Sweet as chocolate!

Coventry

With the brand-new version of Tim Burton coming up, I thought it would be appropriate to watch the very first film-adaptation of Roald Dahl's popular children-novella first. Over 30 years old already, but this charming and moralistic fairy-tale still is a joy for all senses, with its likable main characters, exhilarating songs and valuable life-lessons. The movie might start out a little slow and overly dramatic with the extended portrait of the poor Charlie Bucket who has to work in order to support his family and he can only secretly dream about winning a grand tour in the wonderful chocolate factory owned by the mysterious Willy Wonka. But, when the miracle than occurs and Charlie walks into the factory together with four greedy kids, the movie REALLY takes off! The children and their adult companions are guided through the colorful landscapes and ingenious techniques of Wonka-world, where chocolate flows in rivers and candy bars can be taken out of TV-screens. This is a very fun movie and Dahl's rich but bizarre imagination is wonderfully put to the screen by Mel Stuart. The set pieces are magnificent and they really have the true magical feel of fantasy. Typical for Roald Dahl's work also is the slightly sinister and horrific touch, which is perfectly illustrated here in the unsettling boat-ride-through-the-cavern sequence. This particular scene is perhaps the most memorable one of the entire movie because of it's great use of sound and lighting! New surprises and eccentric plot-twists are provided every couple of seconds and Gene Wilder's jolly (but tempered) performance as the extravagant factory-owner really makes this movie complete. I can only hope the 2005 version will be as fabulous as this but I'm quite sure it will be. After all, if there's one team able to re-tell this insanely great tale, it has got to be Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is like a big bar of chocolate: delicious...and you're never too old to enjoy it!

score 8/10

Coventry 24 July 2005

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1133607/