The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has traditionally been stringent in how it goes about assigning ratings for movies. Granted, whenWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factorydebuted in the summer of 1971, it was a different era,and the rating system had only been in place for three years, but how it managed to slide by with a “G” rating is still considered a minor miracle. Typically, we associate the soft, kid-friendly rating with classic live-action films likeMary PoppinsandThe Black Stallionand animated features likeCinderella,Finding Nemo, andToy Story.So, whenGene Wilderstarred in the screen adaptation ofRoald Dahl’s hugely popular book, some aspects of the film took audiences aback and were actually terrifying – especially for younger viewers. From characters that look like Bond villains to a less-than-friendly candyman, to a small army of orange people and a disturbing boat ride,Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factoryhas to be considered one of, if not the most frightening, kid’s moviesin cinema history.
Gene Wilder Wanted Willy Wonka to be Mercurial and Cagey
When Gene Wilder was approached to play the mysterious Willy Wonka, he saidthe only way he would do it was if he could perform the famous somersault entryso that you knew he could not be trusted from the outset. So, his interpretation of Dahl’s titular character would always emphasize Wonka’s mercurial and secretive side.When you add the wide-eyed goofiness that Wilder brings to the childlike performance, it makes for aneerie main character who is not quite a villainbut certainly comes across as a sociopathic-bordering-on-sadistic marionette pulling all the strings of the other players.
These Characters Probably Scared the Hell Out of Kids
Let’s start withthe character that mysteriously appears whenever a child finds a golden ticketgood for a tour of the chocolate factory, Mr. Arthur Slugworth (Gunter Meisner). This man is lanky with a long scar on his gaunt and bony face. With his stove-pipe hat, he looks more like aSPECTRE villain James Bond would battle withthan a Jaws-like creeper whispering in children’s ears. And even though we find out later that Slugworth is working for Wonka, the damage was already done before the group arrived at the factory.
What about the platoon of orange people with green hair known fondly as the Oompa Loompas? It’s not their diminutive stature that makes them frightening, but rather the emotionless, hive-minded way they do Wonka’s bidding, summoned by a strange flute riff. Did they have to look like pumpkins in white overalls and perform that same choreographed musical number with somewhat punitive lyrics? We get it: live like a tractable Oompa Loompa or risk being a horrible person subject to awful things. That’s what a kid would take away from it anyway.
What Is Going On With That Boat Ride?
Okay, it’s pretty cool that Willy Wonka has a boat that travels along his chocolate river, right?It would be if he didn’t lead them on a nightmarish, psychedelic journey down a dark tunnel!Talk about a bad trip, flashing images of creepy crawly insects on people’s faces, and a kaleidoscope of other disturbing pictures isn’t what any of the “winners” of this exclusive tour were expecting.That is a trippy sequence for an adult.Can you imagine what that scene was like for a child? It must have been downright horrifying–then and now.
Combine all these elements with the self-immolation of the awful kids (save for Charlie) one by one, and it is hard to believe that the MPAA let the film into wide release with a “G- for General audiences” rating over fifty years ago. If a similar movie came out today, it would almost certainly have a “PG” or even a “PG-13” tag.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a 2005 remake starringJohnny Deppand directed byTim Burton, was appropriately PG, andWonkafrom just a few years ago, withTimothée Chalametin the titular role, also recommended parental guidance. Still, the most graphically visceral and mature of all three, the original, slid by with the same rating asBambiandRainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. It’s a curious case, indeed.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory.
