12 Unbelievable Facts About 'Willy Wonka' That Will Make You Love The Movie Even More

Your childhood was probably never the same after watching this extraordinary classic. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory released on June 30, 1971, in the USA was every child’s dream. This immense factory full of sweets was hypnotising for all the children who fell in love with the movie, but adults, too. Directed by Mel Stuart, this classic is celebrating 45 years of its first release this year! To celebrate this, here are the best secrets that this movie hides. 1. I've Got A Golden Ticket! Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory managed to be funny, creepy and inspirational all at the same time. And while we all wanted a golden ticket, we were never able to get inside that chocolate factory. Until now... 2. Boys To Men First Willy Wonka secret: Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie, hit puberty while making the movie. If you listen close, his voice is much higher in the beginning of the movie than it is at the end. Additionally, Ostrum never acted in another movie after Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.Instead, he ended up becoming a veterinarian. 3. Blinded By The Light Ernst Ziegler, the actor who played Grandpa George, fought in World War I and was nearly blinded by poison gas. Because of this, a red light was used to show him which direction to look during filming. 4. Raging Hormones Denise Nickerson, the actress who played Violet Beauregarde, didn't want to pick her nose for the movie because she was fostering a crush on Peter Ostrum, the actor who played Charlie. Sigh, young love! 5. Oompa Loompa Doompa De What? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was shot in Munich, Germany, but in order to find enough little people to play the Oompa Loompas, the production had to cast actors from outside of Germany. Because of this, most of the Oompa Loompas did not speak English. Also, allegedly they would get drunk and then play pranks on members of the cast. 6. The Snozzberries DON'T Taste Like Snozzberries All of the "candy" that was on set was fake. Unless an actor was actually eating a piece of candy, you can guarantee that it was fake candy. Even some of the Wonka Bars were made of wood. 7. There's No Earthly Way Of Knowing The Chocolate River was very real, though. The river was made of 150,000 gallons of water, real chocolate and cream. Because it was real, it ended up smelling really bad by the end of filming. So be glad you're only watching the movie! 8. Where's The Fire? Every wonder why the foam in the Wonka Wash scene looks kind of like the foam that comes out of a fire extinguisher? That's because they used the foam that comes out of a fire extinguisher, which, it turns out, is a skin irritant. Many actors had to receive medical treatment after coming in contact with the Wonka Wash. 9. The Quaker Oats Man Can Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is based off of the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. While it seems as if the name change was unnecessary, there's actually a specific reason for this. The movie was financed by the Quaker Oats Company, which planned to tie in the movie to a new candy bar. The title was changed in order to support the tie-in. However, the candy bars melted too easily, even while still on the shelf, and so they were removed from the market. Now, the Wonka Candy Company is owned by Nestle, but the movie's title remains the same. 10. Can't Please Everyone But the name change was probably fine with author, Dahl, who allegedly hated the movie so much he refused allow any more versions of the movie to be made while he was alive. He also refused to give up the movie rights to the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Dahl refused to watch the movie. Reportedly, he once saw 15 minutes of the movie when he was staying at a hotel, then turned it off once he realized he was watching a movie of his own book. 11. What Could've Been Gene Wilder's performance as Willy Wonka was so iconic it even inspired a meme. However, Dahlwould have preferred the role gone to Peter Sellers or Spike Milligan. Additionally, all six members of Monty Python were considered for the titular role, but at the time none of them were a big enough star outside of England to be able to draw an international audience. 12. Scrumpdiddlyumptious! Gene Wilder said he would only take the role of Willy Wonka if he were allowed to do a somersault after his cane gets stuck in the scene where he comes out of his factory. Why? Because from that moment on, nobody would be able to know if Willy Wonka was being truthful or not. And we're glad he did because he made the movie. Source: guff Related: What If Willy Wonka Was Your Dad? The Juicy, Sweet And Semi-Sweet Facts About Gene Wilder

12 Unbelievable Facts About ‘Willy Wonka’ That Will Make You Love The Movie Even More

By Zack Walkter
8 years ago

3. Blinded By The Light

4. Raging Hormones