Sam Beauregarde: What is this Wonka, some kind of funhouse?
Willy Wonka: Why? Are you having fun?
--"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971)
Last night I went to see a Walk-In Movie on Potrero Hill (my old 'hood which I've lovingly photographed again and again over the past few years). Walk-In Movies are put on by my friend and Yahoo! co-worker Derek.
The movie was the original 1971 version of "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." The last time I saw it was 10 years ago when it was played at Vassar's trippy Founder's Day.
The weather was great -- not too cold, although we needed to wear scarves and hats and long coats. (It is, after all, San Francisco in the summertime.) Jason, Jackson, Andy, and August were there. And I brought Bocce with me too. The setting was gorgeous; the movies was projected on the side of a house and beside it was a view of the city and the Bay Bridge. I didn't have my digital camera with me, but here's a photo Jason took. (And here's what Jason wrote about it on SF Metroblogs.
Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka is creepy, but it still seems like deep down his Wonka has a heart. (I'm wondering if Johnny Depp's Michael Jackson-ish Wonka will).) That scene where Wonka is driving the paddle boat through the tunnel scared me to death as child. It's still pretty freaky as an adult. With its flamboyant costumes, strange images projected on the walls and darkness and day-glow paint this scene reminds me of Ken Kesey's mid-1960s "Acid Tests," (which now that I think of it, were still probably figuring prominently in people's minds as the 1970s began and this first Wonka movie was being made). On of the father's in the movie, actually has a line where he says, "What is this, Wonka, some kind of freak-out?"
Tim Burton allegedly hates the original 1971 "Wonka" movie, which I found a bit shocking, because it's truly dark, twisted, and funny in a way which I had assumed he would appreciate. Sure, it's a bit cheesy at times, but that just makes it more fun in a campy way. Check out these snippets of dialogue. Gene Wilder, apparently, is not very happy to hear they're re-making it
There were elements to the original film which certainly deserve a modern re-make. For example, the scene where Wonka shows the children and their parents his chocolate river and candy meadow. When I saw this scene as a 5-year-old in the late 1970s, I thought it was incredible and magical. Now, in 2005, the candy meadow looks obviously fake, dingy and sort of sad.
I also found myself wondering what had become of the child actors in the film. Lucky for me, Mike who writes Ask Yahoo! recently researched the answer to this question. If you're still left wanting to find out more about the 1971 film and cast, you should check out this documentary "Pure Imagination: The Story of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.'"
Have you seen the original 1971 "Wonka"? Did you like it or hate it? Are you looking forward to the new Tim Burton version?
