Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Director:

Mel Stuart

Writers:

Roald Dahl (screenplay)
Roald Dahl (book)
(more)

Release Date:

30 June 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

It's everybody's non-pollutionary, anti-institutionary, pro-confectionery factory of fun!

Plot:

A poor boy wins the oppurtunity to tour the most eccentric and wonderful candy factory of all.

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Chocolate | Candy | Chocolate Factory | Children

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Gene Wilder	...	Willy Wonka
Jack Albertson	...	Grandpa Joe
Peter Ostrum	...	Charlie Bucket
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)
Peter Capell	...	The Tinker
Werner Heyking	...	Mr. Jopeck
Peter Stuart	...	Winkelmann
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dora Altmann	...	Grandma Georgina (uncredited)
Rudy Borgstaller	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Tim Brooke-Taylor	...	Computer Operator (uncredited)
George Claydon	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Pat Coombs	...	Henrietta Salt (uncredited)
Frank Delfino	...	Auctioneer (uncredited)
Malcolm Dixon	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Stephen Dunne	...	Stanley Kael - Second Newscaster (uncredited)
Michael Gahr	...	Reporter in Germany (uncredited)
Rusty Goffe	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Kurt Großkurth	...	Mr. Gloop (uncredited)
Shin Hamano	...	Japanese Candy Store Owner (uncredited)
Ismed Hassan	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Jack Latham	...	First Newscaster (uncredited)
Franziska Liebing	...	Grandma Josephine (uncredited)
Gloria Manon	...	Mrs. Curtis (uncredited)
Norman McGlen	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Angelo Muscat	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Ed Peck	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Pepe Poupee	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Marcus Powell	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Bob Roe	...	Peter Goff (uncredited)
Madeline Stuart	...	Girl in Classroom (uncredited)
Albert Wilkinson	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Ernst Ziegler	...	Grandpa George (uncredited)

Directed by
Mel Stuart

Writing credits
Roald Dahl		(screenplay)
Roald Dahl		(book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory")
David Seltzer		(screenplay) uncredited

Produced by
Stan Margulies	....	producer
David L. Wolper	....	producer

Cinematography by
Arthur Ibbetson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Saxon

Art Direction by
Harper Goff

Costume Design by
Helen Colvig

Makeup Department
Susi Krause	....	hairdresser
Raimund Stangl	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Pia Arnold	....	production manager
Renate Neuchl	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wolfgang Glattes	....	assistant director
Jack Roe	....	assistant director

Art Department
Hendrik Wynands	....	construction manager (as Hendrik G. Wynands)

Sound Department
Charles L. Campbell	....	sound editor
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recordist (as Dick Portman)
Karsten Ullrich	....	sound
Roger Sword	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Logan Frazee	....	special effects (as Logan R. Frazee)

Visual Effects by
Jim Danforth	....	model animator: Wonkavator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ille Sievers	....	wardrobe head

Editorial Department
Melvin Shapiro	....	associate editor (as Mel Shapiro)

Music Department
Howard Jeffrey	....	musical numbers staged by
Walter Scharf	....	conductor
Walter Scharf	....	music arranger
Jack K. Tillar	....	music editor (as Jack Tillar)
Diana Lee	....	singing voice: Diana Sowle (uncredited)

Other crew
Frawley Becker	....	dialogue coach
Trudy von Trotha	....	script supervisor (as Trudi Von Trotha)
Betty Walberg	....	dance arrangements
David L. Wolper	....	presenter
Walker Edmiston	....	voice dubbing: Gunter Meisner (uncredited)
Marci Sperling	....	craft service (uncredited)

Production Companies

• David L. Wolper Productions (as Wolper Pictures Ltd.)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Marion Dougherty Associates  casting: New York
• Selway Baker  casting: London
• The Quaker Oats Company  funding (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Willy Wonka au pays enchanté (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
A Fantástica Fábrica de Chocolate (Brazil) [pt]
A Maravilhosa História de Charlie (Portugal) [pt]
Charlie et la chocolaterie (France) [fr]
Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (West Germany) [de]
Jali ja suklaatehdas (Finland) [fi]
Jali och chokoladfabriken (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Kalle och chokladfabriken (Sweden) [sv]
Un mundo de fantasía (Spain) [es]
Willy Wonka & die Schokoladenfabrik (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
Willy Wonka e la fabbrica di cioccolato (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

100 min | West Germany:89 min (theatrical version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | Dolby Digital (DVD Release)

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) (re-rating) (1996) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (original rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Canada:G (Ontario - 2006) | West Germany:6 | Germany:o.Al. (re-rating) (2005) | Finland:K-7 (1971) (uncut) | Finland:S (1971) (cut) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | France:U | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

David L. Wolper Productions

Trivia:

Before Wonka does his little somersault, he sticks his cane into a brick made of Styrofoam.

