Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory

The Old Movie
As a kid, one of the very first movies I saw was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory based on Robert Dahl's book. It starred Gene Wilder. I watched this movie for God knows how many times. No matter how many times I have watched it before, I was still entranced by the chocolate river, the lickable wallpapers and the geese (or swans) which laid golden chocolate eggs. I was exspecially fond of the Oompah-Loompas who, in retrospect, were actually freak-looking with their green hair and brown (or was it red) jumpsuits. They were, I guess, my childhood's equivalent of the Teletubbies. Some fo the scenes which stuck to my head are the scenes of Charlie with his four grandparents, Augutus falling on the chocolate river, Violet turning violet, the other kid getting trapped in a television set while wearing an all-white suit, and of course the room with one half of the things. The room had half a table, half a chair and half a lamp. But the most memorable for me was the last scene in which the reason for the tour to the factory was revealed then Charlie and Willy Wonka rode a glass elevator-like vehicle and toured the city on air with the song "Pure Imagination" as the theme song.

Mommy (actually, an aunt of mine) had to repeatedly find betamax copies of the movie because my cousins and I watched it so much that the tape would wear out.

The Remake
When I heard that a remake was going to be done with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, I had mixed feelings. Because, although Dahl wasn't particularly fond of the first movie, I loved it. Add the fact that I am not a fan of Johnny Depp and although Tim Burton is a great filmmaker, his movies are kinda dark. On the other hand, I was excited to see a fresh take on the story which they say is closer to the book which I still haven't read.

I still haven't watched the new version but I am very much looking forward to it.

Michael Jackson
Two of my cousins recently pointed out what other people have apparently noticed for a long time already: that Willy Wonka very much resembles Michael Jackson. My cousin pointed out some similarities:

• extreme paleness,
• wonderland-like place,
• eccentricity, and
• weird association with kids.

Me being the loyal fan that I am quickly defended Willy Wonka until I realized that it is a preposterous argument anyway since Willy Wonka is a fictional character. HAH!