Kids' Books Come to Life

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971
In the days before computer-generated animation, bringing the fantastical world of Roald Dahl's immortal 1964 story to life using real actors presented only a few small challenges. Filmmaker Mel Stuart, aided by a screenplay written by Dahl himself, focused on character and song, while Gene Wilder endowed the Wonka character with joie de vivre, leavened with a small amount of pathos. More than 30 years later, Johnny Depp revived the role.

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