe first time when I was 6 years old and I haven't outgrown it since! It is a wonderful story about the power of imagination and how good things eventually come to those who do the right things.
The movie is based on the Roald Dahl book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Willy Wonka is an eccentric candy maker who starts a contest offering a factory tour to five lucky winners who find a golden ticket in their Wonka bars. One of them is Charlie Bucket, an impoverished, but good natured, child who hopes for a better future for himself, his mother and his four grandparents. The other four winners are nasty obnoxious and bratty children. Augustus Gloop is an overeating glutton, Violet Beauregard is a gum chewing fanatic with no manners (digging up her nose while talking about how disgusting spitting is), Veruca Salt is a spoiled brat who wants everything she sees and whines until she gets it and Mike Teavee is a television addict with a smart mouth. One by one, they are eventually done in by their bad habits. Augustus falls into the chocolate river against Wonka's protests and is sucked into a pipe, Violet chews a piece of Wonka's "meal gum," once again against his objections, and turns purple and blows up into a giant blueberry, Veruca goes on a tantrum when Wonka tells her she can't have one of his giant geese and she falls down a garbage chute and Mike wants to be on television so badly, he willingly gets zapped into the size of an insect by Wonka's TV camera. Charlie, by being the respectable child that he is and by not compromising his integrity, not only completes the tour, he wins a prize beyond his wildest dreams. The parents make it obvious why their children are so impish. When the children get into trouble at the factory, the parents blame Wonka instead of the kids' own bratty behavior. From the moment they step into the factory, they're complaining and finding fault with everything Wonka does and they take things way too seriously (much like the critics of this film)! I bet if the Oompa Loompas, with their wisdom, raised these little demons, they'd be much better. Don't miss this film. It is not only a fun to watch diversion from reality, the messages are very timely and it makes you think about the good that still exists in this world. The critics and nitpickers may not get it but anyone who watches with an open mind and doesn't take it too seriouly will.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Classic
Review: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is certainly a classic by any standard. Gene Wilder is simply hilarious and fits the role of Willy Wonka perfectly. I've seen this movie probably a 100 times already and it never gets old. The movie is perfect for kids as there's no harsh language or violence; not to mention adults will love it too! I give this classic 5 stars (the songs will be stuck in your head for days!).
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and Imaginative, But Lacking
Review: This movie is certainly a classic by today's standards, delivering us a world of color and candy. Kids are going to naturally love this film, with the fun musical numbers and funny little orange men called Oompa Loompas. Adults will appreciate Wonka's whacked out world, remembering the days when giant gummy bears and a chocolate river would be truly impressing to see. The movie centers around a boy named Charlie, who desperately wants to find one of Willy Wonka's five Golden Tickets so he can get inside the chocolate factory and absorb a bit of magic, laughter, and fun to get away from a world where he's living in poverty with his mother, his two grandfathers and two grandmothers. Of course Charlie does get the Golden Ticket and is whisked away to this magical factory where he takes a tour with four brats and their parents. The remainder of the film is a whirlwind of lickable wallpaper, giant candy bars, golden eggs, and scolding songs sung by the Oompa Loompas. While this is a good movie, it fails to dig into somewhat cynical side of the book written by Roald Dahl. The musical numbers make this movie sappy, campy, and a number of other words similar to those. The book will take you on a true journey, but the movie sputters along delivering the same message throughout the factory-- every kid is a spoiled, selfish brat-- except for Charlie. While many believe the 1971 version to be absolutely perfect, we'll see how well this version of the film stands up against the one to be released in the summer of 2005. Tim Burton (who will direct) promises to follow the book more closely, and he's already signed on the person to play Wonka-- Johnny Depp. Hopefully this pairing will bring something spectacular to the table and create a truly memorable version of this magnificent book. However, this movie, despite the fact that it's unlike the book, is still a movie you should you see, one that you will surely enjoy. While Wilder isn't exactly the way fans of the book pictured him, he certainly delivers as Wonka and brings life to the charactere. So check this one out sometime!
