Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Warner Home Video ($24.98)
These days, this film probably couldn’t get made without Jim Carrey at the CGI-enhanced helm and a noticeable softening of the story’s slyly menacing edge. But, as screenwriter David Seltzer notes in the documentary that accompanies Wonka‘s new widescreen-DVD edition, the film’s mischievous streak and playful “Scotch tape and cardboard” amateurism are the secrets to its enduring popularity. Adamant about keeping the rough edges in his movie, director Mel Stuart refused to cast an eager Sammy Davis Jr. (though Davis — who Stuart feared would give the picture too much of a “showbiz” aura — subsequently covered “Candy Man” anyway). He also continually pushed Veruca Salt’s Julie Dawn Cole to be “nastier” and encouraged the brilliantly cast Gene Wilder to emphasize the suspicious and frightening aspects of Wonka. As a result, Stuart’s film stays true to the nature of Roald Dahl’s book; it’s a naughty fairy tale whose anti-greed moral couldn’t be more topical during our modern holiday season, a rare children’s film that leaves a taste of raw sugar, not saccharin.
This article appears in December 7 • 2001.