WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (4K UHD Review)
FROM WARNER BROS
Review by Mr. Pawsđž
Unless youâve been living under a rock for the past five decades, you know Willy Wonka & and Chocolate Factory is a perennial classic nearly as revered as The Wizard of Oz. Similarly, it never found a real audience until it began popping up on TV and home video.
Today, youâd be hard-pressed to meet anyone over 20 who hasnât seen it at least once, and even the internet keeps it relevant through countless memes using Gene Wilderâs condescending smile to call-out various stupidities in the world. Not bad for a movie cynically produced with the initial purpose of selling candy bars (and the author of the original book, Roald Dahl, absolutely hated it).
But despite its humble product-placement beginnings, kid-friendly story, sunny production design and bouncy songs, what ultimately lifts Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory above its contemporaries is a singular, timeless message: It ainât all about you.
Sure, the typical âfamilyâ film offers a variety of morals or lessons we experience vicariously through its main characters, and once they learn whatâs truly important in life, everyone lives happily ever after. But really, âit ainât all about youâ is the only thing kids should know before being unceremoniously tossed into the real world. Even most adults need to be reminded of that from time to time, which is perhaps another reason Willy Wonka has remained relevant while the likes of Superdad have been relegated to mere nostalgia.
Iâve also always appreciated the filmâs sinister underpinnings, with most of its child characters learning these lessons the hard way. No warnings, no lectures...just consequences. Blunt, beautiful consequences.
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"And up there is the attic, where we keep Grandpa." |
Thatâs how real life works. Life doesnât coddle or catch you when you fall. Life doesnât care âhow you roll,â nor will it wait until youâre ready to grow up and stop being a jerk. Life is simply a reminder that it ainât all about you.
Of course, 50 years of delivering such a timeless message deserves some kind of commemoration, so what better time to give Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory a 4K upgrade (especially since previous home video releases have been astoundingly average)? If nothing else, the video restoration is wonderful, the colors less garish and more natural. I canât say the same for the audio, which has noticeable distortion at times. In fact, I didnât notice much difference in clarity or balance between this and the accompanying Blu-ray (or my old DVD, for that matter).
Additionally, there are no new bonus features. All the supplemental material here is carried over from previous releases, which is sort-of a shame. At the very least, it would have been cool to include some kind of appreciation or retrospective, especially since the Wonka Kids are now all senior citizens.
Still, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory remains one of the greatest non-animated âfamilyâ films ever made, despite its dubious capitalistic origins. Colorful, quotable, witty and loaded with humor both subtle ("Not until you're 12, son") and broad, itâs one of the rare movies that respects its intended audience, yet has always been dark & twisted enough to keep them returning as adults to share with their own kids. After all, youâre never too young or old to be reminded it ainât all about you.
EXTRA KIBBLES
4K ULTRA, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES (most of the bonus features are on the Blu-ray only).
AUDIO COMMENTARY WITH THE WONKA KIDS - A pretty charming commentary, with Paris Themmen (Mike TeaVee) providing most of the trivia, while Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) seems to be having the most fun.
âPURE IMAGINATION: THE STORY OF WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORYâ - 30-minute making-of, featuring interviews with producer David Wolper, director Mel Stuart, uncredited screenwriter David Seltzer, Gene Wilder and the kids.
SING-ALONG VIDEOS OF 4 SONGS
VINTAGE FEATURETTE
TRAILER
2 comments:
Itâs Charley Bucket, not Batch. Other then that this is a good article.
Ooh...good catch. I donât know how that got past me. Thanks for the correction! -Mr. Paws.
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