123. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Director: Mel Stuart
Starring: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Denise Nickerson, Leonard Stone, Julie Dawn Cole, Paris Themmen, Dodo Denney
Synopsis: Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) is a young boy living in poverty with his under-appreciated mother (Diana Sowle) and collectively bedridden (ALLEGEDLY) grandparents. After his dream of winning one of five golden tickets to enter Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory comes true, Charlie and his now conveniently mobile Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson) go on a magical and psychologically taxing tour of the factory led by titular industrialist/trickster god Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder). Along the way, the other Golden Ticket winners are permanently disfigured and/or emotionally traumatized, which we are told is a good thing (through song!).
Bechdel-Wallace Pass? Yes
“Billy Blanka and the Cocoa Warehouse”
The Episode
We recall Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), a movie filled with both wonder and terror, but mostly wonder. There's Oompa Loompas, a trippy boat ride, and maybe dead children? Plus, we develop the #hellyeaholdpeas challenge.
