Inside the weird & wonderful world of Willy Wonka
We unwrap some hidden treats from behind the scenes
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory was a box-office failure when it was first released in 1971. However, since then it has become a cult classic, loved by generations of children around the world.
The film was shot in Munich, Germany, and was financed by the Quaker Oats Company. Rather than naming the movie after the book’s original title, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, the US food company changed it so it could promote its Wonka chocolate bars. Unfortunately, amistake a mistake in the chocolate recipe meant the bars melted too easily, so they were quickly taken off the market.
PURE IMAGINATION
Gene Wilder, who played Willy Wonka, is said to have only accepted the role once the producers allowed him to include a playful scene where his character is shown using a cane the fifirst first time he’s seen outside the chocolate factory factory. The mysterious Wonka then leaves it behind and does a somersault, to the watching crowd’s surprise. When questioned about this, Gene explained, “Because from that time on, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.”
THE CANDY MAN CAN
Gene had a huge input into his character’s costumes, even
down to the size of his hat and the colour of his bow tie. “The hat is terrific but making it two inches shorter would make it more special,” he wrote to the film’s director, Mel Stuart.
CANDY IS DANDY...
The child actors didn’t see parts of the set until filming their scenes. “The most impressive set was the chocolate room,” says Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket. “Mel Stuart didn’t want us to see the set until we began filming so we would have that surprised expression on our faces.”
CHEER UP, CHARLIE
Peter didn’t know that Wonka would yell at him at the end ofo the movie. Gene said that heh wanted the director to warnw Peter about the yelling beforehand,b but he didn’t, so Charlie’sC reaction is all real!
HAPPILY H EVER AFTER
The Th actors who played the lucky l winners in the movie all stayed s in touch after filming. “We “think of ourselves as a family,” f Paris Themmen, who played Mike Teevee, said in 2015. “A dysfunctional family maybe but a family, really.”
OOMPA LOOMPA DIPPITY DOO
Ten actors played Oompa-Loompas – the mischievous workers with orange skin, green hair and white eyebrows. “At that time, there weren’t many British actors who were short, so six of the actors were British and they used one Maltese actor, another from Turkey, one from Germany and one woman,” recalled Rusty Goffe. “Mel sometimes got very frustrated telling us what to do in English and then trying to explain to the Maltese, German and Turkish actors what he wanted as well.”