Willy Wonka

This article is about the fictional character. For the candy company, see, The Willy Wonka Candy Company.

Willy Wonka
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character
First appearance	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Created by	Roald Dahl
Portrayed by	Gene Wilder (1971) Johnny Depp (2005) Maurice LaMarche (Commercials)

Willy Wonka is a fictional character in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film adaptations that followed. The book and the 1971 film adaption both vividly depict an unusual Wonka — a feature arising from his creative genius. He annoys the other characters with his antics, though Charlie sees Wonka's behavior as a positive trait. In the 2005 film adaption, Willy Wonka's behavior is viewed more as a sympathetic character flaw.

Appearances

1971 film adaption

Candy maker Willy Wonka (52 years in the movie) has hidden five Golden Tickets amongst his Wonka Bars. The finders of these special tickets will be given a full tour of his tightly-guarded candy factory as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate. The contest sets off a global craze with everyone desperately seeking out the tickets. They are eventually found by five different children from around the world.

Wonka greets the winning children and their guardians at the factory gates. He immediately shows his unpredictability by slowly hobbling towards the gate with a cane, then pretending to fall, only to do a somersault and spring back to his feet with a flourish. Once he and his visitors are inside, Wonka requires each to sign a contract before the tour can begin. The tour progresses though many fantastic rooms and labs in the factory, all run by Wonka's crew of Oompa Loompas. Along the way, four of the children misbehave against Wonka's warnings, resulting in serious but comical consequences and removing them from the tour.

Eventually, Charlie Bucket is the only remaining child. Wonka informs him that the tour is over, politely dismisses him and Grandpa Joe, and disappears into his office without mentioning the promised prize of a lifetime supply of chocolate. Grandpa Joe and Charlie enter the office, where Wonka tells them that Charlie does not get the prize because he broke the rules. When questioned on the existence of the said rules, Wonka irritably reveals the forfeiture clause of the contract Charlie signed. Charlie's part in the theft of Fizzy Lifting drinks earlier in the story means that he violated the contract, and therefore he receives nothing. Now seemingly enraged, Wonka again dismisses them with a furious "Good day!".

When Charlie subsequently returns a gobstopper to Wonka that he initially planned to give to an industrial spy, Wonka joyfully tells Charlie that he "won" and begs his guests' forgiveness. He reveals that the spy "Slugworth" is actually an employee named Wilkinson, whose offer to buy the gobstopper was a morality test for the Golden Ticket winners, and Charlie was the only one who passed. Wonka leads Charlie and Joe to the "Wonkavator", a multi-directional glass elevator, and fly out of the factory in it. As they soar over the village, Wonka tells Charlie that his actual prize is not just the chocolate but the factory itself, as the Golden Ticket search was created to help Wonka search for an honest and worthy child to be his heir. Charlie and his family will reside in the factory and take over its operation when Wonka retires.

2005 film adaption

Willy Wonka, the owner of a famous chocolate factory, has long closed access to his factory due to problems concerning industrial espionage that ultimately led him to fire all his employees, among them Charlie's Grandpa Joe. One day, Wonka informs the world of a contest, in which five Golden Tickets have been placed in five random Wonka Bars worldwide, and the winners will be given a full tour of the factory as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate, while one ticket holder will be given a special prize at the end of the tour. After all five of the tickets are found, Wonka greets Charlie and the other ticket holders outside the factory and leads the group into the facility. During the tour, Wonka tempts each of the bad children to disobey his orders with something related to their individual character flaws. Wonka then invites Charlie to come live and work in the factory with him, and reveals that the purpose of the Golden Tickets and the tour was to make the "least rotten" child the heir of the factory itself, so he can have someone carry on his legacy when he dies. The only condition, however, is that Charlie must leave his family behind, because Wonka believes family is a hindrance to a chocolatier's creative freedom, a philosophy Wonka developed due to his dentist father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka, denying his son candy because of the potential risk to his teeth. After secretly sampling some candy, Wonka was instantly hooked and ran away to follow his dreams. After being refused Charlie's offer, Wonka falls into a state of emotional depression and returns to Charlie to seek advice. Wonka soon reunites with his estranged father and allows Charlie's family to move into the factory.

