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….
