Yes. This is the Good One.
This movie was made in 1971.
I know, right? We could barely believe it ourselves. It doesn't feel like a 70's movie. I'm sure if you sat down and analyzed it stylistically, you could tie it into the 70's very nicely. The psychadelic style, the pacing, the portrayal of children and family. I believe it. But something about this movie makes it feel much...
"It feels older," said Paul.
"I disagree," countered Shirley, "It feels much more recent than 1970."
The argument continued for a minute or so, when it dawned on me exactly what was happening.
"Guys," I said. "We're watching a timeless movie."
Willy Wonka has survived its era, and continues to be present in young people's minds as a movie worth watching. But what exactly elevates the film from quirky kids movie to family classic? We investigated the movie with plenty of booze in tow, because as Mr. Wonka is quick to remind us, "candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker."
I know, right? We could barely believe it ourselves. It doesn't feel like a 70's movie. I'm sure if you sat down and analyzed it stylistically, you could tie it into the 70's very nicely. The psychadelic style, the pacing, the portrayal of children and family. I believe it. But something about this movie makes it feel much...
"It feels older," said Paul.
"I disagree," countered Shirley, "It feels much more recent than 1970."
The argument continued for a minute or so, when it dawned on me exactly what was happening.
"Guys," I said. "We're watching a timeless movie."
Willy Wonka has survived its era, and continues to be present in young people's minds as a movie worth watching. But what exactly elevates the film from quirky kids movie to family classic? We investigated the movie with plenty of booze in tow, because as Mr. Wonka is quick to remind us, "candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker."
"Willy Wonka and the Vodka Factory": The Rules
We revisited spiked chocolate milkshakes for this movie, and were pleasantly surprised by the changes Flux made to our formula. Yes: It is much better to BLEND liquor in with milkshake ingredients instead of pouring it into a pre-existing shake. It certainly didn't hurt that we used chocolate cake vodka as our liquor instead of a more bitter drink.
Really, though, you can drink anything sweet for this game. Get creative. There's a plethora of candy cocktails out there for you to try!
Really, though, you can drink anything sweet for this game. Get creative. There's a plethora of candy cocktails out there for you to try!
Just make sure there's actually liquor in your glass.
Easy Mode
1. Drink for Title Drops. For easy mode, that's every time someone says the word "Wonka"
2. Drink when they drink.
3. Drink for Daddy Issues.
4. Drink when someone eats something sweet.
5. Drink when someone becomes hysterical. That's practically page one in the Gene Wilder book of acting!
Medium Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink for Title Drops: For Medium Mode, that's every time someone says the word "chocolate". Yeah, you can see where this is going.
2. Drink for Song Title Drops. Yup. It's a musical.
3. Drink whenever a child is endangered.
Hard Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Title Drops: For Hard Mode, that's every time someone says the word "factory".
2. Drink when someone makes an exclamation of some kind. Like "Gee!" or "Wow!"
1. Drink for Title Drops. For easy mode, that's every time someone says the word "Wonka"
2. Drink when they drink.
3. Drink for Daddy Issues.
4. Drink when someone eats something sweet.
5. Drink when someone becomes hysterical. That's practically page one in the Gene Wilder book of acting!
Medium Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink for Title Drops: For Medium Mode, that's every time someone says the word "chocolate". Yeah, you can see where this is going.
2. Drink for Song Title Drops. Yup. It's a musical.
3. Drink whenever a child is endangered.
Hard Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Title Drops: For Hard Mode, that's every time someone says the word "factory".
2. Drink when someone makes an exclamation of some kind. Like "Gee!" or "Wow!"
Or "GOODFUCKINGGODWHATSHAPPENING"
The Players
Our onscreen players for this game are Krissy (me), Shirley Whiskas, and Big Moose. We talked about candy. Of course.
Our off screen players are...
Some Guy: He's just here for the candy (Medium)
Flux: Resident ice cream expert (Medium)
With drinks in our hands and sugarplums in our heads, we began the game. The movie was not as good as we remembered. It was even better.
