The classic story of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” comes from the children’s book written by Roald Dahl in 1964, and has since been made into two major motion pictures, the first in 1971 and starring Gene Wilder (rated G)and the second in 2005 and starring Johnny Depp (rated PG).
The story is, of course, the same in both movies. Charlie Bucket is a very poor boy who lives in a broken down shack with both sets of grandparents and his mother. (In the Depp film, he has a father as well.) Willy Wonka, famous candy maker, has a factory in their town but has not been seen himself in many years. Rumors abound about him and his methods, but all the people really know is that his chocolate is the best on the market.
One day a contest is announced. Gold tickets have been placed inside Wonka chocolate bars, and whoever finds those golden tickets can come have a tour of the factory. Children all over the world immediately start buying up every chocolate bar they can get their hands on, and the tickets are found quickly. All but one, that is.
Charlie badly wants to go on a tour of the factory, but he’s so poor, he can’t afford a chocolate bar. His grandparents save their small tidbits of money and buy him one for his birthday, but, no ticket. The search goes on for the last ticket, but to no avail.
Finally, while walking down the street one day, Charlie finds some money in the gutter. He runs into the candy store and ends up with the last Golden Ticket! The trip to the factory is his.
Willie Wonka is an odd, eccentric man who uses little men known as Oompa-Loompas as workers in his factory. His methods are strange, but the results are wonderful.
As we go through the movie, we discover that Charlie is the only unspoiled child in the whole bunch. The other children are demanding and greedy, and they meet horrible ends – one gets sucked up a chocolate tube, another gets turned into a blueberry, and yet another gets dubbed “a bad nut” by the squirrels and gets thrown down the incinerator. They all get saved, or do they?
I tried to decide which version of the film I liked better. I thought the boy who played Charlie in the new version was a much better actor, but as much as I like Johnny Depp, I preferred Gene Wilder’s Wonka. It was just silly, while Johnny’s rendition was actually a little bit creepy. However, I think you and your family could equally enjoy both.
As a side note: When looking for the 1971 version, be sure to input “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” While the story is the same, the titles are slightly different.
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