Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (DVD, 2001, 30th Anniversary Edition; Full Frame)

Great I love this movie. A tour through Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, led by the loveable, eccentric, but often mean-spirited Wonka. The factory itself is like a fantasy world: crazy color schemes, wild inventions, secret rooms, busy oompa-loompas, and lots and lots of delectable sweets and great music.

This movie is DEFINITELY another classic that is a MUST have in one's personal collection. Whether you love chocolate, or other candies, or secretly wish you can be a kid and go into the chocolate factory and meet and Oompa-Loompa, this movie is great! Gene Wilder plays the quirky Willy Wonka who sends out the five lucky golden tickets across the world to pick the perfect child to take over his special factory. I don't think that the remake/sequel with Johnny Depp, (which WAS good) can compare with the original, at all. The Oompa-Loompa songs
with their educational messages are much easier to understand and the factory looks more realistic- more realistic eatable than computerized eatable.

Along with The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory hails as one of the greatest children's movies ever made.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is more of a cult favorite then Oz but needless to say it's images are also universally known. The brats, Veruca, Mike Tee- Vee, Violet and Augustus helps some of the seven deadly sins come to life.
The Oompa Loompas are iconic and creepy. The factory filled with candy where you can even eat the dishes remains mythic to this day.
Gene Wilder's performance is one of the greatest of all times. His crazy hair and wild eyes help bring the mystery to life and you never quite know if he is good or bad.
Alas- golden eggs, everlasting gobbstoppers, Violet your turning violet and rivers of Chocolate that must never be touch by human hands, the movie wavers from comedy to fantasy to drama and then back to comedy in on full swoop.
Like Willy says "The oranges taste like oranges, the lemons taste like lemons, the snozzberries taste like snozzberries."

The original version.. with Gene Wilder staring as the magical chocolte conglomerant. He runs a wild and nutty factory, full of his "Oompa Loompas" as workers assisting in making the chocolate. 5 winners of 'Golden Tickets' get to take a tour of the magical factory but only 1 shall win the ultimate prize, as a misfourtinate child with a heart of gold wins the hearts of all who watch.

For me Gene Wilder will always be the true Willy Wanka (sorry Johnny Dep) and I will probably never stop having the Oompa Loompa song pop into my head at odd moments. Quite frankly this movie was such a wonderful translation of Roald Dahl's book, that I was surprised that anyone would want to remake it.

The storyline is brilliant, the "lessons" universal, and the special effects, cheesy but in a good good way. As I follow Charlie's quest for the ticket and his journey through the factory I feel his sadness, joy and wonder.

When I was picking out DVDs for my kids, this was at the top of the list. It is a must have for Childs DVD library.