A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
— Willy Wonka
February 1st is the day Willy Wonka opens up his factory (after years of being closed to the public) for five lucky children to explore.
The latest news is that all five golden tickets have been found and the children are approaching Wonka’s Factory at this very moment.
Unlike most candy and chocolate on the set of the 1971 film, the chocolate river was real. It was created with 150,000 gallons of water, cream, and real chocolate. By the end of filming, it smelled pretty bad. By contrast, the 2005 version had a faux chocolate river, but most of the candy garden was real, crafted by a specialty chocolate shop in England.
Wonka 2023 had a dedicated chocolatier on the set and director Paul King said he gained about 50 pounds from all the chocolate he ate while filming the movie. Timothée Chalamet was sick multiple times during production after eating too much candy and chocolate but did not appear to gain a lot of weight.
In the 2005 version of the film, 40 real squirrels were trained to jump on Veruca Salt.
The actress who played Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film, refused to pick her nose for the movie. She didn’t want Peter Ostrum (Charlie) to see her do it because she had a crush on him.
The Oompa Loompas in the original film were recruited from all over and most did not speak English.
Deep Roy was cast as all of the Oompa Loompas in Tim Burton’s 2005 version. He charged one million for the role. It is estimated that Hugh Grant received $10 million for his Wonka 2023 Oompa Loompa.
The first chapter of Roald Dahl’s unfinished sequel, called Charlie in the White House, is on display at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
Add all ingredients to ½ cup of ice and blend in a blender until smooth. Pour in a rocks glass.
Beer Du Jour
The 1971 film was shot in Munich, Germany. Please find one or more of the following labels: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, or Spaten.