Some Guy: He's just here for the candy (Medium)
Flux: Resident ice cream expert (Medium)
With drinks in our hands and sugarplums in our heads, we began the game. The movie was not as good as we remembered. It was even better.
Wonka Mania
I made a judgment call about thirty seconds into the movie to modify a rule, making it so we had to drink every time we heard or SAW the word "Wonka". This cranked the game up from "fine" to "pretty damn good."
Keep in mind that the first several scenes take place near or inside a candy store.
Most of us had not seen the movie in years, and only remembered the second half, once the kids are inside the factory itself. We had completely forgotten about the insane first half: the search for the golden tickets.
I wager that at least 75% of our title drop drinks occurred in the first half of the movie. The film takes place in a world that is very much like our own, except that children and adults alike are obsessed with chocolate. Consider this: the grand prize for the golden ticket holders is a lifetime supply of chocolate. There's no cash involved, nothing you could trade in for cash value, so why would the adults be as consumed with finding the tickets as the children are? Chocolate has THAT HIGH a stock in this world, specifically WONKA'S chocolate, to the point where grown men and women are building high tech robots to find these pieces of paper. Not for children's sake, most of the time. For their OWN.
I wager that at least 75% of our title drop drinks occurred in the first half of the movie. The film takes place in a world that is very much like our own, except that children and adults alike are obsessed with chocolate. Consider this: the grand prize for the golden ticket holders is a lifetime supply of chocolate. There's no cash involved, nothing you could trade in for cash value, so why would the adults be as consumed with finding the tickets as the children are? Chocolate has THAT HIGH a stock in this world, specifically WONKA'S chocolate, to the point where grown men and women are building high tech robots to find these pieces of paper. Not for children's sake, most of the time. For their OWN.
Or maybe it's all a front for a drug smuggling ring.
One of the subjects this movie covers is the nature of human greed, and how easily corrupted man can become. By equating the children in the movie with the adults, the movie seems to be telling us that being greedy is a human fault that we have little control over, and we must master in order to move on as a society. The only characters who don't exhibit this sense of greed are Charlie (because he's used to having nothing) and Wonka himself (because he already has everything). Charlie's lack of greed makes him special, and gives him even more cause to be our hero, even if he does screw things up later in the room with the floating bubbles. He is powered by hope instead, a "pure" emotion which helps him achieve his dreams. In short, he's a saint.
Go figure.
Go figure.
"Really, Charlie? You're not going in when he's giving out free candy?" -Shirley
Yeah, so Charlie's a bit of a dope. He's our child lead, he doesn't have to be particularly bright. It's not like the world he was raised in helped his development any.
Dark Days
Roald Dahl is on record for disliking this movie because of the changes made to his book. But if you dig past the surface level of "Willy Wonka," Dahl's spirit is preserved better than you'd originally assume.
One of the first scenes of the movie involves Charlie observing the factory from a distance. A suspicious man tells him that the factory's been abandoned. "Nobody ever comes in. Nobody ever comes out." A chilling thought in itself. But what's this guy doing here in the first place?
"He's just a guy selling knives outside a chocolate factory," Some Guy assured us.
Yeah. Knives. No big deal.
The producers of this movie were trying really hard to make the film bright, energized and frenzied. They were trying to sell candy. But they couldn't eradicate Dahl's bleak view of the world, and that makes it seem even darker. Charlie's family is living in absolute squalor. They can't afford to buy chocolate for their son. How can they afford to feed themselves and pay rent? This is made worse by the fact that nobody living near them seems to have this problem.
Maybe it's just because of the four invalids sharing a bed while Momma Bucket does all the work.
One of the first scenes of the movie involves Charlie observing the factory from a distance. A suspicious man tells him that the factory's been abandoned. "Nobody ever comes in. Nobody ever comes out." A chilling thought in itself. But what's this guy doing here in the first place?
"He's just a guy selling knives outside a chocolate factory," Some Guy assured us.
Yeah. Knives. No big deal.
