People are reappraising just how weird Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is: "Like a Muppet movie if Charlie and his mom are the only humans"

Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory — (Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

It's never a bad time to revisit one of the best fantasy movies of all time, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, especially if you haven't watched it since you were a kid. As a recent online conversation has evidenced, you might have a very different experience watching it as an adult.

Reddit user Glass_Storm3381 recently opened a discussion about Mel Stuart's 1971 classic, particularly reappraising the totally wild, weird and hilarious first part of the story. Based on Roald Dahl novel and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, the film sees the whole world going bonkers when the Golden Tickets for Wonka's factory are discovered.

"I sat down today and intentionally watched it for the first time in about a decade. I always loved it because it's so silly, but most of the parts I'd attribute to its silliness were always from the factory tour and I forgot how great the first half of the movie is," the user wrote, highlighting some funny early moments like "the fancy auction in the UK where the Queen bids $5k for a case of Wonka bars", or "Slugworth showing up in any country the second a ticket is found".

"That's exactly why Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is endlessly rewatchable – the factory is iconic, but the first half is this perfect blend of absurd little vignettes and deadpan humor. Those 'news' scenes feel like Monty Python wandered into a kids’ movie," said one user, while another one described the film as "a Muppet movie if Charlie and his mom are the only humans and the rest of the characters are basically Muppets."

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.

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