Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Roger Ebert

It is everything that family movies usually claim to be, but arent: Delightful, funny, scary, exciting, and, most of all, a genuine work of imagination.Willy Wonka is such a surely and wonderfully spun fantasy that it works on all kinds of minds, and it is fascinating because, like all classic fantasy, it is fascinated with itself. ( Read More )

Ed Grant

Preschoolers will be dazzled by the films bright color scheme and broadly drawn characters but may be frightened by a few scary moments; 5 to 8 year olds will comprehend the films message, and respond to the memorable songs and snappy dialogue, but older kids and preteens are this films ideal audience. ( Read More )

Variety Staff

Plot hook is a merchandising gimmick by Wilder who puts five golden tickets into a candy bar run, and tests the honesty of the winners. ( Read More )

Great fun, with Wilder for once giving an impeccably controlled performance as the factorys bizarre owner. ( Read More )

Chuck Bowen

Director Mel Stuarts Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is meant to be a story of a virtuous downtrodden hero, Charlie (Peter Ostrum), overcoming his poverty and hopelessness to realize a dream that has crossed the mind of probably every child in the world.Roald Dahls story is a fantasy of problems magically melting away as well as a parody of the notion that children are supposed to be sweet and innocuous just because theyre children. ( Read More )