Hold on Tight I Don’t Exactly Know What’s Going to Happen!
As a child, I remember being quite frightened by Willy Wonka and his Chocolate Factory.
My strongest memory is of the Oompa Loompas, they were just plain scary.
I have been waiting for years to let Isaiah watch Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (the original of course!) I have kept him very sheltered from media, and therefore I knew that any earlier than this would be too early.
My aim was not to scar the boy, but to share with him the work of art that this particular direction of Willy Wonka was. It was genius. Gene Wilder was right to be outraged that anyone would make it over. It was/is perfect the way it is.
And no, Sammy Davis Jr did not write or record The Candyman first. I played Sammy’s version for the boy after he watched Willy Wonka 100 times in a row, and thirty seconds in, he said “this is horrible, turn it off.”
Gluttony, Bad Manners, Greed, Watching too much TV, not using your Mind. All covered.
Don’t Forget About The Man Who Suddenly Got Everything He Ever Wanted, He Lived Happily Ever After.
I tried to use the Oompa Loompa song to show my son how his behavior was unacceptable and he sang back to me:
“Who is to blame? The Mother and The Father” while pointing his finger at me….
Jen Kehl 
HA! Of course that was the one line he took from the song 🙂 I love the Gene Wilder version, the original that SHOULD NOT Have been redone. I was Violet Beauregard’s mother in our school play. I got to puke in my purse. My one and only drama experience.
My boys, Jacob in particular, has loved this movie since he was 4. I showed it to them too early? But soon Jacob was walking like Willy, asking for a bow tie (I bought two) and he can recite so many lines of dialogue. I just love when my sons embrace and growth to adore the things I do. A full circle of childhood memories.
So glad Isaiah loved it too.
Of course he did! I loved the original movie too, but I will admit that the Oompa Loompas kinda freaked me out.
Dana, the Oompa Loompas still freak me out. I kinda look at them out of the corner of my eye, otherwise it’s just too much.