The producers of this movie were trying really hard to make the film bright, energized and frenzied. They were trying to sell candy. But they couldn't eradicate Dahl's bleak view of the world, and that makes it seem even darker. Charlie's family is living in absolute squalor. They can't afford to buy chocolate for their son. How can they afford to feed themselves and pay rent? This is made worse by the fact that nobody living near them seems to have this problem.
Maybe it's just because of the four invalids sharing a bed while Momma Bucket does all the work.
"That mother cleans four bedpans." -Big Moose
Even before we get into the factory, we see hints of the sinister. A man who claims to work for Slugworth, a rival candy maker, encourages the contest winners to try and steal an Everlasting Gobstopper from the factory once they're inside. A clear view of his face shows a large scar running down his cheek.
"Who cut you?" -Shirley Whiskas
We find out later that the man is actually an agent of Willy Wonka posing as one of Slugworth's men. So I guess that answers our question. Wonka, you sadistic bastard.
I wouldn't put anything past a man who openly engages in slave trade.
The Man Himself
I don't know what planet Gene Wilder comes from, but he should get the rest of his kind over here pronto so we can populate the earth with actors as good as he is.
Willy Wonka doesn't show up until over halfway through this movie, about forty-five minutes in. Once Wilder comes on screen, it is impossible to keep your eyes off of him. Unlike the 2005 remake, not much is revealed about Wonka's past, and little is said about him as a person. It doesn't matter. Through Wilder's portrayal, we learn everything we need to know.
From the beginning, we know that Wonka can handle himself in front of a crowd. He's cordial in front of the press, and in front of the parents. Once he gets the kids inside the factory, he continues to be professional. The difference is that they're in his world now, and they're playing by his rules.
Take a look at the "Pure Imagination" scene for a second.
Willy Wonka doesn't show up until over halfway through this movie, about forty-five minutes in. Once Wilder comes on screen, it is impossible to keep your eyes off of him. Unlike the 2005 remake, not much is revealed about Wonka's past, and little is said about him as a person. It doesn't matter. Through Wilder's portrayal, we learn everything we need to know.
From the beginning, we know that Wonka can handle himself in front of a crowd. He's cordial in front of the press, and in front of the parents. Once he gets the kids inside the factory, he continues to be professional. The difference is that they're in his world now, and they're playing by his rules.
Take a look at the "Pure Imagination" scene for a second.
In the hands of a lesser actor, this would be a nothing song. This scene would have little point besides showing off the majesty of the factory. Hell, when I was a little kid, that was the point of the song in my eyes.
From the first note, Wonka makes it clear that his guests are at his mercy. He does not allow them to move without his say so. He toys with them, confuses them, blocks their movement and narrows their focus. When he finally lets them have free reign of the chocolate room, he wanders about showing them secret catches of candy. He is master of his domain. He knows everything and is everywhere.
Then, at the end of the song, he sits down, takes off his hat, and surveys the rest of the children having fun. His voice becomes softer, he becomes more ponderous, you sense his feelings of isolation and loneliness. And then it hits you. Willy Wonka is still overcome with the feelings of being a lonely child.
"Willy Wonka just wants a friend who may or may not be twelve," Flux observed. And it's true: for all his show, Wonka set up this entire thing to find the perfect playmate. Along the way, he realizes he let some bullies into the factory and punishes them in the way that he sees fit.
From the first note, Wonka makes it clear that his guests are at his mercy. He does not allow them to move without his say so. He toys with them, confuses them, blocks their movement and narrows their focus. When he finally lets them have free reign of the chocolate room, he wanders about showing them secret catches of candy. He is master of his domain. He knows everything and is everywhere.
Then, at the end of the song, he sits down, takes off his hat, and surveys the rest of the children having fun. His voice becomes softer, he becomes more ponderous, you sense his feelings of isolation and loneliness. And then it hits you. Willy Wonka is still overcome with the feelings of being a lonely child.
"Willy Wonka just wants a friend who may or may not be twelve," Flux observed. And it's true: for all his show, Wonka set up this entire thing to find the perfect playmate. Along the way, he realizes he let some bullies into the factory and punishes them in the way that he sees fit.