Goofs:

Continuity: The two doors that Willy Wonka exits while coming out of the factory are fully lit, but in the next shot, from the point of view of the crowd, the right door is shadowed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bill, candy store owner: 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, candy store owner: Wonka's got a new one today.
Children: What is it?
Bill, candy store owner: This is called a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Phineas and Ferb: Toy to the World (#1.16)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Pure Imagination

Timeless.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a truly magnificent piece of filmmaking and remains one of the most fascinating and wonderful adventure films ever made. One of the things that makes this film so intriguing is that it could have been made at any time. I mean, just from watching it, you can't really tell when it was made. It has been one of my favorite films for almost 20 years now, and it wasn't until today that I actually realized when it was made. Watching it again last night, I had convinced myself that it was made sometime in the early to mid 80s, and I was shocked to find out that this year is the movie's 30 year anniversary. Until now, pretty much the only movie I associate with 1971 is A Clockwork Orange, and it's just strange for some reason to find out that this classic movie was made so long ago.

At any rate, Willy Wonka is a tremendously imaginative and inspiring film. It's a family film, but one of the most important aspects of a family film is that it has to be enjoyable for a variety of ages. This is what makes movies like Toy Story and Shrek such huge successes- the adults will love it just as much as the kids are sure to. Hence: `family' film. On the other hand, this is also the downfall of such other movies that are strictly for a much younger audience, like Cats & Dogs. The makers of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory understood this very well, and you can see that just by the way that the cast is divided. Here are all of these kids (funny how it was only kids who found those golden tickets…) who were at this candy factory, and they had each elected to bring one of their parents with them as the one admissible member of their family who was allowed by Wonka to accompany them to the factory.

One of the best elements of this film is the excellently written script and, even more, the songs. These are some of the best songs in any movie ever made, rivaling even the best of the songs from Disney's films (hey, some of them are really good…). There are, of course, some exceptions, such as `Cheer up, Charlie,' which I have been fast-forwarding through for as long as I can remember, but for the most part, the songs are fun to listen to and they pertain to life outside the movie. They are not just songs about the candy-making genius of Willy Wonka or the excitement of being able to tour his mysterious factory, but they are about life in the real world. They're about believing in yourself and being motivated in life (`Anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world, there's nothing to it…'), but there are also some that have to do mostly with the movie but are still just as enjoyable, such as the classic song that Wonka sings in the tunnel on board his boat (curiously named `Wonkatania'), which was creepily covered by Marilyn Manson a couple of decades later.

The dialogue in the film contains some of the most interesting little tidbits in the entire movie. Wonka's lines, in particular, are wonderfully strange and amusing (`A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.'). He is a truly eccentric and fascinating man, and Gene Wilder captures the character flawlessly, as he delivers the lines from the brilliantly written script. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of those rare movies that comes along and completely changes the way that fantasy films are made. It's all about having fun in life and being hopeful against all odds and, most of all, being able to have fun in life. There are times when you have to let things go for a while and just act like a kid. Eat candy, run around and play, steal fizzy lifting drinks and bump into the ceiling that now has to be washed and sterilized, it doesn't matter as long as no one's looking. That's such a trivial little quirk of Wonka's (who sterilizes their ceiling?) that it becomes obvious that the movie is trying to say that it's okay to break the rules every once in a while. Have fun in life.

Besides being absolutely mouth-watering (to this day, I still fantasize about sinking my teeth into one of those gigantic gummy bears), the movie is an uplifting adventure that warms the heart and sends people of all ages away with fairy tale candies dancing in their heads and wonderful songs just behind their lips. It is an always-welcome vacation from reality for people of all ages, and it should always be remembered and loved for that. This movie will ALWAYS be a must-see.