Rating: 
Summary: Now that I have read the book, I absolutely hate it
Review: or; Why this movie should be called Mel Stuart's Butcher Shop I grew up watching this film, although I probably shouldn't have. The movie is definitely not for the youngest children; there are very disturbing scenes that scared me as a child. However, now that I have read the original book by Roald Dahl, I can't bare to watch the movie. Why did Roald Dahl agree to pen the screenplay for the Hollywoodized classic book? Maybe to support his snozberry habit. We will never know. First of all, the movie has the cheapest of the cheap production quality. There are so many little mistakes in the movie that are so obvious. The movie could be remade shot-for-shot now for about $10 and a home video camera. That is not a joke. The film cost $3 million to make in 1972. I think the producers were pocketing the cash. My favorite example of the cheapo production is at the very end when the "Wonkavator" crashes through the roof. It's so laughable. This isn't the only example though. Every scene is flawed in some terrible way. Second of all, THIS MOVIE BUTCHERS THE ORIGINAL STORY. Very, very little about this movie is similar to the original. Willy Wonka himself is nothing like the original character, right down to the missing goatee. Gene Wilder did a great job of portraying a character that has nothing to do with how Willy Wonka was intended. Willy Wonka is supposed to be a very short man who is very mysterious, yet very quirky. I don't believe he was supposed to be a sarcastic sadist. Why did they decide to change the character of Charlie? Charlie is a boy who is completely pure of heart and who sacrafices everything for his family, very unlike how he was played in the movie. First of all, he's a whiny little brat in the film and partakes of the Fizzy Lifting Drink. This totally ruins the character who I loved in the book. They made unnecessary cuts and unnecessary additions everywhere. WHY DID THEY MAKE THIS FILM A MUSICAL? That's one of the burning questions I want answered. And why such a half-baked effort at that? There are several songs in the beginning, then nothing for a long time except the Oompa Loompas. I don't get it. Which brings me to another point: the Oompa Loompas. Why are they orange with green hair and from Loompaland? The original Oompas were black pygmies from Africa! Many of the changes were made because the director didn't know how to do anything that looked halfway decent inexpensively. 2001: A Space Odyssey was made several years before this film and the special effects of that movie still look great today. The same can't be said for Wizard of Oz-reminiscient special effects of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This movie was made in the 70s, not the 30s!!! Why did the fine gentlemen involved believe it necessary to make the children viewing the film feel like they were on an ACID TRIP? The inclusion of a snake running across a person's mouth during the chocolate riverboat scene was not needed, in my honest opinion. It is beyond my comprehension why they had to make such asinine changes to a story that was perfectly good to begin with. They changed everything right down to the title. They took the wonderful absurd fantastical story and tried to make it into a logical tale. The only reason I like this movie in any way is that it is sort of charming in itself. I enjoy the humor in the film when there is any. However, I think this movie is a total failure and I honestly have no idea why anyone would like this pile of garbage! Seeing this movie just gives me a much greater hope that the new adaptation directed by Tim Burton will be much more true to the original. But the sad fact is, people do love this movie because they grew up with it and have never been exposed to the book or the fantastical story contained within it. So go ahead, give me a low rating. But just promise me one thing before you do -- read the book and see if you feel the same way about the movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Golden Ticket!
Review: This is a great movie. It's one of my favorites that I watch every once in a while. I have so much fun singing the songs and remembering the lines.
Rating:
Summary: Candy is dandy...
Review: The film is based on a much-loved children's book, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', by Roald Dahl. Dahl wasn't always happy with the changes made between his book and the film, and wasn't always consulted on them. Today probably more people are familiar with the film sequence of events than the book. Charlie is a down-on-his-luck boy who is nonetheless optimistic and happy. He and his mother work to tend for their bed-ridden family members, all living together in a one-room home. One day there is an annoucement that Wonka is going to open his factory to visitors, to be chosen more or less at random through finding the Golden Tickets, contained in Wonka bars (a brilliant marketing device back then). Scenes of shoppers' frenzy are shown all around with world, including a Wonka delivery van shown arriving at the White House. The five golden tickets are found all around the world - the first one in Dusselheim, Germany, by the fat boy, Augustus Gloop (played by Michael Boliner, who is now a tax accountant in Munich, and is still rather large). The second ticket was found in the UK, by spoiled brat, Veruca Salt (Julie Dawn Cole, the only Wonka child still acting), whose father, Roy Kinnear, is a well-known actor in British cinema. The third ticket was found in the USA, by gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde (Denise Nickerson, now an accountant at a nuclear plant in Colorado), whose used-car-salesman father was played by Leonard Stone (who was selected over Jim Bakus). The fourth ticket was also won in the USA, by Mike Teevee (Paris Themmen, considered a real brat by most of the cast and crew); his frantic mother was played by Dodo Denny (later Nora Denny), who was one of the few minor characters in the film to consistently act after this film. The final ticket at first is reported to be won by some shady businessman from Paraguay, but in the end, that is proven to be a forgery. Of course, Charlie buys a Wonka Bar expecting nothing, and gets the ticket. An ominous figure, Slugworth (the arch-enemy of Wonka - who knew chocolate makers also made arch-enemies?), appears to each of the winners, whispering in their ears. Charlie is also confronted, and promised a reward should he bring Slugworth an example of Wonka's latest creation, the Everlasting Gobstopper. One wonders why (a) any candy maker would make a candy that never wears out (thus defeating re-sales), and (b) why Slugworth can't just buy one himself when they are released, analyse it and ruin his own factory the same way? But I digress... Gunter Meisner, a very prolific German actor, played the villain, who wasn't in the book (nor was the 'gobstopper plot'). The grand day of the event, the winners enter the factory with great fanfare, meeting Wonka (Gene Wilder) for the first time, and get the first taste of his bizarre sense of theatre. (It is reported not only Wilder's idea for the limping/somersault introduction to the crowd, but also a condition of his accepting the role.) From that point on, what was truth? It is ironic that Wonka's entrance doesn't occur until the film is half over. What we remember of the film comes after this, but over half the film is actually set-up. This is rather like the Wizard of Oz, where most of the film is done before we see 'the major character', although admittedly Wonka is far more prominent than Oz's balloonist. Wonka, the man of mystery, only ever became even more of a mystery as the tour progressed. He is constantly switching his words ('we have so much time and so little to do'), and there are surprises at every turn. Wonka borrows a lot of his key phrases (Ogden Nash, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde) and there are a lot of fantasy-inspired elements (Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings). At each major scene, something ghastly seems to happen, but in epic-fantasy form, it doesn't seem to matter to the majority, who proceed onward with their quest. In the chocolate room, Augustus Gloop meets his untimely exit from the factory by falling in the chocolate river. Violet turns into a blueberry by chewing experimental gum, and has to be squeezed (squoozed?). Veruca, in the room with the geese who lay the golden eggs, turns out to be a bad egg herself, but has a sporting chance of going down a chute with an inactive furnace. Mike Teevee shrinks in the Wonka version of the Star Trek transporter beam, leaving in the end only Charlie, who is denied his prize of a lifetime of chocolate for a minor infraction. It would seem that Wonka had a sinister side in many ways - the boat that carries the prize winners only seated eight, implying that Wonka knew someone would be missing. The Wonkamobile only had seats for four guests. Of course, the children apparently all had sinister sides, too, including Charlie, until the end. None of them let Wonka know of their Slugworth contact. In the end, we never know what becomes of the fallen questers - we are led to believe that in this candy factory they got their just desserts. The Oompa-Loompas put the moral to each downfall in song, with a 1970s karaoke-type presentation of the lyrics as they sing. In the end, of course, goodness and justice win out, as the factory is given to Charlie after his act of unwarranted kindness toward Wonka. Director Stuart always saw this film as a 'realistic' fantasy film. Those things that are not over the top are very ordinary. The people are not superheroes, and the situations, while fantastic, are not beyond the credible. Stuart also did his best for 'real' reaction - the kids had never seen Gene Wilder before his appearance at the door, the chocolate room in the factory, or the Oompa-Loompas prior to the first scene, either, so their reactions are more natural. A great film for children and adults!
Rating:
Summary: Not True To Da Book
Review: I saw this movie a couple of years after I read the book. It is not exactly the same story as the book. In fact, there is so much changed that it's actually a little hard to believe it is the same story. I think Gene Wilder's character is horrible, not true to the book at all. He was supposed to be a nice, funny little man, not a sarcastic wise guy. But other than that, the movie is sometimes funnier than the book. Like when they show all the craze for the Wonka Bars. This is a nice, funny movie for families, but I would reccomend reading the book first. Also, those Oompa-Loompas can get really annoying, with their 'Doop-a Day-Doo' song.
Rating:
Summary: The truth is...
Review: I freaking love this movie. This movies had so many subliminal messages. The whole thing is about greed. Sure, this movie might come off a harmless childrens movie but you have to be an adult to read between the lines of this movie.
I have heard that they are gonna be making a remake of this movie next year. They orginally wanted Marilyn Manson to play Willie Wonka. But due to people's bitchin'...he won't because people think that will ruin the movie's reason...or some crap like that. But if you knew anything about this movie...have you ever watched this movie on television lately? They have cut out the scene where they are going down the chocolate river in the boat because of a music video that Manson did. The music video immitates that scene but in a much more morbid type of way than in the movie. Because of that...thats why they have cut that scene from being shown on television. I love this movie because it is fun and great. It may not follow the same dialogue as the book did but who cares. Movies are uaully always better than a book. If you are into movies that have a good twisted heart to it then this is the movie for you. I give this movie 2 thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Still Great After 30 Years
Review: Negative comparisions to the Roald Dahl text notwithstanding, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is the last really great movie musical. It's miles beyond the motion-sickness-inducing "Moulin Rouge" or the thighs-in-your-face "Chicago" and has the charm to delight even the least imaginative of us. The beauty of the film is how well it balances adult cynicism with youthful hope--Dahl's satirical subtexts of European colonialism and slavery (as witnessed by the greed of just about everyone involved and the predicament of the Oopah Loompahs, respectively) are virtually indetectable for children wowed by the colorful production design and memorable songs. So are the swipes against the Germans, common in British films. But the core of the story revolves around Charlie Bucket, the poor but kind-hearted boy whose bleak life with his struggling single mother and invalid grandparents is punctuated only by the occasional ray of sunshine. That he finds the last ticket to compete for a lifetime supply of chocolate is deserved; that he wins against a gaggle of spoiled, obnoxious children that represent the worst of humanity is inevitable. Peter Ostrum and Jack Albertson are terrific as Charlie and Grandpa Joe, respectively, and Gene Wilder inhabits the wily but world-weary Wonka wonderfully. Children (and some adults) sometimes becry the darkness of some scenes, as well as Wilder's often biting reactions to them, but they miss the point: Wonka seeks genuine kindness and decency in a landscape populated mostly by avarice and deceit. To find an heir that possesses such qualities, he must present both the beautiful and the ugly, and act both the benefactor and the villain. It is only through witnessing their reactions--and the rotten kids are never put off by the horrible things they see and do--that he can discover which of them deserves to inherit his fortune. Great songs and uncomplicated special effects add to the air of fantasy that makes this film a winner.
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