"I think Augustus was pushed." -Big Moose
None of this is in the script, at least not explicitly. But Wilder's depth and understanding of the role makes all of these feelings perfectly plain. If you disagree...well, you can go suck a schnozzberry.
Seriously, stay on this guy's good side.
Our Main Course
We got a bit peckish during the film, so we all decided to dig into a raspberry sugar log that Big Moose bought for the occassion.
Picture one of these, except bright pink, store bought and terrifying.
It might have been fine if we'd chosen to eat it without watching the movie and drinking chocolate milkshakes. But as it was, the thing was way too sweet without tasting like anything at all. We grew jealous of the jelly bean trees and the chocolate river.
Guess it just goes to show you can't compete with pure imagination.
Guess it just goes to show you can't compete with pure imagination.
A Beef with the Chocolate
This movie is great, but not without its plot holes, several of which an increasingly drunk Shirley Whiskas was eager to point out. It seems that Wonka has a very poor business model. Sure, he must have made a killing off of that golden ticket madness, but this was after being closed for decades. And what about that everlasting gobstopper?
"Why would you make a piece of candy that only needs to be bought once ever?" Shirely exclaimed.
Later, when Mike TV meets his unfortunate demise, we encountered another problem.
"Wonka," Shirley said. "You invented a machine that turns giant chocolate bars into really tiny ones."
Yeah, that doesn't seem very smart to me at all. Wonka must be saving a ton of money by hiring undocumented Oompa Loompas.
"Why would you make a piece of candy that only needs to be bought once ever?" Shirely exclaimed.
Later, when Mike TV meets his unfortunate demise, we encountered another problem.
"Wonka," Shirley said. "You invented a machine that turns giant chocolate bars into really tiny ones."
Yeah, that doesn't seem very smart to me at all. Wonka must be saving a ton of money by hiring undocumented Oompa Loompas.
"I am not buying Wonka bars until the Oompa Loompas get paid!" -Shirley
The Results
After the game was over, we had the pleasure of experiencing the buzz of alcohol combined with a sugar high. Just look at us.
This game is pretty solid. Like most musical games, however, the "song title drop" rule does a lot of the work. So I say to you, it can be made better! Here are some extra rules for your tweaking purposes.
Drink whenever you feel uncomfortable.
Depending on how much of a psychopath you are, this rule can make or break you. Plenty of disturbing stuff in this movie. It's up to you to find your threshold.
Drink whenever Wonka drops a famous line.
I counted at least five iconic pieces of dialogue that are FROM this movie. I had no idea before watching it again. See if you can spot them all.
Drink whenever a major character is introduced, and drink when that major character is dismissed.
This might be enough to tip this game into dangerous territory. I'll leave it up to you to define what a "major" character is.
Thanks for reading! We'll be back next week with another great game. What movie are we watching next week? You know...I've quite forgotten.
Drink whenever you feel uncomfortable.
Depending on how much of a psychopath you are, this rule can make or break you. Plenty of disturbing stuff in this movie. It's up to you to find your threshold.
Drink whenever Wonka drops a famous line.
I counted at least five iconic pieces of dialogue that are FROM this movie. I had no idea before watching it again. See if you can spot them all.
Drink whenever a major character is introduced, and drink when that major character is dismissed.
This might be enough to tip this game into dangerous territory. I'll leave it up to you to define what a "major" character is.
Thanks for reading! We'll be back next week with another great game. What movie are we watching next week? You know...I've quite forgotten.
Don't believe my lies.
Like what you see? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, at For Your Inebriation and @KrissyPappau respectively. You'll get weekly updates, behind the scenes drunk talk, and other chatter!
For Your Inebriation is written by Krissy Pappau (Hollis Beck). Video footage is taken by Pooh Daddy (Vincent Graham) and edited by Seb (Amy Yourd). All "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" images are owned by Paramount
For Your Inebriation is written by Krissy Pappau (Hollis Beck). Video footage is taken by Pooh Daddy (Vincent Graham) and edited by Seb (Amy Yourd). All "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" images are owned by Paramount
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