Concept and creation

2005 film adaption

Early on in the production of the 2005 film, Nicolas Cage was under discussions for portraying Willy Wonka, but lost interest.^[1][2] Warner Bros. president Alan F. Horn wanted Tom Shadyac to direct Jim Carrey as Willy Wonka, believing the duo could make Charlie and the Chocolate Factory relevant to mainstream audiences, but Roald Dahl's widow Liccy Dahl opposed this.^[3] After Tim Burton was hired as director in May 2003, Burton immediately thought of Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka, who joined the following August for his fourth collaboration with the director.^[4]

Burton and screenwriter John August worked together in creating Wilbur Wonka, Willy's domineering dentist father. "You want a little bit of the flavor of why Wonka is the way he is," Burton reasoned. "Otherwise, what is he? He's just a weird guy."^[5] Warner Bros. and Burton held differences over the characterization of Willy Wonka. The studio wanted to make Willy Wonka the idyllic father figure Charlie Bucket had longed for his entire life. Burton believed that Wonka would not be a good father, finding the character similar to a recluse.^[6] "In some ways," Burton protested, "he's more screwed up than the kids."^[7] Prior to Burton's involvement, Warner Bros. considered or discussed Willy Wonka with Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton,^[1] Brad Pitt, Will Smith^[5] and Adam Sandler.^[3] Johnny Depp was the only actor Burton considered for the role,^[7] who signed on without reading the script under the intention on going with a completely different approach than what Gene Wilder did in the 1971 film adaptation.^[8] "Regardless of what one thinks of that film," Depp explained, "Gene Wilder's persona, his character, stands out."^[3] Reportedly, Depp cited Marilyn Manson as his inspiration for his portrayal of Wonka.

Comparisons were drawn between Willy Wonka and musician Michael Jackson. Burton joked, "Here's the deal. There's a big difference: Michael Jackson likes children, Willy Wonka can't stand them. To me that's a huge difference."^[6] Depp explained that the similarities with Jackson never occurred to him. "I say if there was anyone you'd want to compare Wonka to it would be a Howard Hughes, almost. Reclusive, germaphobe, controlling."^[9] Burton agreed with the Hughes similarities, and additionally supplied Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane as inspiration. "Somebody who was brilliant but then was traumatized and then retreats into their own world."^[7] Depp wanted to sport prosthetic makeup for the part and have a long, elongated nose, but Burton believed it would be too outrageous.^[5]

Critical analysis

Critical response to Johnny Depp's performance as Willy Wonka was mainly positive. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka may be a stone freak, but he is also one of Burton's classic crackpot conjurers, like Beetlejuice or Ed Wood."^[10] Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle found that "all the laughs [in the film] come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva".^[11] Peter Travers wrote in Rolling Stone magazine that "Depp's deliciously demented take on Willy Wonka demands to be seen. Depp goes deeper to find the bruises on Wonka's secret heart than what Gene Wilder did."^[12] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post criticized Depp's acting. "The cumulative effect isn't pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting. Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip."^[13] Johnny Depp received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role as Willy Wonka, but lost to Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line.^[14]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Rob Waugh (April 2005). "Sweet Smell of Success". The Mail on Sunday. 
2. ^ Greg Dean Schmitz. "Greg's Preview — Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 2007-04-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20070415230022/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808403418. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Staff (2005-07-12). "A Nuttier 'Chocolate'". Los Angeles Times. 
4. ^ Michael Fleming (2003-08-19). "Where there's a Willy". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117891150. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Chris Nashawaty (2005-07-08). "Cover Story: The Truth About 'Charlie'". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1073574,00.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Steve Head (2005-07-08). "Interview: Tim Burton". IGN. http://movies.ign.com/articles/632/632453p1.html. Retrieved 2009-06-12. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Mark Salisbury; Tim Burton (2006). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Burton on Burton. London: Faber and Faber. pp. 223–245. ISBN 0-57122-926-3. 
8. ^ Staff (2005-04-18). "Movie Preview: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1050844,00.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
9. ^ Steve Head (2005-07-13). "Interview: Johnny Depp". IGN. http://movies.ign.com/articles/633/633236p1.html. Retrieved 2009-06-12. 
10. ^ Owen Gleiberman (2005-07-13). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1082731,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
11. ^ Mick LaSalle (2005-07-15). "Depp brings a nutty center to Willy Wonka adventure". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/15/DDGPJDNDGG14.DTL&hw=chocolate+factory&sn=003&sc=272. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
12. ^ Peter Travers (2005-07-14). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080620010946/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/6152042/charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
13. ^ Ann Hornaday (2005-07-15). "Sorry, Charlie". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/14/AR2005071402083.html. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
14. ^ "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/26011. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 

External links

• "Willy Wonka" the stage musical
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film website
• The Willy Wonka Candy Company